USS ''Granville'' (APA-171) was a inservice with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.

History

Named after a county in North Carolina, ''Granville'' (''APA-171'') was launched 23 October 1944 by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Lowell Stockman; transferred to the Navy 21 November 1944 and commissioned the same day.

World War II

''Granville'' began her transport duties when she cleared San Francisco, California, 26 January 1945 carrying passengers to Pearl Harbor, the Marshalls, Carolines and

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 ...

. Departing Honolulu 18 April 1945 ''Granville'' sortied from

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 ...

2 May to land 1,350 troops of the

U.S. 10th Army The Tenth United States Army was the last army level command established during the Pacific War during World War II, and included divisions from both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. History The headquarters of the Tenth Army was formed ...

on Okinawa 6–8 May. Already begun, Okinawa was the climax of America's amphibious sweep across the Pacific Ocean. Departing Okinawa 15 May 1945 ''Granville'' delivered casualties to San Francisco 10 June via Ulithi, Guam and Pearl Harbor. Clearing San Francisco 26 June she called again at Okinawa with more troops. ''Granville'' departed Okinawa 23 August and loaded occupation troops 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 ...

10–20 September 1945. Putting her troops ashore at Wakayama,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, 25 September she called at Mindanao, Philippine Islands, 9–14 October to embark 1,447 troops of the 2d Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment. ''Granville'' sailed from Mindanao 15 October and landed her troops at Matsuyama 21–24 October 1945; part of the

U.S. 5th Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...

landing of the

U.S. X Corps X Corps was a corps of the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. World War II The X Corps was activated in May 1942 at Sherman, Texas. Elements of the corps embarked aboard ''Klipfontein'', a Dutch ship operating under charte ...

(Central Occupation Group), U.S. 6th Army in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

and western

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 ...

. Departing Matsuyama, Japan 28 October 1945, ''Granville'' was assigned to the "

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 ...

" fleet carrying veteran troops to the United States from the Solomons, New Guinea, Admiralties, New Hebrides, and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. She returned to San Francisco from her last voyage 25 January 1946, sailed from San Francisco 15 February and reached

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 ...

, 9 March 1946 via the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

Decommissioning and fate

''Granville'' decommissioned there 10 May 1946. She was returned to the Maritime Commission the next day and her name stricken from the Navy List 21 May 1946. Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, she was berthed in James River, Virginia. She was sold for scrapping in 1973.

Awards

''Granville'' earned one battle star for World War II service. Her crew was eligible for the following medals: * American Campaign Medal * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) * World War II Victory Medal * Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp)

References

External links

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - APA-171 Granville

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granville World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Haskell-class attack transports Granville County, North Carolina Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships