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USS Black Hawk (AD-9)

Please see before for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USS Black Hawk (AD-9)

The steamship Santa Catalina – launched in 1913 by William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa. - was purchased by the Navy on 3 December 1917 and, given the identification number (Id. No.) 2140, was renamed Black Hawk on 26 December, the day after Christmas of 1917. Converted into a tender and repair ship at Fletcher’s Shipyard, Hoboken, N.J., Black Hawk was commissioned there on 15 May 1918, Cmdr. Roscoe C. Bulmer in command.

On 29 June 1920, she entered the New York Navy Yard for maintenance. She cleared the yard on 7 July, and steamed to Newport, R.I.; arriving the next day, she remained there in port until 7 September. During this time, she was re-designated (AD-9) as part of a Navy-wide administrative re-organization on 20 July. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) operated in the waters around the Virginia capes until 27 October. Shifting to the Navy Yard at Cavite, she stood there for almost six months. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) resumed operations underway when she cleared Cavite on 7 April 1923, bound for the International Settlement at Shanghai. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) cleared Manila on 12 April 1924 and steamed to Hong Kong, where she spent the next six weeks.

Going to sea on 18 April 1925, USS Black Hawk (AD-9) set a course for Amoy. Arriving on 21 April, she weighed anchor on 5 May, and moved on to visit Tsingtao (9 May-3 June), before making her return to Chefoo on 3 June. Standing there until 8 September, USS Black Hawk (AD-9) made her return to Manila via (Tsingtao (9-15 September) and arriving on 20 September. While USS Black Hawk (AD-9) got underway to visit Olongapo (15-20 February 1929), she largely stood in port until 4 March, when she stood out of Manila Bay bound for Hong Kong. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) spent much of the first quarter of 1930, shifting to different locations in the Philippines with time at Manila, Olongapo, and Subic Bay. 

USS Black Hawk (AD-9), now assigned to DesRon 29, Asiatic Fleet, cleared Manila, and arrived at Balikpapan, Borneo, N.E.I., on 30 November 1941. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) departed Pearl Harbor in company with the oiler Ramapo (AO-12), as Task Group (TG) 2.5 on 19 July 1942. Bound for Kodiak, Alaskan Territory, they rendezvoused en route with King (DD-242) on 27 July, and arrived at Kodiak on the 29th. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) remained at Adak until 21 September 1943, when she accompanied vessels of Task Units (TU) 11, 15, and 16 to Pearl Harbor. USS Black Hawk (AD-9) decommissioned on 15 August 1946. Deemed surplus to Navy needs and made available for disposal on 5 September, she was stricken from the Navy list on 25 September.

For a complete history of USS Black Hawk (AD-9) please see its DANFS page.