USS Oyster Bay, a 1,760-ton motor torpedo boat tender, was built at Houghton, Washington, and was commissioned in November 1943. Launched as a Barnegat class small seaplane tender (AVP-28) in September 1942, she was designated for conversion to a PT boat tender and reclassified AGP-6 in May 1943. She departed San Diego in January 1944 for the Southwest Pacific and tended PT boat squadrons in the forward area almost continuously through the end of the war.
Commencing her service at Milne Bay, she served in numerous operations in the New Guinea area, supporting her PT boats and, on at least one occasion, providing gunfire support for army troops ashore. In October 1944 Oyster Bay moved to Leyte Gulf as part of the Philippine campaign. She participated in operations at several locations in the Philippines and continued to tend PT boats there for the remainder of the war. She departed the Philippines in November 1945 for inactivation at San Francisco. She was decommissioned in March 1946, stricken from the Navy List in April, and transferred to the Maritime Commission for sale in August.
Oyster Bay was reacquired from the Maritime Commission in January 1949, reinstated on the Navy List in February, and reclassified AVP-28 in March. She remained in reserve until 1957, when she was reactivated for transfer to Italy. During this refit she was given a large seaplane crane and a single 3"/50 gun. Transferred in October 1957, she became the Italian special forces tender Pietro Cavezzale. She served in the Italian Navy for over 35 years, finally being decommissioned in October 1993 and scrapped in February 1996.
This page features all our views of USS Oyster Bay.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 19-N-54733 USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) Photographed off the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 28 November 1943, shortly after commissioning. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-54734 USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) Photographed off the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 28 November 1943, shortly after commissioning. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 69KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-54735 USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) Photographed off the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 28 November 1943, shortly after commissioning. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 88KB; 740 x 625 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: SC 271592 USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) Tending PT boats in Seeadler Harbor, Admiralty Islands, on 25 March 1944. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 44315 USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) Tending PT boats in Leyte Gulf in October or November 1944. The boat approaching at the right is PT-357. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 86KB; 740 x 585 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-472496 USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) Anchored in Leyte Gulf in December 1944 with PT boats alongside. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 625 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-51144 USS Onslow (AVP-48) Fitting out at the Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington, on 10 July 1943. The unit outboard with part of her funnel on deck is probably USS Orca (AVP-49). The unit in the lower left is USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6), and the unit in the lower right with the crane is USS Mobjack (AGP-7). The old paddle-wheel ferry is named West Seattle. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 121KB; 740 x 625 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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In addition to the images presented above, the National Archives appears to hold other views of USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6). The following list features some of these images:
The images listed below are NOT in
the Naval Historical Center's collections.
DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our
page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions".
Port bow view of USS Oyster Bay (AVP-28, ex AGP-6) at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 3 September 1957 after reactivation for transfer to Italy. She was refitted with a large seaplane crane and an armament of 1-3"/50 gun. Starboard broadside view of USS Oyster Bay (AVP-28, ex AGP-6) at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 3 September 1957 after reactivation for transfer to Italy. She has a large seaplane crane and an armament of 1-3"/50 gun. Reproductions of these images should be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system for pictures not held by the Naval Historical Center. The images listed in this box are NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections. DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions". |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 10 February 2001
New image added 10 October 2001