USS Tulsa (PG-22) |
Technical Data: The "patrol gunboat" USS Tulsa was commissioned on December 3, 1923, one of the last U.S. Navy ships outfitted with auxiliary |
sails. Built at the Charleston, South Carolina, Navy yard, the Tulsa stretched 241 feet from stem to stern, with a beam of forty-one feet, three inches |
and a displacement of 1,270 tons. Powered by oil, she had a top speed of twelve knots and carried a crew of nine officers and 157 enlisted men. |
Brief History: Under Commander Mac Gillivray Milne, the Tulsa initially served in Central America and the Caribbean Islands, including Puerto Rico, |
Mexico, and Cuba. In 1929, the Tulsa departed for China where it served in various capacities, patrolling rivers and sea coasts. During World War II, |
the Tulsa earned two battle stars, engaging Japanese forces near the Philippine Islands and Australia. The Tulsa was decommissioned March 6, 1946, |
and struck from the roles of the Navy on April 17 of that year, designated for disposal. |
The USS Tulsa in China: On April 1, 1929, the USS Tulsa was designated flagship of the South China Patrol, operating out of Hong Kong and Canton |
for cruises up the Pearl River and along the south China coast. In June, she was relieved as flagship and moved up the coast for a two-week deployment |
with the Yangtze Patrol. While on that mission, she steamed upriver as far as Hankow. In July 1929, she was assigned duty as station ship at Tientsin |
in north China. There, she served as a mobile source of information for Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet. |
Charley's Story: Charley Plummer boarded the Tulsa in late December, 1928, at Mare Island, California, where the ship was, in his words, "fitting out |
for duty in Asia." Less than one month later, the Tulsa steamed across the Pacific toward Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, first layover en route to the strange, |
enchanting land of China. For the next five years and ten months, Charley took his watch at the helm, steering the Tulsa up and down the Chinese |
coastline during a period of open hostilities between communist forces and the Nationalist Party of Chiang Kai-shek. Living conditions were grueling, |
but the heat and sweat and grime were quickly forgotten, with each new exotic port-of-call. China fascinated Charley, and he absorbed as much of the |
culture as he could, memorizing words and phrases, eating questionable foods in back alley restaurants, spending nights with beautiful almond-eyed |
women on sampans in the harbor. After nearly six years in Asia, the captain thought Charley was becoming too "Chinese," so, in November, 1934, |
he was transferred back to the United States for a well-deserved stint of shore duty. |
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(Click here for photos from Charley's time on the Tulsa) |
Ports-of-Call USS Tulsa (1929-1934) | ||||
(from Charley Plummer's Diary) * | ||||
Location | Date(s) | Location | Date(s) | |
Amoy (China coast) | September 1932 | Nanking (Yangtze River) | Dec '28 - Jun '29 | |
14-24 Aug '33 | Oct '32 - Mar '33 | |||
6-19 Dec '33 | 1May 1933 | |||
Anking | 2 May 1933 | 19 May - 30 Jun '33 | ||
Canton (Pearl River) | unknown | Olongapo (Philippine Islands) | 26-28 Nov '33 | |
Cavite (Philippine Islands) | Apr '32 - Jun '32 | Pagoda-Anchorage (Min River) | 27-30 Sep '33 | |
19-31 Oct '33 | Peking (China) | unknown | ||
1-25 Nov '33 | Shanghai (China coast) | Oct '29 - Dec '29 | ||
Chefoo (China coast) | Apr '31 - Jun '31 | Apr '33 - Jun '33 | ||
13-31 Jul '33 | May '34 - Oct '34 | |||
1-12 Aug '33 | 1-12 Jul '33 | |||
Chekiang (Yangtze River) | June 1929 | Subic Bay (Philippine Islands) | unknown | |
Dairen (South Manchuria) | unknown | Swatow (China coast) | 25-31 Aug '33 | |
Foochow (Min River) | unknown | 1-7 Sep '33 | ||
Guam | unknown | 1-18 Oct '33 | ||
Hankow (Yangtze River) | June 1929 | April 1934 | ||
4-12 May 1933 | Taku Bar (Gulf of Pohai) | Jul '29 - Sep '29 | ||
Hong Kong (China coast) | 10-25 Sep '33 | Tientsin (Pei-Ho River) | Jan '30 - Mar '31 | |
20 Dec '33 - Jan '34 | Tsinan (Shantung) | unknown | ||
Hsinho (Pei-Ho River) | Jul '31 - Feb '32 | Tsingtao (China coast) | unknown | |
Kuikiang (Yangtze River) | June 1929 | Wuhu (Yangtze River) | June 1929 | |
13-16 May '33 | 17-19 May '33 | |||
Manila (Philippine Islands) | Jul '32 - Aug '32 | |||
29-30 Nov '33 | ||||
1-5 Dec '33 | ||||
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Sources: |
(1) The Tulsa Historical Society Internet Web Site |
(2) personal diary of Chief Quartermaster Charley Madison Plummer |
(Serial No. 380-09-65), United States Navy (1920-1950) |
(3) Continuous Service Certificate of Chief Quartermaster Charley Madison Plummer |
(Serial No. 380-09-65), United States Navy (1920-1950) |
(4) U.S.S. Tulsa New Year's Day Menu 1934 -- Hong Kong, China (Pg. 6, "1933 Itinerary") |
* The ports-of-call above are listed in Charley's diary in no particular order and without |
corresponding dates. For ease of reading, they are listed here in alphabetical order. Those |
dates depicted in green ink were extracted from Charley M. Plummer's "Continuous Service |
Certificate," a record of his career duty assignments and proficiency ratings maintained by |
shipboard personnel in accordance with Navy Department regulations. Those dates depicted |
in blue ink were extracted from the official menu of the formal New Year's Day 1934 USS |
Tulsa on-board meal -- from an enclosure titled "1933 Itinerary." Those dates depicted in |
red ink were gleaned from statements of fact on the Tulsa Historical Society web site. (See |
paragraph above titled "The USS Tulsa in China," specifically sentences two and three.) |