USS ''Kershaw'' (APA-176) was a ''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1982.

History

''Kershaw'' was launched 12 November 1944, by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon; sponsored by Miss Helen Molloy; and commissioned 2 December 1944.

World War II

After shakedown, ''Kershaw'' cleared San Francisco, California, 7 February 1945, with nurses and naval personnel, arriving Guam 23 February. Moving 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 ...

27 February, the transport prepared for the invasion of the Ryukyus, the last enemy stronghold before

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 ...

itself. During March she loaded equipment and troops of the

2d Marine Division The 2nd Marine Division (2nd MARDIV) is a division of the United States Marine Corps, which forms the ground combat element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF). The division is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina a ...

; then, following amphibious exercises off Tinian, she sailed for the assault area 27 March. The invasion got underway as the troops hit the beach at Okinawa 1 April. She returned

14 April, remaining there until sailing for the Solomons 5 June. Following brief stops at Tulagi, Espiritu Santo, and Eniwetok, she arrived Guam 14 July. Following a short overhaul period at San Francisco, California, the transport loaded cargo and troops to replace veterans in the occupation area. She cleared San Francisco 17 August and steamed into Tacloban, Leyte, 10 September. From there she ferried occupation troops to

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 ...

, Japan, before returning to San Pedro, California, 19 October. On the third of four additional

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 ...

cruises to the Far East, ''Kershaw'' delivered equipment to Bikini Atoll for the

atomic tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

before sailing on to Samar to embark another 2,000 veterans for return to San Francisco 25 May. On her final cruise she took on units of the 2d Marines at Sasebo before transiting the Panama Canal and arriving

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 ...

, 8 August.

Decommissioning and fate

''Kershaw'' remained at

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, until she decommissioned 20 December 1946, and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Norfolk. Struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958, she joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet 19 December 1958 and was berthed in James River, Virginia. She was sold for scrapping in 1982.

Awards

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

References

External links

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS ''Kershaw'' (APA-176)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kershaw Haskell-class attack transports Kershaw County, South Carolina Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships