USS ''Upham'' (APD-99), ex-DE-283, was a

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 ...

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 commission from 1945 to 1946.

Construction and commissioning

''Upham'' was laid down as the ''Rudderow''-class

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

USS ''Upham'' (DE-283) on 13 December 1943 by the

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, and was launched on 9 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Mabel Upham, the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

of the ships namesake, Admiral Frank B. Upham. The ship was reclassified as a ''Crosley''-class

and redesignated APD-99 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, she was commissioned on 23 July 1945.

Service history

''Upham'' conducted her

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 in Guantanamo Bay,

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, from 8 August 1945 to 10 September 1945; during the cruise,

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 opposing ...

came to an end with Japans capitulation on 15 August 1945. Too late to participate in combat, ''Upham'' exercised with an

operational training unit Royal Air Force Operational Training Units (OTUs) were training units that prepared aircrew for operations on a particular type or types of aircraft or roles. OTUs ;No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 OTU): The Unit was formed in 1 ...

in the

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until 5 October 1945. She then served a brief tour of training duty out of

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, from 8 October 1945 to 22 October 1945. Shifting north to Hampton Roads,

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, ''Upham'' reached

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, in time for

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festivities before moving to

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, Florida, to prepare for inactivation.

Decommissioning and disposal

Decommissioned on 25 April 1946, ''Upham'' was placed in the

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group on the

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, Florida. The ship remained inactive and was stricken from the

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on 1 June 1960. Sold to the government of Colombia in January 1962, ''Upham'' was converted for service as a floating power station.

References

*
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive USS Upham (APD-99)
and served in that role at least into the 1970s. {{DEFAULTSORT:Upham (APD-99) Crosley-class high speed transports World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina 1944 ships