USS Corkwood

History
United States
Name	USS Corkwood
Namesake	Any of several trees having light or corky wood
Builder	Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Everett, Washington
Laid down	as Corkwood (YN-63)
Launched	29 March 1944
Sponsored by	Miss D. Anerson
Commissioned	16 May 1944 as USS Corkwood (AN-44)
Decommissioned	7 March 1946, at San Pedro, California
Reclassified	AN-44, 20 January 1944
Stricken	date unknown
Honors and awards	one battle star for her World War II service
Fate	Transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal 13 March 1946; fate unknown
General characteristics
Class and type	Ailanthus-class net laying ship
Tonnage	1,100 tons
Length	194 ft 7 in (59.31 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion	diesel electric, 2,500 hp
Speed	12.1 knots
Complement	56 officers and enlisted
Armament	one single 3 in (76 mm) gun mount, two single 20 mm gun mounts

USS Corkwood (AN-44/YN-63) was an Ailanthus-class net laying ship which served with the U.S. Navy in the western Pacific Ocean theatre of operations during World War II. Her career was without major incident, and she returned home safely after the war with one battle star to her credit.

Corkwood (AN-44) was launched as YN-63, 29 March 1944 by Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Everett, Washington; sponsored by Miss D. Anerson; reclassified AN-44 and named Corkwood 20 January 1944; and commissioned 16 May 1944.

Sailing from Seattle, Washington, 27 August 1944 with district harbor tug (small) YTL-422 in tow, Corkwood arrived at Pearl Harbor 6 September for duty towing target rafts and for replacing buoys and radar rafts until 16 October. From 27 October until 6 March 1945 Corkwood conducted net operations and laid cruiser moorings at Eniwetok.

Sailing by way of Ulithi to Leyte, she joined Amphibious Group 7 and sortied with an LST flotilla for the Okinawa operation. She served as harbor entrance control ship at Kerama Retto between 26 March and 6 July. She also conducted salvage and net maintenance operations, frequently under enemy attack.

Arriving at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 12 July 1945, Corkwood underwent repairs, then sailed to Ulithi, arriving 17 August. She tended nets at this port until 16 October when she departed for the U.S. West Coast.

She arrived at San Diego, California, 29 November and remained there until decommissioned 7 March 1946. She was transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal 13 March 1946.

Corkwood received one battle star for World II service.

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YN-63 / AN-44 Corkwood