.gif)
USS Bayfield (APA-33)
Encyclopedia
USS Bayfield (APA-33) was a built for the United States Navy
during World War II, the lead ship in her class. Named for Bayfield County, Wisconsin, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
by the Western Pipe and Steel Company
. The hull was assigned to the Navy as naval transport AP-78 and was redesignated attack transport APA-33 on 1 February 1943.
APA-33 was launched on 15 February. The Navy acquired the vessel on 30 June, renamed it Bayfield, and placed it in reduced commission the same day. Bayfield left San Francisco on 7 July and arrived in Brooklyn, New York on 29 July, where it was decommissioned and converted by the Atlantic Basic Iron Works to an attack transport. The completed ship was then commissioned USS Bayfield (APA-33) on 20 November 1943 with Captain Lyndon Spencer
, USCG, in command. Following a shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay
and subsequent repairs at Norfolk Navy Yard, she conducted amphibious training in January 1944, underwent additional repair, and was declared ready for sea on 3 February.
to embark troops for service in Europe. On 11 February the ship departed New York with a convoy bound for the British Isles
and arrived at Glasgow
, Scotland
on 22 February. From there she moved south to the Isle of Portland
, England to await orders.
On 11 March Bayfield made the short run to Plymouth
and joined a group of amphibious ships that then set course for western Scotland. The ships reached the River Clyde
on 14 March and carried out landing exercises there through 21 March in preparation for the European invasion at Normandy.
On 29 March she bore the flag of Commander, Force "U" (Rear Admiral Don Pardee Moon) and served as headquarters for planning the landings on "Utah Beach
." She joined with other Normandy
-bound ships in practicing a variety of maneuvers and tactical operations during short underway periods until 26 April, when full-scale rehearsals
took place through 4 May.
Bayfield anchored again at Plymouth on 29 April and on 7 May began embarking troops of the 8th Infantry Regiment (U.S. 4th Infantry Division) and the 87th Chemical Battalion. By 5 June the invasion force completed all preparations and got underway for the Bay of the Seine. Passing along a swept channel marked by lighted buoys, Bayfield and the other transports reached their designated positions early on the morning of the 6 June and debarked their troops.
After disembarking her troops, Bayfield began service as a supply and hospital ship in addition to continuing her duties as a flagship. Those assignments kept her off the Norman coast while other transports rapidly unloaded troops and cargo and then returned to England. On the 7 June she shifted to an anchorage five miles off the beach and made smoke that night to protect Utah anchorage from Luftwaffe
attacks.
. Upon its arrival at Oran
on 10 July the group was dissolved, and Bayfield continued on to Italy. At Naples
, Rear Admiral Moon assumed command of Task Force 8 or "Camel" Force, for the invasion of southern France
. Plans and procedures were refined, and full-scale rehearsals were held off beaches near Salerno
between 31 July and 6 August.
Following the suicide
of Rear Admiral Moon, a victim of what would become known as "battle fatigue" on 5 August, Rear Admiral Spencer Lewis took command of TF 87 on 13 August, and Bayfield sailed for the southern coast of France. Early on 15 August, she put troops of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division ashore east of Saint-Raphael
in the Golfe de Fréjus.
As its target, "Camel" Force assaulted the best defended section of the coast, an area where the Argens River flows into the Mediterranean, and the hard fighting there kept Bayfield in the vicinity of the Golfe de Fréjus for almost a month. She returned to Naples on 10 September and three days later received orders to join a transatlantic convoy at Oran. The attack transport steamed by way of Bizerte
to embark passengers for transportation back to the United States and left Oran with her convoy on 16 September. She arrived in Norfolk
on 26 September, disembarked her passengers, and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for overhaul.
, in transit to Hawaii
. Bayfield arrived at Pearl Harbor
on 26 November. The next day, she broke the flag of Commander, Transport Squadron (TransRon) 15, Commodore H. C. Flanagan. Between 6 December and 18 January 1945 the ship participated in five practice amphibious landings at Maui
.
Bayfield departed Pearl Harbor on 27 January and touched at Eniwetok for fuel before arriving at Saipan
on 11 February. Following rehearsal off Tinian
on 12 and 13 February, the Joint Expeditionary Force (TF 51) got underway on 16 February for Iwo Jima
.
