USS Lynx (AK-100) was a commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Lynx was the third US Navy vessel to bear the name, but unlike previous ships this one was named after the constellation Lynx. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
Construction Lynx was laid down 26 April 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull No. 1657, as the Liberty ship SS Juan Bautista de Anza, by California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; launched 18 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. E. E. McCarty; renamed Lynx 27 May 1943; and commissioned 26 July 1943.
Service history 1943 After fitting out, Lynx reported on 6 August 1943, to the Commandant, Twelfth Naval district, for assignment to the Naval Transportation Service (NTS), Lynx loaded cargo at San Francisco and departed for the western Pacific 28 August 1943, in Convoy PW 2294. Proceeding via Espiritu Santo, in the New Hebrides, the new cargo vessel touched at Auckland, New Zealand, 26 October, and Rarotonga, 2 November, then returned to Espiritu Santo en route back to the west coast of the United States.
Completing an overhaul at the Hurley Marine Works, Oakland, California, on 7 December 1943, Lynx shifted to berth no.3, Encinal Terminal, Alameda, California, later the same day, and began loading cargo. After completing that process on 15 December, the ship moved to Pier 54N at San Francisco, taking on board a deck cargo of a Landing Craft Tank (LCT), a Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM), and three Landing Craft Personnel (LCV(P)), vehicle and personnel landing craft, 15–17 December.
Lynx cleared San Francisco Bay on 17 December 1943, for towing tests in accordance with the movement orders from Commander Joseph J. Rochefort, the commanding officer of . Subsequently, the cargo ship carried out her assigned evolutions, 18–20 December, towing section A of , escorted by the fleet tug and salvage vessel , dropping anchor in Berth 68, San Francisco Bay, 20 December. She remained there through Christmas of 1943.
1944 Emergency surgery On 27 December 1943, Lynx, with Section 13 of the advanced base sectional dock in tow astern, sailed as flagship of Task Group (TG) 116.15.3, Commander Arthur S. Walton, in company with sister ships , towing , and , with astern, and , towing , escorted by the fleet tug , set course for the South Pacific. During the afternoon watch on 14 January 1944, Zuni left her position in the formation and came alongside, transferring Sea1c Hugh W. Morris, diagnosed with appendicitis, to Lynx, for medical treatment. Lieutenant Herman E. Wuestenfeld, MC-V(G), the cargo ship's medical officer, performed an appendectomy later that same day, 20:34-21:40.
Man overboard Less than an hour before the end of the forenoon watch, 11:03, on 18 January 1944, Sea2c Maurice L. Bosshart, V-6, USNR, a passenger traveling in Lynx for further transportation to YRD(M)-1 for duty, fell overboard. Thirty seconds after Bosshart was reported over the side, Lynx ran up her “five” flag at the dip and dropped two life rings and a Franklin life buoy within of him. Zuni left the formation at 11:04 to conduct a search, while Lynx signaled her tow to look for the man and put life rings in the water. Sailors on board section 13 of the advanced base sectional dock ABSD-1, however, reported that they had lost sight of him. The following day, 19 January, Lynx held a memorial service for Sea2c Bosshart at 09:30.
New Hebrides On 22 January 1944, the submarine chasers and joined as additional escorts, and two days later the destroyer escort joined the convoy as escort commander. The assemblage of ships and yard craft crossed the 180th meridian on 25 January, losing 26 January, in the process. Shortly before the end of the first dog watch on 28 January, at 17:55, Lynx embarked Sergeant Claude E. Rudy, USMC, a passenger in the tug Zuni, who had been diagnosed with appendicitis. Ultimately, TG 116.15.3 reached its destination, Espiritu Santo, on 1 February, standing in to Pallikula Bay.
Delivering her tow upon arrival, Lynx shifted to Segond Channel, Espiritu Santo, 2 February 1944, and transferred Sgt. Rudy and Sea1c Morris, the two recovering appendicitis patients, back to Zuni, while the tug returned the cargo ship's Franklin life buoy that had been put in the water during the unsuccessful attempt to save Sea2c Bosshart. She also began discharging and unloading cargo over the next few days, 3–4 February. Lynx returned to Pallikula Bay on the morning of 5 February, then sailed for Efate, New Hebrides, later the same day, escorted by the district patrol vessel , arriving on 6 February. After discharging cargo at Vila Harbor, Efate, 6–7 February, Lynx shifted to Havannah Harbor, Efate, 8 February, where she completed the unloading process, 8–10 February. She set course for Espiritu Santo on 10 February, and anchored upon arrival the following day. After a wait, 11–15 February, for dock space, Lynx completed discharging cargo on 21 February, moving away from the pier where she had been moored to return to an anchorage, assisted in the evolution by and harbor tug .
Towing duty Sailing on 23 February 1944, in company with Fort McHenry, Lynx set course to return to San Francisco, escorted by . With the little convoy dispersed on 24 February, the cargo vessel received instructions to divert her course south of the Fiji Islands the following day. She crossed the International Date Line on 28 February, and ultimately stood in to the naval anchorage at San Francisco on 17 March. She shifted to Pier 18 North the following day to discharge cargo, 18–19 March, then returned to the Encinal Terminal at Alameda, 21–28 March. She loaded cargo at Alameda and at Pier 50B, San Francisco, 29 March–1 April.
