- USS Latimer (APA-152)
USS "Latimer" (APA-152) was a "Haskell"-class
attack transport acquired by theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas."Latimer" ("APA-152") was launched under
Maritime Commission contract4 July 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,Portland, Oregon ; sponsored by Mrs. Melvin H. McCoy; acquired by the Navy28 August 1944 ; and commissioned the same day atAstoria, Oregon , Capt. John P. Dix in command.World War II service
Departing
Seattle, Washington ,11 September 1944 , "Latimer" steamed viaSan Francisco, California , toSan Pedro, California , where she arrived16 September . After shakedown off southernCalifornia , she embarked 1,301 troops at San Francisco and departed26 October for the westernPacific Ocean . She sailed viaHollandia ,New Guinea , andNoumea ,New Caledonia , to theSolomons ; arrivedGuadalcanal 21 December for amphibious assault exercises; then steamed to Manus,Admiralties , 25 to31 December to prepare for the invasion ofLuzon .Landing troops and supplies during invasion of Okinawa
Assigned to task group TG 77.9 as a reinforcement transport, "Latimer" cleared
Seeadler Harbor 2 January 1945 , bound forLingayen Gulf . She arrived offSan Fabian ,Luzon ,11 January ; discharged troops and support equipment; then steamed 13 to27 January viaLeyte Gulf and Manus toWakde ,New Guinea , where she embarked additional troops for passage toLuzon . After steaming toLingayen Gulf 2 to10 February , she sailed the 10th forLeyte Gulf and arrived14 February to prepare for the invasion ofOkinawa . During most of March "Latimer" rehearsed assault landings offSamar before departing San Pedro Bay in convoy27 March . Assigned to task group TG 55.3, she carried troops of theU.S. 96th Infantry Division and arrived offHagushi ,Okinawa , at dawn1 April . She debarked troops at 0730 for the first wave against beaches Brown 1 and 2, then remained in the inner transport area to discharge troops and cargo until 1930, when she prepared for night retirement at sea. After successfully repelling a Japanese aerial attack at dawn3 April , she completed unloading operations the following morning and departedOkinawa the 5th. Steaming viaGuam andPearl Harbor , she arrived San Francisco Bay29 April ; proceeded to Seattle 20 to22 May ; embarked 1,422 troops; and departed28 May for theFar East . After touching atPearl Harbor ,Eniwetok , andUlithi , she arrivedHagushi 14 July and discharged troops and military cargo. With 350 veterans embarked she sailed22 July for theUnited States viaUlithi and arrived San Francisco10 August .End-of-war operations
Between 7 and
27 September , "Latimer" transported 1,164 occupation troops fromPearl Harbor viaSaipan toHonshū , Japan. She returned to Saipan 1 to6 October ; embarked 1,523 passengers; and departed8 October on “Operation Magic Carpet ” passage to theU.S. West Coast , arriving Seattle19 October . During the next 4 months she made two more “Magic Carpet” voyages to the western Pacific from Seattle and San Francisco, carrying military passengers fromSaipan and thePhilippines to the U.S. west coast.Post-war decommissioning
Arriving San Francisco
19 February 1946 after a voyage fromSubic Bay ,Luzon , "Latimer" departed11 March for theU.S. East Coast . Steaming via thePanama Canal , she arrivedNorfolk, Virginia ,26 March and for the next 5 months operated at Norfolk andYorktown, Virginia . She enteredNorfolk Navy Yard 27 August , decommissioned there26 February 1947 , and entered theAtlantic Reserve Fleet .Reactivation during the Korean crisis
"Latimer" recommissioned
23 September 1950 atPortsmouth, Virginia , Capt. M. L. Catterton in command. Assigned toTransport Squadron 2, she operated out of Norfolk from theVirginia andNorth Carolina coast toPuerto Rico and theCaribbean , transportingU.S. Marines and participating in amphibious landing exercises. Departing Norfolk31 August 1951 , she embarked2d Division Marines atMorehead City, North Carolina , before sailing2 September for theMediterranean . She arrivedOran ,Algeria ,14 September and began a 4-month deployment with theU.S. 6th Fleet . During amphibious exercises she steamed throughout theMediterranean and touched the coasts ofFrance ,Italy , andGreece and the Islands ofCrete ,Sardinia , andSicily . DepartingNaples, Italy ,29 January 1952 , she returned to the United States and reached Norfolk14 February .North Atlantic operations
For more than 2 years "Latimer" cruised in the
Caribbean and along the eastern coast ofNorth America fromFlorida toGreenland conductingMidshipman andU.S. Naval Reserve training cruises or engaging in amphibious landing training. Between6 September 1954 and30 January 1955 she again deployed to theMediterranean , and after another year of operations along the eastern seaboard, she steamed fromBrooklyn, New York , toGalveston, Texas , 2 to9 February 1956 .Final decommissioning
Towed to
Orange, Texas , 24 to25 February , "Latimer" decommissioned15 May and entered the Texas group of theAtlantic Reserve Fleet . In February1960 she transferred to theMaritime Administration and was placed in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet . She was berthed atMobile, Alabama and was later struck from theNavy list (date unknown ) and presumed scrapped (date unknown).References
See also
*
List of United States Navy ships
*World War II External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l4/latimer.htm USS Latimer]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03152.htm NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - APA-152 Latimer]
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