Bayfield debarked troops from the 4th Marine Division on D-Day
, 19 February, and while anchored off Iwo Jima for the remainder of the month served both as a hospital and a prisoner-of-war ship. Bayfield returned to the Marianas
on 1 March to prepare for the Ryukyu Islands
campaign. On 6 and 7 March she loaded supplies and equipment of the 2nd Marine Division and got underway on the 11th for rehearsal exercises preparatory to the invasion of Okinawa.
Her task force left the Marianas on 27 March and hove-to off the southeastern coast of Okinawa on Easter
morning, 1 April. As part of TG 51.2, the attack transport and other units of Demonstration Group "Charlie" simulated a landing on the south coast to draw attention away from the actual landings at the Hagushi
beaches. Although the ruse failed to fool the Japanese
, TG 51.2 received more Japanese air attacks than did the real landings. The and were both severely damaged by kamikaze
s.
The group continued the demonstration the next day and then retired seaward to await orders. Bayfield's troops were not required at Okinawa, and on 11 April she got underway for Saipan, where they were disembarked on the 14th. She then remained at Saipan undergoing maintenance and repairs until 4 June.
Bayfield sailed for the Solomons
on 4 June to load cargo and move it closer to the fighting. She stopped at Tulagi
on the 12th and at Espiritu Santo
in the New Hebrides
on the 17th. She sailed on 1 July for the Marianas and unloaded at Tinian on 9 July and Saipan on 13 July. After taking on passengers, Bayfield got underway for Guam where she arrived on 14 July. Two days later, the transport set course for California
.
and Zamboanga
in the Philippines
. At Eniwetok on 7 September, revised orders directed her to Tacloban, Philippines, where she arrived on 14 September and reported to Commander Amphibious Group 3 for duty in the occupation of Aomori
, Japan. On 17 September Bayfield embarked soldiers and equipment of the U.S. 81st Infantry Division. The landings at Aomori took place according to schedule on 25 September.
After discharging the troops, Bayfield returned to the Marianas on 4 October and joined the "Operation Magic Carpet" fleet. She embarked a full complement of returning veterans at Saipan and at Tinian before heading home on 7 October. Upon her arrival at San Pedro, California on 20 October, she disembarked passengers including the TransRon 15 staff. Following repairs, the ship carried occupation troops to Korea
in November 1945 and January 1946, returning from each voyage with a full contingent of veterans.
", the atomic bomb tests scheduled to take place at Bikini Atoll
in July. She set sail from Oahu
on 2 April and proceeded via Kwajalein
and Eniwetok to Bikini with supplies and equipment. She returned to Pearl Harbor early in May to take on more cargo and arrived back at Bikini on 1 June. Bayfield then served as a barracks ship for the crews of the target ships.
On 30 June she took station 22 miles from the site of the initial Test "ABLE", an airburst
detonated at 09:00 on 1 July 1946. After the explosion, Bayfield reentered the lagoon and anchored at 17:28 that day. She remained there until 18 July providing berthing spaces for members of the survey and monitoring teams until they were able to return to their own ships. She then got underway to participate in a one-day rehearsal for test "BAKER".
On 24 July Bayfield again departed the lagoon and at 08:35 on the 25th, observed the underwater detonation from a distance of 15 miles. She returned to the anchorage at dawn the following morning and remained until 3 August. She stopped at Kwajalein to check contamination levels, resumed her journey on 8 August, and arrived at San Francisco on the 20th.
she operated along the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies until mid-August 1950, when the outbreak of hostilities in Korea on 25 June called her back to the Pacific.
Bayfield arrived in Kobe, Japan, on 16 September and, the next day, got underway for Inchon, Korea. She spent the next seven months providing logistic support to the United Nations
forces in Korea. She returned to San Diego on 26 May 1951 and, except for a cruise to Japan and back in September 1951, did not return to the Far East
until March 1952, again to support troops in Korea.
