- USS Wakefield (AP-21)
USS "Wakefield" (AP-21) was a
troop transport that served with the US Navy duringWorld War II . Prior to her war service, she operated as a luxuryocean liner named SS "Manhattan"."Manhattan" - built for the
United States Lines atCamden, New Jersey , by theNew York Shipbuilding Company - was launched on5 December 1931 ; and sponsored by Mrs. Edith Kermit Roosevelt, widow of former PresidentTheodore Roosevelt .Commercial and pre-war service
After trials in and off the
Delaware River , "Manhattan" departedNew York City at midnight on10 August 1932 for her maiden Atlantic crossing. Arriving atHamburg 10 days later, she made the return voyage to New York in 5 days, 14 hours, and 28 minutes - a record for passenger liners. Proudly carrying the title of "the fastest cabin ship in the world", the liner continued to ply the North Atlantic from New York to Hamburg, viaCobh ,Ireland ,Southampton ,England ; andLe Havre ,France , into the late 1930s. When Germany recalled her ships from the high seas during theSudeten Crisis in September 1938, "Manhattan" was en route to Hamburg but immediately came about and put into British and French ports instead, to bring back anxious American travelers who feared that they would be engulfed in a European war.After war broke out a year later, she made voyages to
Genoa andNaples ,Italy . Following the Allied collapse in the lowlands of western Europe in the spring of 1940, she made a transatlantic crossing in July to repatriate American nationals fromPortugal . With the European war endangering commercial shipping of neutral nations, "Manhattan" was then withdrawn from the once-lucrative transatlantic trade and placed in intercoastal service from New York toSan Francisco , via thePanama Canal andLos Angeles .Converted to troop transport
In February 1941, during her third voyage to California, "Manhattan" ran aground off
West Palm Beach, Florida , but was pulled free by tugs after the ship was lightened. After the ship was repaired at New York, the Government chartered her on6 June 1941 for a two-year period and renamed her "Wakefield". Converted to a troop transport atBrooklyn ,New York by theRobins Drydock Company , her costly furnishings and trappings of a luxurycruise liner were carefully removed and stored for future use. All of the ship's external surfaces were painted in Navy camouflage colors. On15 June 1941 , "Wakefield" was commissioned, with Comdr. W. N. Derby, USCG in command.On
13 July 1941 , "Wakefield" departed New York to participate in joint Navy - Marine - Army - Coast Guard amphibious training exercises atNew River Inlet ,North Carolina , in late July and early August. In early November, the troopship proceeded to Halifax,Nova Scotia , to take on board British troops. "Wakefield", with 6,000 men embarked, and five other transports got underway on10 November forCape Town ,South Africa . Escorted by a strong screen - which, as far asTrinidad , included USS|Ranger|CV-4|3 - theconvoy arrived at Cape Town on8 December , the day after the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor .World War II service
This drastic change in the strategic situation prompted the convoy to be rerouted to the
Far East . On29 January 1942 , "Wakefield" and "West Point" arrived atSingapore to disembark troops doomed later to capture by the Japanese upon the fall of the city in the following month.Bombed at Keppel Harbor
On
30 January 1942 , "Wakefield" commenced fueling atKeppel Harbor for the return voyage and awaited the arrival of some 400 British women and children who were being evacuated toCeylon . At 1100, lookouts spotted two formations of Japanesebomber s - 27 planes in each - approaching the dock area at Keppel Harbor. Unhampered byantiaircraft fire or Britishfighter planes, the enemy bombers droned overhead and released a brief rain of bombs on the waterfront. One bomb hit convert|50|yd|m off "Wakefield"'s port quarter, and another blew up in the dock area convert|40|ft|m from the transport's bow before a third struck the ship's "B" deck and penetrated through to "C" deck where it exploded in the sick bay spaces. A fire broke out, but it was extinguished in less than one-half hour. Usingoxygen mask s, fire-fighting and damage control crews extricated five dead and nine wounded. Medical assistance soon came from "West Point".Completing her fueling, "Wakefield" embarked her passengers and got underway soon thereafter, burying her dead at sea at 2200 and pushing on for Ceylon. After disembarking her passengers at
Colombo , the ship found that port authorities would not cooperate in arranging for repair of her damage. "Wakefield", therefore, promptly sailed forBombay ,India , where she was able to effect temporary repairs and embark 336 American evacuees. Steaming home via Cape Town, the transport reached New York on23 March and then proceeded toPhiladelphia for permanent repairs.Named a "lone wolf" transport
Underway on
11 May 1942 forHampton Roads , "Wakefield" arrived atNorfolk, Virginia two days later to load cargo in preparation for Naval Transportation Service Operating Plan "Lone Wolf". This provided for "Wakefield" to travel, for the most part, unescorted - relying on her superior speed to outrun or outmaneuver enemysubmarine s. On19 May 1942 , she embarked 4,725 marines and 309 Navy and Army passengers for transportation to theSouth Pacific and moved to Hampton Roads to form up with a convoy bound for theCanal Zone . Arriving at Cristóbal on25 May 1942 , "Wakefield" was released from the convoy to proceed west. After USS|Borie|DD-215|3 escorted her out of the Canal Zone, "Wakefield" proceeded independently toNew Zealand and arrived atWellington on14 June . Departing one week later, the transport steamed via the Panama Canal and reached New York on11 July 1942 .On
