USS ''Kingsbury'' (APA/LPA-177) was a ''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1983.

History

''Kingsbury'' was launched 16 November 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. Leonard Buckler; and commissioned 6 December 1944.

World War II

After shakedown along the California coast, ''Kingsbury'' departed San Pedro, California, 9 February 1945. Steaming via Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok, she arrived

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. ...

14 March, embarked battle-weary

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 ...

, and returned to Pearl Harbor 5 April via Guam and Eniwetok. Sailing for Seattle, Washington, 22 May, she arrived 29 May and embarked 1,507 soldiers before departing 15 June for

. Arriving 7 July, she debarked her passengers and then departed 10 July with 262 military passengers for Pearl Harbor where she arrived the 21st. Supporting U.S. occupation operations in

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 ...

, ''Kingsbury'' cleared Pearl Harbor 1 September and steamed via

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 ...

for Sasebo, Japan, where she arrived 22 September to debark occupation troops of the

5th Marine Division The 5th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps ground combat division which was activated on 11 November 1943 (officially activated on 21 January 1944) at Camp Pendleton, California during World War II. The 5th Division saw its first ...

. From 25 September to 14 October she made a circular run between Japan and the Philippines to transport additional occupation troops: then she returned to the Philippines 26 October for

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. With 2,077 homebound troops embarked, she departed Tacloban, Leyte, 30 October and reached San Francisco 17 November. Between 2 December and 9 January 1946 ''Kingsbury'' made another trip to and from the Far East, carrying 935 replacement troops to Manila and returned 2,058 veterans to the U.S. West Coast.

Decommissioning and fate

''Kingsbury'' sailed 11 February for the

U.S. East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard ...

, 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 ...

, 3 March. She decommissioned 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 ...

, 19 April. Turned over to custody of the United States Maritime Commission 23 April, her name was struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

1 May and placed in the Maritime Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Virginia. She was scrapped in 1983.

Awards

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

References

External links

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS ''Kingsbury'' (APA/LPA-177)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsbury World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Haskell-class attack transports Kingsbury County, South Dakota Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships