USS ''Monitor'' (LSV-5/AN-1/AP-160/MCS-5) was an built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was named after the original (the first

ironclad warship An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...

commissioned by the USN and the first U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name), and was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. Laid down on 21 October 1941 as netlayer ''AN-1'' by the

Ingalls Shipbuilding Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 employees, the second largest ...

Corporation of

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 2 ...

and launched on 29 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. John A. Terhune. She was redesignated ''AP-160'' on 2 August 1943, and first commissioned on 18 March 1944. Due to delays in construction, the ship was transferred under her own power to Todd Shipyards,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York for completion on 2 April. Redesignated as a Landing Ship, Vehicle, on 21 April 1944, USS ''Monitor'' (LSV-5) was commissioned for service on 14 June 1944.

Service history

Philippines, 1944–1945

Following shakedown in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

, ''Monitor'' steamed via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, arriving 10 August. Loading troops, cargo and amphibious DUKWs, the ship joined the 3rd Fleet off

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

in October, participating in the landings at

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao ...

on 20 October and then removing wounded for transport to Morotai. She returned to Leyte with reinforcements 14 November and then sailed for

Sansapor Sausapor (alternates: SansaporHarper Encyclopedia of Military Biography; Dupuy; HarperCollins 1992; pages=462 or Tandjong Sausapor) is a small town and district in the Tambrauw Regency of Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The town is located on the north ...

where she reloaded troops and equipment for the invasion of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. Steaming for Lingayen Gulf, under air attack much of the way, the vehicle landing ship put her assault force ashore 9 January 1945 and then stood by in support, shooting down an enemy aircraft that night with only 28 rounds of

40 mm 40 mm grenade (also styled 40mm grenade) is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition ( subsonic shells) in caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in ...

expended. In the closing days of January, the ship took part in two invasions in support of the

Lingayen Lingayen, officially the Municipality of Lingayen ( pag, Baley na Lingayen; ilo, Ili ti Lingayen; tgl, Bayan ng Lingayen), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Pangasi ...

operation, the landing on San Felipe and La Paz on 29 January, and the landing of Army Rangers on

Grande Island Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Wa ...

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Sub ...

on 30 January.

Okinawa, 1945

''Monitor'' then steamed for Guadalcanal where she loaded

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

for transport to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, participating in the " D-Day" landings on 1 April and then standing by off that hotly contested island until 10 May when she sailed for the United States. During May, June, and July, the LSV made several trips between Pearl Harbor and the west coast with passengers and cargo and then in August proceeded to Saipan to load medical personnel and supplies, departing on the 15th for Japan.

Occupation duties, 1945–1947

Joining the 3rd Fleet off Tokyo, ''Monitor'' took on board 1,000 sailors from battleships , , , , and , conducting the first landing on the Japanese homeland on 30 August. The ship then served as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

to assist in the removal of Allied prisoners of war, over 8,000 repatriates being received on board and helped on their way before the amphibious vessel departed Japan 19 September. Returning to the United States, ''Monitor'' was assigned to "

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 massive program to bring the troops home. She operated on this mission until decommissioning in the Reserve Fleet, Galveston, Texas 22 May 1947. Reclassified ''MCS-5'' on 18 October 1956, ''Monitor'' was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 1 September 1961 and transferred to the Maritime National Defense Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas. ''Monitor'' earned four

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s for World War II service.

Citations

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monitor (Lsv-5) Osage-class vehicle landing ships Net laying ships of the United States Navy World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi 1943 ships Mine countermeasures support ships of the United States Navy