During the next two years, Bayfield made three more cruises to the Orient
and performed special duty in August and September 1954, assisting in the evacuation of refugees that resulted from the partition of Vietnam
into a communist north and a democratic south. As one of more than 40 amphibious ships employed in "Operation Passage to Freedom
", the transport provided food, shelter, and care to the evacuees as she carried them south to Saigon. She returned to San Diego on 9 October and commenced a routine of alternating local training operations along the West Coast with deployments to the Far East.
On March 26, 1955, Bayfield arrived at the site of the Pan Am Flight 845/26
ditching in the Pacific Ocean and rescued the 19 survivors.
where she served as the flagship for the Commander Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 7. Her first assignment saw her underway for a major amphibious exercise in Hawaii. During that operation, the transport received orders dispatching her to the western Pacific to bolster the 7th Fleet during the Laotian
crisis. The tension soon subsided, however, and Bayfield returned to Hawaii to finish the interrupted training exercise before continuing on back to the West Coast.
The ship deployed to the Far East again in January 1962 and spent most of the overseas tour participating in exercises and showing the flag. Near the end of the assignment, Bayfield received orders to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where she stood by during another crisis in Laos. Late in July 1962 she returned to Long Beach and resumed operations out of her home port. In October she had to forego another major amphibious exercise in Hawaii because of the Cuban missile crisis
. The transport embarked elements of the 1st Marine Division and headed through the Panama Canal to support forces engaged in the quarantine
of Cuba
. With the end of that crisis, Bayfield returned to Long Beach on 15 December.
Following a regular overhaul at Willamette Shipyard in Richmond, California
and refresher training out of San Diego until 6 June 1963, the attack transport resumed local training operations. On 17 September she embarked from Long Beach on another deployment to the western Pacific. Bayfield made a port call in Hawaii for three weeks, then resumed her cruise west on 16 October and arrived at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 31 October. She made a visit to Hong Kong
during the latter part of November, returning to Subic Bay near the end of the month. The ship spent December operating in the waters between Okinawa and Japan, stopping in Numazu, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Sasebo
.
Bayfield also carried cold weather training in Korean waters and joined the Nationalist Chinese in exercises near Taiwan
during the first two months of 1964. She disembarked her Marine contingent at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, in mid-March and headed back to the West Coast, arriving in Long Beach on 6 April. Bayfield operated out of Long Beach for more than a year and then deployed to the Far East again in May 1965.
Bayfield returned to the West Coast in December and resumed local training missions in the Long Beach and San Diego operating areas early in 1966. Later that spring, she began a five-month overhaul at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California
. Getting underway from Todd Shipyard "Bayfield" sailed to Mare Island to take on ammunition then proceeding on to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (San Francisco). "Bayfield" was in Hunters Point during the 1966 Hunters Point Race Riots and crew members were escorted back to ship under police escort from Market Street in San Francisco. The ship left the yard on 26 September and spent several weeks at San Diego for amphibious maneuvers and refresher training.
Bayfield embarked on another tour of duty in the Far East on 28 December, refueled at Pearl Harbor early in January 1967, and continued on westward. She touched at Okinawa on 19 January and continued on to the Philippines. At Subic Bay, ComPhibRon 7 shifted his flag to the transport and she got underway for Vietnam
on 31 January
until 15 February 1967 and then sailed for Okinawa to take on Marines and equipment for rotation to the Vietnamese combat zone. During that operation, Bayfield anchored at the mouth of the Cua Viet River, and her embarked Marines went ashore to rotate with units that had been serving eight miles upriver at Dong Ha
. Bayfield returned to Okinawa on 13 March.
In April, she loaded troops for another landing and put them ashore south of Da Nang on 28 April. The transport continued to serve off the coast of Vietnam until 28 May, ferrying troops between points as needed and transporting casualties to the hospital ship . Relieved by the , Bayfield headed home, via Sasebo, Hong Kong and Pearl Harbor.
Bayfield earned four battle stars for World War II service, four for Korean service, and two for service in Vietnam.
on 1 October 1968. She was sold to the Levin Metals Corporation of San Pedro, California on 15 September 1969 and scrapped.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II, the lead ship in her class. Named for Bayfield County, Wisconsin, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
Construction
Bayfield was originally laid down as SS Sea Bass under a Maritime Commission contract on 14 November 1942 at San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
by the Western Pipe and Steel Company
Western Pipe and Steel Company
The Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S...