Underway on 1 April 1944, Lynx steamed to San Pedro, California, 3–4 April. Picking up her tow, the fuel oil barge , Lynx sailed for Pearl Harbor on 4 April. Relieved of her tow on 17 April, the cargo ship put into Pearl and moored at berth K-1, Naval Supply Depot, where she began discharging cargo. She shifted to berth V-2 off Pearl City on 19 April, to continue that work, completing it on 22 April, at which point she began to load cargo. Sailing for Hilo, Territory of Hawaii, on 25 April, her holds full, she arrived at her destination on the following day. Discharging cargo there until 28 April, she sailed that day to return to the west coast of the United States.
Lynx stood in to San Francisco Bay on 6 May 1944, and anchored. Underway two days later, she moored at Pier 25, San Francisco, on 8 May, where she began a period of minor repairs and alterations in the hands of the General Engineering Co. on 9 May. Shifting to the General Engineering & Drydock Company's yard at Alameda, on 16 May, she entered the floating dry dock , where her bottom was scraped and painted and paravane gear installed, 16–19 May. Underway once more on 20 May, Lynx fueled at the Point Orient Fuel Dock that same day, then put into Port Chicago to load cargo at the Naval Magazine there 20–28 May. Shifting to Pier 92, San Francisco, on 28 May, she continued to receive minor repairs and alterations through the end of the month, such work being completed on 31 May, when she also completed loading her holds. She completed loading deck cargo, LCT-1096 and five re-arming boats, on 1 June, then proceeded to the Tiburon anchorage, San Francisco Bay, on 2 June.
Lieutenant Commander William N. Price reported on board Lynx on 3 June 1944, as Commander Task Unit 116.15.1, and the ship sailed that day as his flagship, towing Section 10 (“H”) of ABSD-2, in company with her old convoy-mate Sculptor—towing Section 3 (“I”) of ABSD-2; cargo ship – towing Section 21 (“J”) of ABSD-2; and the tug Point Arguello towing Section 4 (“G”) of ABSD-2. The rescue tug , with in tow, rounded out Convoy PW 2411. Two days into the voyage, ATR-25 transferred her tow to Point Arguello, and assumed duty as retriever vessel. Later in the passage, on 23 June, Lt. Cmdr. Price detached ATR-25 to proceed to Pago Pago, Tutuila, Samoa, “to refuel and transact official business for Task Unit 116.15.1.” Her mission completed, the rescue tug rejoined the convoy on 27 June, then conducted a round trip to Pago Pago. She was detached “to proceed on duty assigned” on 28 June. Convoy PW-2411 continued on its voyage into July, skipping 3 July 1944, as the ships travelled east to west. The tug Race Point joined the assemblage on 11 July, as retriever, then left “in accordance with verbal instructions of [the] Convoy Commodore…” on 13 July, returning on 15 July, shortly before the convoy stood in to Seeadler Harbor, Manus.
Underway for New Guinea on 18 July 1944, Lynx proceeded with Sculptor, convoy commander, Eridanus, and the War Shipping Administration (WSA) troopship, Dutch registry, , escorted by and . The last-three named ships received orders to proceed independently on 19 July, while the three American cargo ships continued on, arriving at Milne Bay on 21 July. Fueling alongside , 23 July, Lynx unloaded her deck cargo, LCT-1096 and the re-arming boats, on 26 July, then got underway for Queensland, Australia, later the same morning.
Lynx arrived at Brisbane on 31 July 1944, and immediately commenced unloading cargo. Bringing that task to completion on 4 August, and beginning the loading process, the cargo ship sailed for Sydney, New South Wales, on 8 August. Reaching port on 10 August, she discharged the materials brought from Brisbane at Darling Harbour, 10–14 August, Pyrmont, 14–21 August, and Glebe Island, 21 August, then loaded a cargo at the last-named Sydney location 21–25 August, completing that work an hour after the end of the mid watch that day. She sailed for Oahu on 26 August. Reaching Pearl Harbor on 10 September, Lynx moored alongside the freighter John Lind at berth X-10, and unloaded all cargo earmarked for Pearl the following day between 13:55 and 23:00. She then sailed for the west coast on 12 September.
Bringing another voyage to a close on 20 September 1944, when she dropped anchor in San Francisco Bay, Lynx unloaded cargo alongside Pier 18 North, 21–26 September, then steamed to the yard of the Cortola Company's, Marine Ways, Inc., Oakland, where she underwent repairs and alterations into the first week of October. Completing her availability at the Cortola yard on 6 October, Lynx steamed to Pier 48-B, San Francisco, where she loaded cargo until 14 October. Underway to calibrate her radio direction finder that afternoon, she anchored in San Francisco Bay when that task was done, pausing only until the morning of 16 October, when she sailed for Oahu, Lynx, convoy commander, taking departure with in tow and accompanied by .
Letting go her tow shortly before mid day on 28 October 1944, off the entrance to the Pearl Harbor entrance channel, releasing Lignite “into the care of pilot and tugs,” Lynx directed YF-450 to proceed independently, then moored at berth K-5 soon thereafter. She unloaded cargo at X-5 until 7 November, at which point she shifted berths to X-11, mooring alongside Durham Wright at 09:47, that ship's place taken by another freighter, Joel Palmer, at 18:12. The following afternoon, 8 November 1944, Lynx got underway for San Francisco, taking station in Convoy PS 160T with the convoy commander in the transport , the C1–B troopship Cape Cleare, Gulf Caribbean, Permanente, and Duala, escorted by the frigate and the minesweeper .
Japanese submarine attack