USS ''Lycoming'' (APA-155) was a
''Haskell''-class attack transport in service with the
United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.
History
''Lycoming'' was laid down 30 May 1944 by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,
Portland, Oregon, under a
Maritime Commission contract; launched 25 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Schuyler N. Pyne, wife of Captain (later Rear Admiral) Pyne; acquired by the Navy and commissioned at
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...
, 20 September 1944.
World War II
After shakedown off the
U.S. West Coast, ''Lycoming'' sailed into
Seattle, Washington, 1 November 1944 to serve as a
training ship for new
attack transport crews. Testing her own training, she departed the
U.S. West Coast, with 1,411 troops embarked, for
Pearl Harbor and the western
Pacific Ocean. Arriving
Leyte,
Philippine Islands, 24 February, she was assigned to
Transport Squadron
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a significant group of warships which is nonetheless considered too small to be designated a fleet. A squadron is typically a part of a fleet. Between different navies there are no clear defining parameters t ...
13 which was already rehearsing for the
Okinawa invasion. Despite enemy
kamikaze attacks she debarked 1,294 officers and men of the
Army’s 7th Division Artillery with their ordnance and supplies on this enemy bastion between 1 and 5 April. Her mission accomplished, she returned to the
United States 11 May for additional troops.
Within a week 1,200 additional men were on their way to
Manila. After her arrival 12 June ''Lycoming'' was temporarily transferred to the
U.S. 7th Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
to relocate troops from
New Guinea to the
Philippines. Released after one voyage, she sailed back to
San Francisco, California, arriving 3 August.
''Lycoming'' was at sea headed for the
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 ...
with Army troops when
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 ...
surrendered 2 September. Reaching
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 ...
9 September, she was assigned to
task force TF 54 transporting occupation troops to Japan. With her quarters filled with
2d Division Marines. she sailed with 20 other transports for a peaceful debarkation at
Nagasaki, Japan, 23 September.
Her final voyages were made as part of 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. Embarking 2,400 veterans in the
New Hebrides and
New Caledonia
)
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, 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 landed them at San Francisco 13 November. By mid December, ''Lycoming'' embarked 2,013 officers and men at
Okinawa and proceeded homeward arriving
Seattle, Washington, early in January 1946.
Decommissioning and fate
The transport arrived
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 February, decommissioned 14 March 1946, and was returned to
War Shipping Administration (WSA) on the 21st. ''Lycoming'' entered the
National Defense Reserve Fleet and was berthed in
James River, Virginia. She was later struck from the
Navy List on 28 March 1946 and was sold for scrapping on 9 April 1973 to Union Minerals & Alloys for $111,560.00. ''Lycoming'' was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet on 6 June 1973.
Awards
''Lycoming'' received one
battle star for
World War II service.
American Campaign Medal,
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1),
World War II Victory Medal,
Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
References
External links
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - USS ''Lycoming'' (APA-155)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lycoming
World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States
Haskell-class attack transports
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Ships built in Portland, Oregon
1944 ships