HISTORY

(NOTE: At the time "Rigs" compiled this history for the 2nd reunion, members of the Detachments were unaware that another Detachment of Marines was aboard the USS Curtiss in 1948 for Operation Sandstone. As soon as sufficient information can be obtained from members of the 1948 Detachment, their activities will be included on this page.)

On 23 February 1951 , the CURTISS set sail from San Francisco to Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. The ship anchored at Eniwetok Atoll on 8 March 1951, as a unit of Task Force 7.3 for participation in operation GREENHOUSE. During this operation the CURTISS was flagship for CTF 7.3. Four atomic tests were conducted during Operation GREENHOUSE and the CURTISS was home to a staff of civilian and military technicians. In addition, the CURTISS provided shop, laboratory and stowage space for scientific equipment. The ship also provided meteorological information and operated a boat pool for the Task Force. A Marine Detachment, under the command of Capt. Charles I. Campbell Jr., USMC, was temporarily assigned to provide security for the scientists and their equipment. One member of this detachment deserves special recognition here. PFC Ambrosio Guillen was later promoted to Staff Sgt. and fought in the Korean War where he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, posthumously.

Upon the termination of Operation GREENHOUSE, the CURTISS set sail on 27 May 1951 and, after brief layovers at Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, arrived in San Diego on 13 June 1951. Shortly thereafter, on 13 July 1951, Capt. D.J. Welsh, USN, was relieved as Commanding Officer by Capt. A. C. Perkins, USN.

For the next fourteen months the CURTISS operated in the San Diego area, participating in a number of fleet and training exercises. On 12 July 1951, Capt. D. J. Welsh was relieved as Commanding Officer by Capt. J. Hulme, USN.

On 29 September 1952, the CURTISS again set sail for Eniwetok. Enroute she was flagship for RADM C. W. Wilkins, USN, CTG 132.3. The ship arrived at Eniwetok Atoll for participation in Operation IVY on 12 October 1952. During the next two months, through 12 December 1952, the CURTISS actively engaged in tests of experimental atomic devices at the Atomic Proving Ground, Eniwetok Atoll including the first thermonuclear device ever detonated. During this period she was a unit of JTF 132. While participating in this operation, the CURTISS provided berthing, messing, and shipboard assembly facilities for a part of TU 132.4, evacuated personnel and equipment during shot phases, assumed various radar guards, and provided meteorological services to the Task Force. Another temporary Marine Detachment under the command of Capt. Clyde B. Shropshire, USMC, was assigned to the ship for this operation.

Upon returning to San Diego on 23 July 1953, Capt. R. E. Jones, USN, relieved Capt. J. Hulm, USN, as Commanding Officer. During the period from 6 November through 9 November 1953, the CURTISS and its crew made a training and good will visit to Acapulco, Mexico.

During the two months following the return of the ship to San Diego from Acapulco, preparations were made for participation in the next atomic tests. Shortly thereafter, on 10 January 1954, the CURTISS sailed to Eniwetok. A third Marine Detachment was assigned to the ship under the command of Capt. James A. Brannaman, USMC. This detachment was to remain as a part of ship's company until 1956.

Enroute to the Marshall Islands, the CURTISS served as flagship for RADM H. C. Burton USN, CTG 7.3. The ship served in a similar capacity from 6 March 1954 to 14 March 1954. Anchor was let go at Eniwetok Atoll on 24 January 1954. Thereafter, the CURTISS was a Task Element and Unit of JFT 7 during Operation CASTLE. For the next four months (through 24 April 1 954 ) the CURTISS participated in six tests (BRAVO-ROMEO-KOON-UNION-YANKEE-NECTAR) of experimental atomic and thermonuclear devices at the proving grounds. These tests included the largest single device ever detonated by the United States, with a yield of 15 Megatons. The mission and services provided by the ship during this operation were similar to that performed during Operation IVY.

The CURTISS returned to San Diego on 28 May 1954. Two months later Capt. H. H. Kuhl, USN, relieved Capt. R. E. Jones as Commanding Officer on 14 July 1954. On 14 March 1955 the CURTISS became flagship for VADM W. K. Phillips, USN, Commander First Fleet, during operation SURFBOARD. This was a joint Army- Navy amphibious assault operation on the San Simeon Area ninety miles south of Monterey, California.

During this operation the CURTISS was a unit of CTF 12, under the command of RADM A. E. Jarrell, USN. The CURTISS maneuvered in company with 50 ships of the Amphibious Assault Force during SURFBOARD and participated in the amphibious assault landing of 6,000 troops of the Regimental Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at San Simeon Bay on 22 March 1955. The operation was completed about 30 March 1955.

On approximately 10 April 1955, the CURTISS reported to CTG 7.3 for operational control and on 5 May 1955, sortied independently from North Island as a Task Unit of CTG 7.3. The ship's destination was 500 miles off the coast of Southern California and its mission was to participate in Operation WIGWAM.

After joining up with the main body of the Task Group, the CURTISS became flagship for RADM C. B. Monsen, USN, CJTF 7, who came aboard the CURTISS on 9 May 1955, by high-line transfer from a destroyer. Operation WIGWAM tested the effects of a single underwater nuclear explosion on various fleet units including submarines. The role of the ship during Operation WIGWAM was similar to that which it played during previous atomic tests.