USS ''Hyde'' (APA/LPA-173) was a ''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.

History

''Hyde'' was launched under Maritime Commission contract by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon, 30 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. James H. Bond; and commissioned 26 November 1944.

World War II

Following a brief shakedown cruise, ''Hyde'' arrived Seattle, Washington, 27 January 1945 to embark troops and cargo, after which she sailed for Pearl Harbor in convoy 1 February. Carrying reinforcements for the Pacific Ocean campaign, then drawing to its climax, ''Hyde'' stopped at Eniwetok before anchoring 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. ...

13 March. The ship remained off that battle-scarred island only long enough to unload, then steamed to Guam 15 March, where she embarked over 400 marine casualties. ''Hyde'' continued to Pearl Harbor, loaded more casualties 29 March, and arrived San Francisco, California, 22 May 1945. By June the Okinawa campaign, last step on the island road to

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 ...

, was well underway, and ''Hyde'' sailed 6 June with cargo and troops. After stopping at Ulithi she arrived Okinawa 24 July. There she discharged her passengers and cargo under constant threat of air attack, getting underway for Ulithi 6 August. During this stay at the giant staging base, ''Hyde'' received the news of the surrender of Japan. The transport immediately took up duties in connection with the occupation. She arrived Leyte 21 August, loaded troops, and disembarked them with the early occupation forces 8 September at Yokohama. ''Hyde'' then took on board Allied

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

for transportation to Guam, where she arrived 23 September. Sailing to

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

11 October, the transport debarked

U.S. marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

for the occupation of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and to aid in the stabilization of that troubled country. She then steamed to Manila and thence to Haiphong, Indochina, arriving 2 November. At Haiphong, ''Hyde'' embarked 200 Nationalist Chinese troops for further transfer to

Chinwangtao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...

, and unloaded them 12 November to aid in the occupation. After a stop at

Taku Taku may refer to: Places North America * the Taku River, in Alaska and British Columbia ** Fort Taku, also known as Fort Durham and as Taku, a former fort of the Hudson's Bay Company near the mouth of the Taku River ** the Taku Glacier, in Ala ...

, the transport arrived Sasebo, Japan, 4 December 1945 to join in "

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 ...

," the vast operation designed to return veterans with the greatest possible speed. ''Hyde'' sailed for California 7 December and arrived San Diego, California, 22 December.

Decommissioning and fate

After a second voyage, to Pearl Harbor and back, she sailed 16 February 1946 via Panama 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 ...

. She arrived there 13 March, decommissioned 14 May and returned to the Maritime Commission 2 days later. She was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, redesignated an amphibious transport, and berthed on the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, near Norfolk, Virginia. She was sold for scrapping in Spain on 17 September 1973.

Awards

''Hyde'' received one battle star for World War II service.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS ''Hyde'' APA/LPA-173
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyde World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Haskell-class attack transports Hyde County, North Carolina Hyde County, South Dakota Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships