USS CASCADE AD-16 Ship History
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Cascade (AD-16) was launched 6 June 1942 by Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. C. W. Grosse; and commissioned 12 March 1943, Captain S. B. Ogden in command.
Cascade cleared San Francisco 12 June 1943 for Pearl Harbor, where she began her war time duty of tending destroyers. As the war moved westward, Cascade followed, to bring her support close to the action areas. From November 1943, she was stationed successively at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Ulithi, while the ships she served ranged the Pacific, escorting convoys, screening carrier task forces, supporting invasions, and carrying out many other tasks with typical destroyer versatility.
In June 1945, Cascade sailed to Okinawa, where she endured the suicide raids and typhoon weather along with the combatants through September. She served in Wakayama Wan, and at Tokyo, Japan supporting the occupation until March 1946, when she sailed for the east coast. Cascade was decommissioned and placed in service in reserve at Philadelphia 12 February 1947.
Recommissioned 5 April 1951, Cascade was based on Newport, R.I., as tender for the many destroyers home-ported there. From this port she has cruised to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean for training and to support destroyers deployed in those areas. On these cruises Cascade has carried the flags of Commander, Service Force, 6th Fleet, and Comander, Destroyer Flotilla 6; she has also served as flagship for Commander, Destroyer Force, Atlantic, on occasion. The tender has carried out these duties through 1963.
Cascade received one battle star for World War II service.
