USS ''Guilford'' (APA-112) 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 1945 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service in 1947 and was scrapped in 1976.

History

USS ''Guilford'' was named for Guilford County, North Carolina, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. She was laid down (date unknown) as a Maritime Commission type (C3-S-A2) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 873) by the

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 ...

Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi; launched on 14 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Lowry Bailey, wife of the Governor of the State; converted to an attack transport by Waterman Steamship Corporation of

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; and commissioned there on 14 May 1945.

U.S. Navy (1945–1947)

After shakedown in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, ''Guilford'' sailed for

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. Arriving on 22 June 1945 she served as a training ship for pre-commissioning crews until 30 July. ''Guilford'' then took on board cargo and troops at

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 ...

and sailed for the Pacific via

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 ...

. After off-loading troops at

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

and in the Japanese home islands, ''Guilford'' was attached to "

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships ...

" on 18 October. In two round trips from San Diego to

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and Japan, she transported over 5,000 veterans back to the United States for discharge as well as carrying out troops for the occupation of Japan. Returning to San Diego on 6 March 1946 from her final Pacific voyage, ''Guilford'' embarked passengers for the

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and sailed for Norfolk via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

on 15 March. ''Guilford'' reached Norfolk on 31 March and decommissioned there on 29 May 1946. She returned to the Maritime Commission on 31 May 1946.

In mercantile service (1947–1976)

''Guilford'' was sold in May 1947 to Pope and Talbot Lines, and was renamed SS ''P&T Navigator''. In 1963 she was resold to the

American Foreign Steamship Corporation American Foreign Steamship Corporation was founded in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1932 by Ira L. Rosenson, Sophia Pruss and Elias Katz. Rosenson was an attorney and the major shareholder in the firm. American Foreign Steamship Corporation purchas ...

and renamed SS ''American Oriole''. The ship was scrapped in 1976.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guilford (Apa-112) Bayfield-class attack transports Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1944 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States

USS Guilford (APA-112) USS ''Guilford'' (APA-112) was a in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service in 1947 and was scrapped in 1976. History USS ''Guilford'' was named for Guilford County, North Carolina, she was the ...