USS Carronade (IFS-1)

History of USS Carronade (IFS-1)

During the Korean War (1950-1953), the United States Navy (USN) continued to procure modern warships for a variety of future missions. The USS Carronade (IFS-1) was one of the ships in service during this period and was designed to support amphibious operations. The U.S. Navy had great success in operations of this magnitude during World War II (1939-1945), and much of the doctrine still holds true in the Korean War - auxiliary ships fire cannons and missiles from a distance in an attempt to weaken the enemy's defense.

The USS Carronade is classified as an "Inshore Fire Support" (IFS) ship, tasked with providing overhead fire for attacking Allied ground forces and carrying long-range missiles for this purpose.

Named after the short-barreled smooth-barreled iron cannon of the past, "Carronade" spanned an entire career from 1953 to 1970, and rose to prominence in the coming Vietnam War (1955-1975), where it received A total of ten battle stars served it in the conflict.

Unlike other modern steel battleships that traditionally have large midships, the USS Carronade is designed to be closer to the stern, and its forecastle is open to the primary armament, allowing unobstructed firing angles. She is armed with a 1 x 5"/38 caliber Dual Purpose (DP) deck gun for defending surface ships (and for bombing coastal positions) and 2 x 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft Guns (AA) for Close range defense, but her primary armament consists of eight Mark 105 series twin rocket launchers - the heart and soul of her firepower when engaged in amphibious assault.

The ship may be just outside the attack zone and pass through Its rocket fire hits coastal and inland targets - some can fire up to 30 missiles per minute per launcher.

At the time of construction, the ship had a displacement of 1,500 tons, a length of 245 feet, a beam of 38.5 feet, and a draft of 11 feet. Since her building is centered near the stern, her silhouette is very clear when seen on the horizon. She has a crew of 162 and her machine consists of a diesel unit delivering 3,100 hp to 2 axles.

This gives her a top speed of 15 knots (under ideal conditions).

USS Carronade was built by the Puget Sound & Dredging Company in Seattle, Washington, and was laid on November 19, 1952. She was launched on May 26, 1953, and officially commissioned on May 25, 1955.

Her home port is San Diego along the California coast, giving her access to the vast Pacific Ocean.

From mid-1955 to March 1956, the Carronade was used for training to familiarize crews and specialists with their new designs. Stopped at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Vancouver, Canada, before demonstrating her skills and maneuvers in deep water and at sea until 1957.

She then completed two tours of Southeast Asia before retiring on May 31, 1960.

By this time, the United States was involved in Vietnam and forced the re-commissioning of the USS Carronade, where she was stationed as the flagship of the 93rd Offshore Fire Support Division. Her trip to Vietnam ended in 1970, after which she retired for the second time on July 24, 1970.

She was removed from the Naval Register on May 1, 1973. The United States withdrew from the war that same year (March 29, 1973).

The USS Carronade's hull was stripped of wartime supplies and scrapped in September 1974, marking its official demise.

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