- USS Prince Georges (AK-224)
The USS "Prince Georges" (AP-165/AK-225) was a "Crater"-class
transport andcargo ship in the service of theUnited States Navy inWorld War II . Named after thePrince Georges County, Maryland , it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name."Prince Georges" was laid down
20 September 1942 asliberty ship SS "Richard March Hoe" (MCE hull 426) byPermanente Metals Corporation , Yard No. 2,Richmond, California , under a Maritime Commission contract; launched30 October 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. Patricia Montgomery; served the Army Transport Service making runs to the Aleutian Islands with Army troops; acquired by the Navy under bareboat charter25 October 1943 ; and commissioned10 November 1943 , Lt. Comdr. W. J. Lane in command.On
16 December "Prince Georges" departedPearl Harbor on her first Navy operation, which took her to the bloody shores of Tarawa, where she spent Christmas 1943 and New Year’s Day of 1944, before returning to Pearl Harbor. In February she steamed from Pearl Harbor to disgorge men and material on Kwajalein Atoll,Makin Island andAbamama ,Kiribati . After a return to Pearl Harbor, "Prince Georges" was back in the Gilberts and Marshalls in April. She participated, as part of TF 51, in her only invasion —Saipan ,20 June to25 June , returning to Pearl Harbor in July.Reclassified AK–224,
20 August 1944 , "Prince Georges" departed Pearl Harbor again in early September to back up the invasion of thePalaus , anchoring in Kossol Roads31 October . In December she delivered troops toNouméa , then put intoAuckland before heading north and west reaching the Solomons andMarianas in January, 1945. She was employed as a troop carrier in the Central Pacific until June.Returning to Pearl Harbor in June, she proceeded on to San Francisco. The end of the war found her back in
Hawaii , whence she carried occupation troops toSaipan andJapan . Then reporting for “Magic-Carpet” duty, at the end of October, she steamed for the United States with a load of returning veterans, arriving Seattle10 November . She then proceeded toOkinawa on another “Magic-Carpet” run.Reaching San Francisco
13 February 1946 , she decommissioned and was returned simultaneously to WSA12 April 1946 . Her name was struck from the Navy List1 May 1946 ."Prince Georges" received one
battle star for World War II service.(AP–165: dp. 12,350; l. 441’6”; b. 56’11”; dr. 24’6”; s. 13 k.; a. 1 5”, 4 3”; cl. Crater; T. EC2–5–C1)
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