- USS Sibley (APA-206)
USS "Sibley" (APA-206) was a sclass|Haskell|attack transport that saw service with the
US Navy inWorld War II ."Sibley" was named after a
county inMinnesota which was itself named afterHenry H. Sibley , an earlypioneer in the territory and firstGovernor of the state. The ship was laid down on17 May 1944 underMaritime Commission contract (MC hull MCV-554) by Yard Number 2,Permanente Metals Corporation of Richmond, California, launched on19 July 1944 , and acquired from the Maritime Commission and commissioned on2 October 1944 , Comdr. Edward I. McQuiston in command.Operational service
World War II
Immediately after commissioning, "Sibley" moved from the builder's yard to the Naval Supply Depot in
Oakland, California , to load supplies and provisions. On 16 October, she departedSan Francisco for San Pedro, where she underwent shakedown from 20 October to 2 November, followed by amphibious training atCoronado, California from 3 to 10 November. Sailing from San Diego on 20 November, "Sibley" loaded cargo at San Francisco and sailed on the 25th forPearl Harbor , where she arrived on 2 December. From 6 December to18 January 1945 , she underwent intensive training in amphibious operations offMaui .Invasion of Iwo Jima
"Sibley" sailed from Pearl Harbor on 27 January for the assault on
Iwo Jima . After stopping atEniwetok from 5 to 7 February, she arrived atSaipan on the 11th and underwent a final period of amphibious training on 12 and 13 February at nearbyTinian . Sailing on the 16th, she arrived off Iwo Jima early on the 19th. Orders to debark troops were received in the middle of the afternoon; and, two hours later, all the troops were off the ship."Sibley" remained off Iwo Jima for the next eight days, unloading cargo by day and retiring by night. Also, while unloading cargo, she received casualties for return to rear areas; and, when she sailed for Saipan on 27 February, she carried 194 marine casualties. "Sibley" briefly stopped at Saipan on 2 March, and arrived at
Guam two days later and discharged her casualties.Invasion of Okinawa
She returned to Saipan on the 7th and loaded marines and cargo for the assault on
Okinawa . After training from 16 to 19 March and a final rehearsal on the 24th, "Sibley" sailed on the 27th for the assault. During the approach early on 1 April, attack transport USS|Hinsdale|APA-120 was struck by akamikaze , but the task group continued to carry out its assignment, which was to stage a demonstration off the coast of Okinawa to lead the Japanese to expect a landing on the southern part of the island. For two days, "Sibley" participated in this demonstration, and then the task group retired to a waiting area south of the island.On 11 April, "Sibley" was ordered to return to Saipan, where she unloaded her troops and cargo, but remained on call for possible use in the Okinawa operation until 4 June. That day, "Sibley" sailed for
Tulagi harbor in theSolomon Islands . She arrived there on the 12th and three days later, proceeded toEspiritu Santo in theNew Hebrides Islands . Arriving on the 17th, she loaded passengers and cargo, cleared Espiritu Santo on 28 June, and arrived at Guam on 5 July. Then, on 14 July, she received orders to return to theUnited States and sailed the same day, arriving at San Francisco on 28 July.After hostilities
On
9 August 1945 , "Sibley" sailed once again, this time with passengers and cargo for thePhilippines . She stopped at Eniwetok andUlithi on the way. and reachedSamar on 1 September. She then proceeded toManila Bay ,Subic Bay , and finallyLingayen Gulf , where she arrived on the 10th to load troops and cargo of the 33rd Infantry Division for the occupation ofJapan .After a rehearsal landing a week later, she sailed on the 20th and arrived on the 25th at
Wakayama , Japan, where she rapidly put her troops and cargo ashore. Sailing the next day, she returned to the Philippines for more troops, which she delivered atHiro Wan , Japan, on 22 October.Operation Magic Carpet
On the 25th, "Sibley" reported for duty with operation "Magic Carpet", the transportation of servicemen back to the United States. Departing Japan on the 27th, she loaded homeward-bound troops at Manus from 2 to 4 November and delivered them at San Francisco on the 19th. Sailing again on 5 December, she embarked more troops at Guam from 19 to 22 December and returned with them to San Francisco on
4 January 1946 .Decommission
After a round-trip voyage to Pearl Harbor between 19 February and 4 March, "Sibley" reported to the Stockton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet, on 8 April for inactivation, and was decommissioned there on
27 November 1946 . Transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration, she was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet atSuisun Bay , California, on10 September 1958 . "Sibley" was struck from the Navy List on1 October 1958 and remained in reserve into 1974.Decorations
"Sibley" received two
battle star s for her World War II service.References
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/amphib/apa206.txt "Sibley" (APA-206)] , DANFS Online.
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03206.htm APA-206 "Sibley"] , Navsource Online.
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