. The hull was assigned to the Navy as naval transport AP-78 and was redesignated attack transport APA-33 on 1 February 1943.
APA-33 was launched on 15 February. The Navy acquired the vessel on 30 June, renamed it Bayfield, and placed it in reduced commission the same day. Bayfield left San Francisco on 7 July and arrived in Brooklyn, New York on 29 July, where it was decommissioned and converted by the Atlantic Basic Iron Works to an attack transport. The completed ship was then commissioned USS Bayfield (APA-33) on 20 November 1943 with Captain Lyndon Spencer
Lyndon Spencer
Lyndon Spencer was a Vice Admiral in the United States Coast Guard.-Biography:Spencer was born on January 26, 1898 in Hornell, New York., and died in Connecticut on April 12th, 1981. He married Lucile Littlefield in 1920 and had two children.-Career:...
, USCG, in command. Following a shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and subsequent repairs at Norfolk Navy Yard, she conducted amphibious training in January 1944, underwent additional repair, and was declared ready for sea on 3 February.
Invasion of Normandy
She received orders to New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to embark troops for service in Europe. On 11 February the ship departed New York with a convoy bound for the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and arrived at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 22 February. From there she moved south to the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, England to await orders.
On 11 March Bayfield made the short run to Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and joined a group of amphibious ships that then set course for western Scotland. The ships reached the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
on 14 March and carried out landing exercises there through 21 March in preparation for the European invasion at Normandy.
On 29 March she bore the flag of Commander, Force "U" (Rear Admiral Don Pardee Moon) and served as headquarters for planning the landings on "Utah Beach
Utah Beach
Utah Beach was the code name for the right flank, or westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...
." She joined with other Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
-bound ships in practicing a variety of maneuvers and tactical operations during short underway periods until 26 April, when full-scale rehearsals
Exercise Tiger
Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, were the code names for a full-scale rehearsal in 1944 for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. During the exercise, an Allied convoy was attacked, resulting in the deaths of 946 American servicemen....
took place through 4 May.
Bayfield anchored again at Plymouth on 29 April and on 7 May began embarking troops of the 8th Infantry Regiment (U.S. 4th Infantry Division) and the 87th Chemical Battalion. By 5 June the invasion force completed all preparations and got underway for the Bay of the Seine. Passing along a swept channel marked by lighted buoys, Bayfield and the other transports reached their designated positions early on the morning of the 6 June and debarked their troops.
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
attacks.
Invasion of Southern France
On 25 June Bayfield returned to port, and on 5 July joined Task Group (TG) 120.6 bound for AlgeriaAlgeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. Upon its arrival at Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
on 10 July the group was dissolved, and Bayfield continued on to Italy. At Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Rear Admiral Moon assumed command of Task Force 8 or "Camel" Force, for the invasion of southern France
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
. Plans and procedures were refined, and full-scale rehearsals were held off beaches near Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
between 31 July and 6 August.
Following the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of Rear Admiral Moon, a victim of what would become known as "battle fatigue" on 5 August, Rear Admiral Spencer Lewis took command of TF 87 on 13 August, and Bayfield sailed for the southern coast of France. Early on 15 August, she put troops of the U.S. 36th Infantry Division ashore east of Saint-Raphael
Saint-Raphaël
Saint-Raphaël can refer to the following French communes:* Saint-Raphaël, Dordogne, a French commune in the Dordogne département* Saint-Raphaël, Var, a French commune in the Var départementIt is also the name of:...
in the Golfe de Fréjus.
As its target, "Camel" Force assaulted the best defended section of the coast, an area where the Argens River flows into the Mediterranean, and the hard fighting there kept Bayfield in the vicinity of the Golfe de Fréjus for almost a month. She returned to Naples on 10 September and three days later received orders to join a transatlantic convoy at Oran. The attack transport steamed by way of Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
to embark passengers for transportation back to the United States and left Oran with her convoy on 16 September. She arrived in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
on 26 September, disembarked her passengers, and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for overhaul.
