USS Curtiss (AV-4)

USS Curtiss when first completed in 1940.
History
United States
NameCurtiss
NamesakeGlenn Curtiss
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey
Laid down25 March 1938
Launched20 April 1940
Commissioned15 November 1940
Decommissioned24 September 1957
Stricken1 July 1963
Identification
Honors and
awards
7 battle stars (World War II)
FateSold for scrapping, February 1972
General characteristics [1][2]
Class and typeCurtiss-class seaplane tender
Displacement
  • 8,671 long tons (8,810 t) (light)
  • 13,475 long tons (13,691 t) (full load)
Length527 ft 4 in (160.73 m)
Beam69 ft 3 in (21.1 m)
Draft21 ft 11 in (6.68 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed19.7 kn (36.5 km/h; 22.7 mph)
Range12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement1,195 officers and men
Sensors and
processing systems
CXAM-1 RADAR from 1940[3]
Armament
Aviation facilitiesHelipad (fitted 1954)

USS Curtiss (AV-4) was the first purpose-built seaplane tender constructed for the United States Navy. She was named for Glenn Curtiss, an American naval aviation pioneer that designed the Curtiss NC-4, the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.