USS ''Belet'' (APD-109) was a ''Crosley''-class

high-speed transport High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, the ...

in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. In 1963, she was transferred to Mexico, where she served as ARM ''California'' (H03/B-3). She was wrecked in 1972.

Namesake

Robert Alfred Belet was born on 6 August 1914 at Blairstown, New Jersey. He first

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in the United States Marine Corps in January 1937 at New York City and then reenlisted on 22 January 1941. Belet served at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina; Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and New River, North Carolina, before moving to the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on 19 June 1942. As a member of the 1st Signal

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1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

, in the Solomon Islands, Master Technical Sergeant Belet was at

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

on the night of 9 and 10 August 1942, during operations against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese forces. Belet supervised the repair of a communications wire in the face of persistent Japanese fire. His leadership contributed to the restoration of the vital communication circuit and for this action he was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. Belet was later killed in action at Guadalcanal on 12 September 1942.

Construction and commissioning

''Belet'' was laid down as the ''Rudderow''-class destroyer escort USS ''Belet'' (DE-599) on 26 January 1944 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts, and was launched on 3 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor J. Belet, the widow of the ships namesake, Robert Belet. The ship was reclassified as a ''Crosley''-class

and redesignated APD-109 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, she was commissioned on 15 June 1945.

Service history

After taking on stores, ''Belet'' got underway on 3 July 1945 for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for four weeks of

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

training. Following shakedown, she stood out of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, on 13 August 1945 with a full load of passengers, bound for World War II service in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The next day while at sea, the ship received the news of the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, but she continued on to San Diego, California, where she arrived on 27 August 1945. On 1 September 1945, ''Belet'' departed San Diego and set course for the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

. She stopped at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, only long enough to take on

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and provisions and then touched briefly at

Eniwetok Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

before arriving at

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

on 17 September 1945. ''Belet'' operated out of Saipan, shuttling troops as needed and providing escort and

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services. ''Belet'' left the Marianas on 8 October 1945 and headed for occupation duty in Japan. On 11 October 1945, she relieved the United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC ''Taney'' (WPG-37) as port director ship at Wakayama, Japan. ''Belet'' remained at this station until ordered back to the United States in December 1945. On her homeward voyage, ''Belet'' carried returning servicemen into San Diego in January 1946 and was then ordered back to the United States East Coast. Following repairs at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, she steamed to Green Cove Springs, Florida, for inactivation.

Decommissioning and disposal

''Belet'' was decommissioned on 22 May 1946 and placed in reserve with the Green Cove Springs Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. After over 17 years of inactivity, she was declared excess to the needs of the U.S. Navy, and her name was struck from the Navy List on 12 December 1963.

Mexican Navy service

Sold to Mexico on 12 December 1963, ''Belet'' became ARM ''California'' (H03) in the Mexican Navy. She was later assigned the new

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of ''B03''. ''California'' ran aground on the Bahia Peninsula on 16 January 1972 broadside to the beach, and was judged un salvageable. Abandoned, her hulk broke up on the rocks.

References

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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive USS Belet (APD-109) ex (DE-599)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belet (APD-109) Crosley-class high speed transports Ships built in Hingham, Massachusetts 1944 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Crosley-class high speed transports of the Mexican Navy Shipwrecks of the Mexican Pacific coast