6 August 1942 , "Wakefield" departed New York with Convoy AT-18 - the largest troop convoy yet assembled. A dozen troop transports made up the bulk of the convoy, escorted by 12 warships -cruiser s anddestroyer s. After proceeding via Halifax to Great Britain, "Wakefield" received orders routing her and three other transports to theRiver Clyde , where they arrived without incident. On27 August 1942 , "Wakefield" departed the Clyde estuary as part of Convoy TA-18, bound for New York.Onboard fire
While the transport was en route to her destination, on the evening of
3 September 1942 , fire broke out deep within the bowels of the ship and spread rapidly. In the port column of the formation, "Wakefield" swung to port to run before the wind while fire-fighting began immediately. Ready-use ammunition was thrown overboard to prevent detonation, code room publications were secured, and sick bay and brig inmates were released. USS|Mayo|DD-422|3 and USS|Brooklyn|CL-40|3 closed to windward to take off passengers, a badly-burned officer, and members of the crew not needed to man pumps and hoses. Other survivors were disembarked by boat and raft, to be picked up forthwith by the screening ships.At 2100, "Brooklyn" again came alongside to remove the remainder of the crew, while a special salvage detail boarded the ship. On
5 September 1942 , towing operations commenced led by the Canadian salvage vesselFoundation Franklin and the big transport was put aground atMcNab's Cove , near Halifax, at 1740 on the 8th. When fire-fighting details arrived alongside to board and commence the mammoth operation, fires still burned in three holds and in the crew's quarters on two deck levels. Four days later, the last flames had been extinguished, and the ship was re-floated on the 14th.While "Wakefield" was undergoing partial repairs in Halifax harbor, a torrential rainstorm threatened to fill the damaged ship with water and capsize her at her berth. Torrents of rain, at times in cloudburst proportions, poured into the ship and caused her to list heavily. Salvage crews, meanwhile, cut holes in the ship's sides above the waterline, draining away the water to permit the ship to regain an even keel. For the next 10 days, the salvagers engaged in extensive initial repair work - cleaning up the ship, pumping out debris, patching up holes, and preparing the vessel for her voyage to the
Boston Navy Yard for complete rebuilding.Total rebuild
Temporarily decommissioned, the charred liner proceeded for
Boston with a four-tug tow, and was declared a "constructive total loss." The Government purchased the hulk from the United States Lines and stripped the vessel to the waterline. The repairs and alterations began in the fall of 1942, and lasted through 1943. On10 February 1944 , "Wakefield" was recommissioned at Boston, with Capt. R. L. Raney,USCG , in command.Various transport roles
She departed Boston on
13 April 1944 , beginning the first of 23 round trips in the Atlantic theater, and three in the Pacific. Between13 April 1944 and1 February 1946 , "Wakefield" transported 110,563 troops to Europe and brought some 106,674 men back to America - a total of 217,237 passengers.In many cases, "Wakefield" operated as a "lone wolf", except for air coverage a few miles out of a port. Her primary port of call in the European theater was
Liverpool - visited so often in fact that the transport's crew nicknamed her "The Boston and Liverpool Ferry." The average round-trip voyage took 18 days.After D-Day,
6 June 1944 , "Wakefield" began the first of her trips as a casualty-evacuation ship, bringing home woundedGI 's. On occasion, she also brought back German prisoners of war for internment in the United States. Sometimes she even carried both evacuees and prisoners on the same voyage. After 13 trips to Liverpool, "Wakefield" was sent to theMediterranean theater to carry men and equipment to Italy. She made three visits to Naples and a run each toMarseilles ,Oran ,Taranto , Le Havre, andCherbourg . Returning from her 22nd voyage to Europe, the transport departed Boston on4 December 1945 forTaku, China , and a "Magic Carpet" mission - returning toSan Diego, California , on1 February 1946 . Two round trips toGuam , in February through April 1946, rounded out the ship's active service as a Navy transport.Decommission
Mooring at New York on
27 May 1946 , "Wakefield" was decommissioned on16 June 1946 - five years to the day since she first entered service. There she was laid up in reserve, out of commission, with theMaritime Administration 'sHudson River Reserve Fleet atJones Point, New York . She was struck from the Navy Register in 1959. She was sold for scrap to Union Minerals & Alloys Corporation for $263,000 in 1965.Awards
"Wakefield" earned one
battle star for her World War II service.References
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/ap21.htm "Wakefield" AP-21] - DANFS Online.
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22021.htm AP-21 "Wakefield] , Navsource Online.
*DANFS
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