Operation Inland Seas

Operation Inland Seas (or Sea) was a United States Navy operation to celebrate the completion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959. Task Force 47 (TF 47), a 28-ship detachment of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Edmund B. Taylor, sailed up the Saint Lawrence River to participate in the official opening of the Seaway by Queen Elizabeth II of Canada and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 26, 1959. Thereafter, the ships visited ports throughout the Great Lakes, sometimes escorting Queen Elizabeth aboard HMY Britannia.

Participating U.S. Navy ships

Heavy cruiser:
- USS Macon (CA-132)

Destroyer leader:
- USS Willis A. Lee (DL-4) (flagship, TF 47)

Destroyers:
- USS Ault (DD-698)
- USS Waldron (DD-699)
- USS Haynsworth (DD-700)
- USS John W. Weeks (DD-701)
- USS Putnam (DD-757)
- USS Henley (DD-762)
- USS Willard Keith (DD-775)
- USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823)
- USS Warrington (DD-843)
- USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD-850)
- USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853)
- USS Charles R. Ware (DD-865)
- USS Forrest Royal (DD-872)
- USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931)
- USS Du Pont (DD-941)

High speed transport:
- USS Kleinsmith (APD-134)

Dock landing ships:
- USS Donner (LSD-20)
- USS San Marcos (LSD-25)

Tank landing ships:
- USS Terrebonne Parish (LST-1156)
- USS Suffolk County (LST-1173)

Submarines:
- USS Sablefish (SS-303)
- USS Torsk (SS-423)
- USS Quillback (SS-424)
- USS Corsair (SS-435)

Attack transport:
- USS Cambria (APA-36)

Attack cargo:
- USS Oglethorpe (AKA-100)

Auxiliary ocean tug:
- USS Catawba (ATA-210)

External links

Lara, Rich. "Naval Station Great Lakes Illinois: The Fifties". Naval Station Great Lakes. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
"1959: Operation Inland Seas". Torsk Volunteer Association. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
"Queen Elizabeth officially opens the St. Lawrence Seaway". CBC. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
"Inland Seas Cruise, St Lawrence Seaway (USS Macon)". NavSource Online: Cruiser Photo Archive USS MACON (CA-132). Retrieved 2008-05-10.
"Note on DD 698 USS Ault being in Operation Inland Seas". Destroyers OnLine. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
"USS FORREST SHERMAN (DD-931) SHIP’S HISTORY 1950's". Official site of The USS Forrest Sherman DD-931 Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
"Special Report on the Inland Seas" (PDF). All Hands. BUPERS - U.S. Navy. September 1959. Retrieved 2009-10-18.

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