USS ''Custer'' (AP-85/APA-40) was a in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1943 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service in 1948 and was scrapped in 1973.

History

USS ''Custer'' (AP-85) was launched as ''SS'' ''Sea Eagle'' 6 November 1942 by

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...

Co., Pascagoula, Mississippi, under a

U.S. Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

contract; sponsored by Mrs. L. S. Border. Her original passenger capacity was 12, and was to carry a crew of 52 with an original cargo carrying capacity of 16,628 tons. The United States Navy received the ship on 23 January 1943 and renamed her the ''USS Custer'' (APA-40) in honor of the several Custer counties in the United States. ''Custer'' moved to the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Hoboken, New Jersey, to be converted into, and armed as an attack transport - the period of conversion consumed 159 days. On 18 July 1943, ''Custer'' was placed in full commission at Pier 1, Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Hoboken, New Jersey. Her trial run was made on the East River on 28 July 1943. Post-trial repairs were made at Pier 36, Brooklyn, and were completed on 9 August 1943. 10 August 1943, ''Custer'' sailed for Norfolk, Virginia, arriving on 12 August 1943. 13 August 1943, ''Custer'' received her landing craft; 26 LCVP's and 2 LCM(3)'s; along with boat crew and officers. During the period from 14 August 1943 to the latter part of November, the ship was engaged in training exercises in Chesapeake Bay. Dummy loads were carried, and dawn landings were rehearsed. 17 November 1943, Custer returned to Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth Virginia, for overhaul and dry-docking.

World War II operations

Departing

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 ...

, 11 December 1943, ''Custer'' arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

10 January 1944, carrying Seabees. She loaded troops at

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and sortied 23 January as a part of Task Force 51 for the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

operation. Held in reserve during the invasion of

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civilia ...

, she landed her troops on

Eniwetok 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 ...

on 19 February and embarked casualties, with whom she returned to

6 March. After sailing to embark men and cargo at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, ''Custer'' joined in amphibious training exercises in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

, and arrived at

9 June. She put to sea 2 days later for the assaults on

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 ...

and later on

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, transporting troops and evacuating casualties to

until her return to Pearl Harbor 7 August. ''Custer'' sailed from Pearl Harbor 15 September 1944 by way of Eniwetok and Manus for the invasion landings on

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

of 20 and 21 October. Safely out of

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...

before the great battle for its possession, she loaded reinforcements at

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, from 26 October to 14 November, then landed them on Leyte 18 November. After replenishing at Manus and training at Huon Gulf,

., ''Custer'' sailed on 31 December for the invasion landings at

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Balili ...

of 9 to 12 January 1945. She operated in the Philippine Islands, participating in the unopposed landings at La Paz,

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

, on 29 January and acting as mother ship for landing craft and coordinating cargo activities at Tarraguna, from 13 to 20 February. ''Custer'' sailed from Leyte Gulf 27 March 1945 for the invasion of

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. From 1 to 6 April she landed troops and cargo and fought off air attacks during the initial landings, then sailed for a stateside overhaul. Departing

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California, 5 August, she embarked troops at Pearl Harbor for the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

, landing them at

Sasebo, Japan is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

. She sailed to transport troops from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to Sasebo, Japan, then embarked homeward bound servicemen for

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, arriving 21 November.

Invasion log

Decommissioning and fate

''Custer'' was decommissioned on 24 May 1946 and struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 19 July 1946. On 19 April 1948, she was sold to the Moore McCormack Line and SS ''Mormacmar''. She was sold on 19 August 1966 to Grace Lines Inc. and renamed SS ''Santa Ana'' before being sold for scrapping on 8 February 1973 to Hua Eng Copper & Iron Industrial Co., Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Honors and awards

''Custer'' received six

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

service. :* Marshall Islands operation - Occupation of ''Eniwetok'' Atoll, 19 February 1945 :* Marianas operation - Capture and occupation of

, 11 June 1944 – ::Capture and occupation of

, 12 July 1944 :* Leyte operation - Leyte landings, 20 to 21 October and 18 November 1944 :* Luzon operation -

landings, 9 to 12 January 1945 :* Manila Bay-Bicol operation -

- Subic Bay, La Paz landing, 29 January 1945 :* Okinawa Gunto operation - Assault and occupation of

Gunto, 1 to 6 April 1945 Qualified ''Custer'' personnel were eligible for the following: :*

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

:* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with six battle stars :* World War II Victory Medal :*

Navy Occupation Medal The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...

with "ASIA" clasp :*

Philippines Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on 20 December 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. The d ...

with two stars

References

*
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - AP-85 / APA-40 Custer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Custer (APA-40) Bayfield-class attack transports Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1942 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Custer County, Colorado Custer County, Idaho Custer County, Montana Custer County, Nebraska Custer County, Oklahoma Custer County, South Dakota