Pearl Harbor, where she discharged her casualties and was inspected by
Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.
On 5 December, she disembarked cargo and marines at
Hilo
Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...
,
T.H., and then proceeded to the
west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
, arriving at
San Diego on 13 December.
Invasion of Kwajalein
''Sheridan'' participated in practice landings at
Oceanside, California
Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...
, from 15 to 17 December 1943, and then welcomed the new year, 1944, with more exercises at
San Clemente from 1 to 5 January. She then received her combat loadout of troops and supplies and sailed from San Diego on 13 January.
Stopping at
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, T.H., just long enough to fuel, she arrived off the beaches of
Kwajalein Atoll
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 ...
on 31 January. Her troops participated in the landings at
Roi on 1 February while ''Sheridan'' remained off the beaches offloading cargo and acting as a temporary hospital ship pending the arrival of
hospital ship . The transport sailed on 8 February, offloaded troops and cargo at Maui on 16 February, and then moved to Pearl Harbor on 17 February to receive needed repairs.
Invasion of Saipan
On 28 February, ''Sheridan'' began an intensive period of amphibious training at Maui, which lasted, with two short breaks, until 19 May. On 30 May, she sailed from Pearl Harbor with a task force bound for the
Marianas
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 ...
. Arriving at
Eniwetok on 9 June, ''Sheridan'' transferred troops to assigned
LSTs and sailed on 11 June for
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 ...
.
Arriving on 15 June, she debarked troops and cargo; and then embarked a large group of casualties on the 18th. She completed offloading cargo on 20 June and sailed from Saipan the following day. After picking up more casualties at Eniwetok on 25 and 26 June, she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 3 July.
Invasion of Guam
''Sheridan'' embarked Army troops there on 4 July and sailed on the 9th. Touching at Eniwetok on the 17th, she arrived at
Guam on the 22nd, a day after the initial landings, and debarked her troops the following day. The ship departed Guam on 28 July, touched at Eniwetok on 1 August, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 10th. There, she received repairs, and then embarked Army troops and equipment for the reconquest of the
Philippines.
Invasion of Leyte
After a week of amphibious training at Maui from 1 to 7 September, ''Sheridan'' departed Pearl Harbor on the 15th, and, after stops at Eniwetok and
Manus, arrived on 20 October in the transport area off
Leyte where she put her troops ashore in the first waves. Completing general unloading on the 22nd, she sailed for
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 ...
the same day. After remaining there from 27 October to 5 November, she arrived at
Noemfoor Island
Numfor (also Numfoor, Noemfoor, Noemfoer) is one of the Schouten Islands (also known as the Biak Islands) in Papua province, northeastern Indonesia.
It was the site of conflict between Japanese and the Allied forces during World War II, and w ...
on the 7th to load Army Air Force personnel and equipment, which she delivered at Leyte on the 18th.
Invasion of the Philippines
Arriving at Manus on the 24th, ''Sheridan'' sailed on the 28th for
Torokina
Torokina is a coastal village on Bougainville Island, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Torokina Rural LLG.
It is located on the western coast of the island.
During World War II site of ...
,
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...
, where she arrived on 1 December. There, she combat-loaded Army troops; and then underwent extensive training in amphibious operations, moving to
Huon Gulf,
New Guinea for the final rehearsal on the 19th. Returning to Manus on the 21st, she sailed on 31 December 1944 as part of an assault group bound for
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 ...
.
The force encountered heavy air opposition during the approach on 8 January 1945, but ''Sheridan'' arrived unscathed and landed her troops early the next day. She then took on board 108 Navy casualties and survivors mainly from the
escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
, and sailed the same day for Leyte, arriving on the 12th. There, she embarked troops, and, after a landing rehearsal on 25 January, put them ashore on the 29th at
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, Philippine Islands, which turned out to be under the control of friendly guerrillas. The transport anchored in San Pedro, P.I., on 1 February and remained there until late March while the war moved closer to the
Japanese homeland.
Invasion of Okinawa
On 14 March 1945, ''Sheridan'' loaded troops for her final assault landing, the one on
Okinawa. After training in the Philippines, the transport sailed with an assault force on 27 March and put her troops ashore in the first waves at Okinawa on 1 April.
Repairs and training
Departing Okinawa on the 5th, she touched at Guam and Pearl Harbor and then arrived at San Francisco on 29 April for a major overhaul. Repairs were carried out between 4 May and 26 June by the United Engineering Co., San Francisco. ''Sheridan'' then proceeded to San Diego on 1 July for refresher training in amphibious operations, returning to San Francisco on the 12th. Sailing three days later, she delivered her passengers at
Samar, P.I., on 6 August after stops at Eniwetok,
Ulithi, and Leyte.
After hostilities
''Sheridan'' loaded troops at
Zamboanga, P.I., on 15 and 16 August, but due to the end of the war, debarked them at
Tacloban on the 18th. Arriving at
Batangas, P.I., three days later, she loaded troops for the occupation of Japan and sailed for Japan on the 25th.
The ship entered
Tokyo Bay as the surrender document was being signed on board
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
, and offloaded her troops on 3 September. Sailing on the next day, ''Sheridan'' arrived at Okinawa on the 7th; and, after riding out a
typhoon at sea, between 16 and 18 September, she embarked troops and sailed on 26 September for
Taku, China
The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center.
History
The f ...
. She remained at Taku from 30 September to 6 October and then sailed to the Philippines to embark a marine air group which she delivered at Taku on 14 November.
Operation Magic Carpet
Assigned next 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 ...
, she sailed on 28 November from Taku; embarked marine troops 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 ...
; and sailed from there on 7 December for the United States.
Arriving at San Diego on the 23d, she commenced a period of overhaul; but, on 7 January 1946, she was released from ''Magic Carpet'' duty and designated for disposal.
Decommission
She sailed from San Diego on 11 January and arrived at
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, on 1 February for deactivation. ''Sheridan'' was decommissioned on 5 March 1946, delivered to the Maritime Commission on 7 April 1946, and struck from the
Navy List on 12 April 1946.
Awards
''Sheridan'' received six
battle stars for her World War II service.
Commercial service
Sold by the Maritime Commission to the
United States Lines on 24 October 1947, she was briefly named ''Pioneer Sun'' and then served as ''American Scientist'' from 1947 until damaged by an explosion in July 1969 and scrapped.
References
*
USS ''Sheridan'' (APA-51) DANFS Online.
Navsource Online.
Shipmates' Site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan (Apa-51)
Ormsby-class attack transports
Ships built in Oakland, California
1942 ships
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
Sheridan County, Kansas
Sheridan County, Montana
Sheridan County, Nebraska
Sheridan County, North Dakota
Sheridan County, Wyoming