- USS Sumter (APA-52)
USS "Sumpter" (APA-52) was a sclass|Sumter|attack transport that served with the
US Navy duringWorld War II .APA-52 was the second US Navy vessel named "Sumter". The ship was laid down on
3 April 1943 as "Iberville" byGulf Shipbuilding ofChickasaw, Alabama , for theWaterman Steamship Company ; launched on4 October 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs. J. F. McRae; and acquired by the Navy on30 April 1943 as AP-97. She was converted into an attack transport (APA-52) by theMaryland Drydock Company ofBaltimore ,Maryland , and commissioned on1 September 1943 , Capt. A. D. Blackledge in command.World War II
"Sumter" sailed to
Virginia and completed fitting out at theNorfolk Navy Yard . She then loaded a complement of 31 landing craft and a Beach Party unit before sailing to the West Coast where she became the flagship of Transport Division (TransDiv) 26. She spent most of December 1943 conducting landing exercises offSan Clemente, California , with elements of the 25th Regimental Combat Team, 4th Marine Division.Invasion of Marshall Islands
"Sumter" stood out of
San Diego on13 January 1944 en route toLahaina Roads ,Hawaii , to rendezvous with other units of Task Force (TF) 53, the Northern Attack Force for the Marshall Islands operation. She arrived there on 21 January and the force sortied the next day. "Sumter" and three other transports landed three battalion landing teams of the 25th Marines on the atolls ofEnnumennet andEnnubirr on 31 January to establish field artillery positions in support of the main landings atRoi andNamur ."Sumter" completed landing all of her troops by 3 February and sailed the next day for the South Pacific for amphibious training. After exercises in
New Caledonia and the Ellice andSolomon Islands , she returned toPearl Harbor on 8 April.Invasion of Saipan
As a component of Task Group (TG) 54.4, Admiral R. K. Turner's Northern Attack Force for the invasion of
Saipan andTinian , the transport again loaded elements of the4th Marine Division and sailed on 29 May. The attack force refueled atEniwetok and was off the landing beaches at Saipan before daybreak on 15 June. Covered by an intensive air-sea bombardment, and receiving incoming fire from enemy artillery, mortars, and automatic weapons, the assault wave of marines landed at 0843.The transport remained off the beaches until the 24th when she sailed to Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor. Before leaving Saipan, she had sent more supplies and equipment to Blue Beach One, treated wounded direct from the beaches and, prior to sailing, received on board an additional 85 battle casualties from LST-218.
Invasion of Palaus
"Sumter" arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 July and trained there until 12 August when she was routed to
Guadalcanal for additional amphibious exercises with the 81st Infantry Division. She sailed fromLunga Point , on 8 September, with the troops embarked to participate in the invasion of the Palau Islands.After landing advance assault troops and a Beach Party at
Anguar on the 15th, she stood off the island as the floating reserve for the 1st Marine Division's attack on Peleliu Island. The transport landed troops of the 81st Division on Anguar on 17 September and remained as a casualty evacuation ship until sailing to Manus, Admiralty Islands, on the 23d.Invasion of the Philippines
"Sumter" was routed from there to
Finschhafen ,New Guinea , where she embarked men of the 10th Army Corps and sailed with Reinforcement Group 1 for thePhilippine Islands . The troops were landed at San Pedro Bay on 2 October, two days after the initial assault. The ship steamed toGuam , loaded elements of the 77th army Division and disembarked them atLeyte on 23 November. She next steamed south to New Guinea andSansapor . At the latter port, she loaded troops of the 6th Army Division and sailed with theSan Fabian Attack Force on30 December 1944 for theLingayen Gulf area of the Philippines.Invasion of Lingayen
On
8 January 1945 akamikaze plane crashed into USS|Callaway|APA-35|2 approximately 600 yards ahead of "Sumter", and "Sumter" took over as formation guide. The next morning the assault troops, including those from Callaway, were landed on the Lingayen beaches. She steamed back to San Pedro three days later and made a turn around voyage back to Lingayen with reinforcements which were landed on the 27th. She sailed forSeeadler Harbor and voyage repairs, thence to the Solomon Islands.Invasion of Okinawa
"Sumter" arrived at Guadalcanal on
19 February 1945 and began amphibious exercises with the 22d Regimental Combat Team of the 6th Marine Division in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. She stood out of the Guadalcanal area on 14 March forUlithi ,Caroline Islands , where final staging was completed. The invasion force sortied on the 27th, and "Sumter" arrived off the beaches near Yontan Airfield in the early morning of 1 April. After landing 1,352 marines of the assault waves, the transport remained off the beach until sailing for theUnited States , via theMariana Islands and Pearl Harbor, on 5 April."Sumter" arrived at
San Pedro, California , on 30 April for overhaul. Following repairs, she trained in the San Diego area until 21 July when she sailed for the Phillppine Islands loaded with army troops. After calling at the Marshall and Caroline Islands, the ship arrived in San Pedro Bay on 15 August, as hostilities with Japan ceased.After hostilities
The transport embarked a contingent of the Army 33rd Infantry Division and departed for
Japan on 9 September. The troops were landed atWakayama ,Honshū , on 25 September; and "Sumter" headed back to the Philippines for more Army occupation troops which were disembarked atMatsuyama , Japan. She returned toSubic Bay on 1 November and embarked Navy veterans for transportation to the United States."Sumter" arrived at
Seattle, Washington , on22 November 1945 and remained there until25 January 1946 when she moved to San Pedro, California, to unload herlanding craft . Five days later, she sailed from there for the East Coast, via thePanama Canal . The ship arrived atNew Orleans on 15 February but left there the following month forMobile, Alabama .Decommission
"Sumter" was decommissioned on 19 March in the yard of the Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, Alabama, and struck from the Navy List on
17 April 1946 . She was returned to custody of theWar Shipping Administration on1 August 1946 for disposal.Decorations
"Sumter" received six battle stars for World War II service.
Commercial service
After being sold by the Navy, "Sumter" was converted into a container ship at Mobile SR Inc., of Chickasaw, Alabama in September 1957. She was scrapped at
Hong Kong in October 1978.References
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa52.txt USS "Sumter" (APA-52)] , DANFS Online.
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03052.htm APA-52 "Sumter"] , Navsource Online.External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/uss_Sumter/index.htm USS "Sumpter" website]
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