- USS Trego (AKA-78)
USS "Trego" (AKA-78) was a "Tolland" class
attack cargo ship named afterTrego County, Kansas . She was designed to carry military cargo andlanding craft , and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations. She served as a commissioned ship for 17 months."Trego" was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1384) on14 April 1944 atWilmington, North Carolina , by theNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Co. ; launched on20 June 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. M. W. Nettles; acquired by the Navy on4 July 1944 ; and commissioned on21 December 1944 , Lt. Comdr. James F. Hunnewell, USNR, in command. The attack cargo ship held shakedown training to Oyster Bay in the Chesapeake Maryland area in early February 1945. While there, it was anchored there the first night. After midnight the radar operators on duty noticed the ship was drifting towards shore at about 4 knots /hr. The Officer of the Deck was notified of this, but didn’t believe it. (Radar was new and its reliability was suspect by some) The Captain was woken and told. His response was the Officer of the Deck was in control of the ship. Again when told, the Officer of the Deck didn’t believe it, but at dawn he saw the ship had drifted close to shore. The engine room was then signaled by accident to go full speed ahead rather than reverse and the ship grounded at full speed to within about 15 feet from the shore. Two days later, tugs pulled the ship off the beach and ungrounded it. The ship was repaired at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where 22 plates and the screw were replaced. After the repair the ship was loaded with cargo at Norfolk. She stood out of Norfolk on16 February bound forHawaii , transited thePanama Canal on Washington's Birthday, and arrived atPearl Harbor on8 March . The ship unloaded; participated in training exercises for a week; discharged herlanding craft ; and on31 March got underway forSan Francisco to replace them and to load equipment for the 5th Marine Division which had just returned fromIwo Jima . "Trego" discharged her cargo atPearl Harbor on19 April ; loaded men and equipment of the 7th Air Force; and sailed on2 May with a convoy bound, viaEniwetok andUlithi , forOkinawa . After unloading her troops and supplies at theHagushi beaches between3 June and11 June , the ship returned toPearl Harbor . On19 July , she headed forGuam laden with maintenance equipment and arrived atApra Harbor on30 July . The following week, she got underway for the South Pacific; picked up equipment atGuadalcanal and at theRussell Islands ; and delivered it back atGuam on the 29th. On8 September , she headed for thePhilippines to join Transport Squadron 20 of the 5th Amphibious Force. She and the other ships of the squadron embarked the entire 25th Infantry Division and sortied for Japan on1 October . However, due to severaltyphoons , the convoy did not reachNagoya until the 28th. The ships began unloading immediately and finished on1 November . After disembarking their troops, the squadron disbanded; and "Trego" got underway on2 November for the South Pacific. She called atMilne Bay on the llth; at Manus in early December; at Batavia on18 December 1945 ; and atGuam on11 January 1946 . On18 January , the cargo ship headed for the United States and reachedSan Diego on5 February . She stood put to sea on29 March , bound for the east coast and inactivation. She arrived at Norfolk on17 April . Decommissioned there on21 May , "Trego" was returned to theWar Shipping Administration the next day and was struck from the Navy list on5 June 1946 . "Trego" received one battle star for her service inWorld War II References
External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/t8/trego.htm Naval Historical Center: USS "Trego"]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/02078.htm NavSource Online: AKA-78 "Trego"]
* [http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]
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