Operations in the Pacific
The attack transport spent the first week of November preparing for duty in the Pacific. She loaded supplies and got underway on 7 November for the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, in transit to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Bayfield arrived at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
on 26 November. The next day, she broke the flag of Commander, Transport Squadron (TransRon) 15, Commodore H. C. Flanagan. Between 6 December and 18 January 1945 the ship participated in five practice amphibious landings at Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
.
Invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
on 11 February. Following rehearsal off Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
on 12 and 13 February, the Joint Expeditionary Force (TF 51) got underway on 16 February for Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
.
Bayfield debarked troops from the 4th Marine Division on D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, 19 February, and while anchored off Iwo Jima for the remainder of the month served both as a hospital and a prisoner-of-war ship. Bayfield returned to the Marianas
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
on 1 March to prepare for the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
campaign. On 6 and 7 March she loaded supplies and equipment of the 2nd Marine Division and got underway on the 11th for rehearsal exercises preparatory to the invasion of Okinawa.
Her task force left the Marianas on 27 March and hove-to off the southeastern coast of Okinawa on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
morning, 1 April. As part of TG 51.2, the attack transport and other units of Demonstration Group "Charlie" simulated a landing on the south coast to draw attention away from the actual landings at the Hagushi
Hagushi
Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II. The bay, at the mouth of the Bishi River , was the dividing line between the First and Sixth US Marine divisions, which landed on the Hagushi beaches to the north, and the Seventh...
beaches. Although the ruse failed to fool the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, TG 51.2 received more Japanese air attacks than did the real landings. The and were both severely damaged by kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
s.
The group continued the demonstration the next day and then retired seaward to await orders. Bayfield's troops were not required at Okinawa, and on 11 April she got underway for Saipan, where they were disembarked on the 14th. She then remained at Saipan undergoing maintenance and repairs until 4 June.
Bayfield sailed for the Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
on 4 June to load cargo and move it closer to the fighting. She stopped at Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
on the 12th and at Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
in the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
on the 17th. She sailed on 1 July for the Marianas and unloaded at Tinian on 9 July and Saipan on 13 July. After taking on passengers, Bayfield got underway for Guam where she arrived on 14 July. Two days later, the transport set course for California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Occupation and demobilization cruises
In San Francisco on 30 July, Bayfield went into drydock for a major overhaul before the expected invasion of the Japanese home islands. However, hostilities ended on 15 August while the transport was still undergoing repairs. Ten days later, Bayfield departed San Francisco, bound via Eniwetok, Marshall Islands for Subic BaySubic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
and Zamboanga
Zamboanga City
The City of Zamboanga : is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines....
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. At Eniwetok on 7 September, revised orders directed her to Tacloban, Philippines, where she arrived on 14 September and reported to Commander Amphibious Group 3 for duty in the occupation of Aomori
Aomori, Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 302,068 and a density of 366 persons per km². Its total area was 824.52 km².- History :...
, Japan. On 17 September Bayfield embarked soldiers and equipment of the U.S. 81st Infantry Division. The landings at Aomori took place according to schedule on 25 September.
After discharging the troops, Bayfield returned to the Marianas on 4 October and joined the "Operation Magic Carpet" fleet. She embarked a full complement of returning veterans at Saipan and at Tinian before heading home on 7 October. Upon her arrival at San Pedro, California on 20 October, she disembarked passengers including the TransRon 15 staff. Following repairs, the ship carried occupation troops to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in November 1945 and January 1946, returning from each voyage with a full contingent of veterans.
Atomic testing
In March, the attack transport was ordered to Pearl Harbor for "Operation CrossroadsOperation Crossroads
Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. It was the first test of a nuclear weapon after the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945...
", the atomic bomb tests scheduled to take place at Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in July. She set sail from Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
on 2 April and proceeded via Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
and Eniwetok to Bikini with supplies and equipment. She returned to Pearl Harbor early in May to take on more cargo and arrived back at Bikini on 1 June. Bayfield then served as a barracks ship for the crews of the target ships.
