USS ''Edgecombe'' (APA-164) was a
''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the
United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1987.
History
''Edgecombe'' was launched 24 September 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,
Portland, Oregon, under a
Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Esther S. Wilson; and commissioned 30 October 1944.
World War II
''Edgecombe'' began transport duty along with her shakedown when she carried the
68th CB's from
Seattle, Washington, to
San Francisco, California, in November 1944. After training at
San Pedro, California, she sailed the last day of 1944 from San Francisco with cargo for
Finschhafen. She joined a
convoy at
Hollandia Hollandia may refer to:
* HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team
* Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team
* ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage
* Jayapura, a city ...
and arrived at
Leyte 6 February 1945 to land reinforcements.
After intensive training with the 5th Amphibious Force, ''Edgecombe'' sailed 27 March 1945 for
Okinawa. She landed her troops in the initial assault 1 April and remained off the beach 5 feverish days unloading cargo and embarking casualties for evacuation to
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 ...
. She sailed on to
Pearl Harbor and reached San Francisco in May.
Assigned to carry troops from the
U.S. West Coast to the
Philippines, ''Edgecombe'' was on the second such voyage when the war ended. In September she transported occupation troops from Leyte to
Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...
,
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
. Returning to the west coast, ''Edgecombe'' was assigned "
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 ...
" duty, and twice went to the western
Pacific Ocean to bring home servicemen eligible for discharge.
Decommissioning and fate
On 11 February 1946 she got underway from
Portland, Oregon, for
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 ...
, which she reached 16 March. There she was placed out of commission in reserve 31 January 1947. ''Edgecombe'' was returned to the
Maritime Commission 1 October 1958. She was finally sold for scrapping to Chi Shun Hwa Steel Company, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and was withdrawn from the James River Reserve Fleet on 17 September 1987.
File:History of APA-164 (1).jpg, History of APA-164
File:History of APA-164 (2).jpg, History of APA-164
File:History of APA-164 (3).jpg, History of APA-164
File:History of APA-164 (4).jpg, History of APA-164
Awards
''Edgecombe'' received one
battle star for
World War II service.
Ph
References
*
External links
USS ''Edgecombe'' (APA-164) 1944-1946 cruise book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgecombe
World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
Haskell-class attack transports
Edgecombe County, North Carolina
Ships built in Portland, Oregon
1944 ships