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History
USS Milwaukee (LCS 5)
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Command History

 

USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) is the fifth ship to bear the Milwaukee name. The ship’s name continues the practice of naming the agile LCS vessels after midsized American cities.

USS Milwaukee (Monitor) [1864-1865] – The first USS Milwaukee was a double-turreted river monitor that supported Union forces during the Civil War. Commissioned in August 1864, she struck a mine during the Mobile Campaign on 28 March, 1865, and sank without loss. Her iron was later used in the construction of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis.

USS Milwaukee (C-21) [1906-1917] – The second USS Milwaukee was a St. Louis-class protected cruiser commissioned on 10 December, 1906 in San Francisco. During her service life she patrolled the west coast, performed survey duty, and ultimately was overhauled to act as a tender for destroyers and submarines for the Coast Torpedo Force. She was decommissioned in 1917 after being stranded off the coast of Eureka, CA, while attempting to float a submarine that had run aground.

USS Milwaukee (CL-5) [1923-1949] – The Omaha-class light cruiser USS Milwaukee was commissioned in 1923 and spent most of her early career in the Asiatic and Battle Fleets. Outfitted with new depth-finding equipment, she discovered the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, now known as the “Milwaukee Deep”. She spent the two years of WWII in the South Atlantic Patrol Force. During that time she rescued 25 survivors from the torpedoed Brazilian cargo ship SS Commandante Lyra and intercepted a German blockade runner alongside her sister, USS Cincinnati, forcing the German ship to scuttle herself to prevent capture. She was loaned to the Soviet Union after the war from 1944 to 1949 in lieu of Italian ships allotted that could not be delivered. After the Soviets returned her in very poor condition and infested with rats, she was decommissioned in 1949 and sold for scrap.
USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) [1969-1994] – On 1 November, 1969, the fourth USS Milwaukee was commissioned. A Wichita-class replenishment oiler designed for rapid underway replenishment, she could carry 160,000 barrels of fuel, 600 tons of munitions, 200 tons of dry stores and 100 tons of refrigerated stores and would transfer these supplies to other warships using both connected and vertical replenishment at sea. She earned a campaign star for service in the Vietnam War in 1972 and 1973.

 
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