On 30 June she took station 22 miles from the site of the initial Test "ABLE", an airburst
Airburst
Airburst is a 2001 Mac OS game developed by Strange Flavour and published by Freeverse. On October 25, 2007, it was announced for Xbox Live Arcade game for the Xbox 360...
detonated at 09:00 on 1 July 1946. After the explosion, Bayfield reentered the lagoon and anchored at 17:28 that day. She remained there until 18 July providing berthing spaces for members of the survey and monitoring teams until they were able to return to their own ships. She then got underway to participate in a one-day rehearsal for test "BAKER".
On 24 July Bayfield again departed the lagoon and at 08:35 on the 25th, observed the underwater detonation from a distance of 15 miles. She returned to the anchorage at dawn the following morning and remained until 3 August. She stopped at Kwajalein to check contamination levels, resumed her journey on 8 August, and arrived at San Francisco on the 20th.
1946 - 1960
The transport continued to serve with the Pacific Fleet making two more cruises to China until joining the Atlantic Fleet in November 1949. Based at Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
she operated along the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies until mid-August 1950, when the outbreak of hostilities in Korea on 25 June called her back to the Pacific.
Bayfield arrived in Kobe, Japan, on 16 September and, the next day, got underway for Inchon, Korea. She spent the next seven months providing logistic support to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
forces in Korea. She returned to San Diego on 26 May 1951 and, except for a cruise to Japan and back in September 1951, did not return to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
until March 1952, again to support troops in Korea.
During the next two years, Bayfield made three more cruises to the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
and performed special duty in August and September 1954, assisting in the evacuation of refugees that resulted from the partition of Vietnam
Partition of Vietnam
The Partition of Vietnam was the establishment of the 17th parallel as the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone in 1954, splitting Vietnam into halves after the First Indochina War.The Geneva Conference was held at the conclusion of the First Indochina War...
into a communist north and a democratic south. As one of more than 40 amphibious ships employed in "Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom
Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the United States Navy to describe its transportation in 1954–55 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam...
", the transport provided food, shelter, and care to the evacuees as she carried them south to Saigon. She returned to San Diego on 9 October and commenced a routine of alternating local training operations along the West Coast with deployments to the Far East.
On March 26, 1955, Bayfield arrived at the site of the Pan Am Flight 845/26
Pan Am Flight 845/26
Pan Am Flight 845/26 was a four-engined Boeing 377 Stratocruiser named Clipper United States and registered as N1032V. It had departed Portland International Airport in Oregon on a flight to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii on March 26, 1955. The aircraft was en route and about 35 miles off...
ditching in the Pacific Ocean and rescued the 19 survivors.
1961 - 1968
In February 1961 Bayfield changed home port from San Diego to Long BeachLong Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
where she served as the flagship for the Commander Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 7. Her first assignment saw her underway for a major amphibious exercise in Hawaii. During that operation, the transport received orders dispatching her to the western Pacific to bolster the 7th Fleet during the Laotian
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
crisis. The tension soon subsided, however, and Bayfield returned to Hawaii to finish the interrupted training exercise before continuing on back to the West Coast.
The ship deployed to the Far East again in January 1962 and spent most of the overseas tour participating in exercises and showing the flag. Near the end of the assignment, Bayfield received orders to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, where she stood by during another crisis in Laos. Late in July 1962 she returned to Long Beach and resumed operations out of her home port. In October she had to forego another major amphibious exercise in Hawaii because of the Cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. The transport embarked elements of the 1st Marine Division and headed through the Panama Canal to support forces engaged in the quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. With the end of that crisis, Bayfield returned to Long Beach on 15 December.
Following a regular overhaul at Willamette Shipyard in Richmond, California
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
and refresher training out of San Diego until 6 June 1963, the attack transport resumed local training operations. On 17 September she embarked from Long Beach on another deployment to the western Pacific. Bayfield made a port call in Hawaii for three weeks, then resumed her cruise west on 16 October and arrived at Subic Bay in the Philippines on 31 October. She made a visit to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
during the latter part of November, returning to Subic Bay near the end of the month. The ship spent December operating in the waters between Okinawa and Japan, stopping in Numazu, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Sasebo
Sasebo, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
.
Bayfield also carried cold weather training in Korean waters and joined the Nationalist Chinese in exercises near Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
during the first two months of 1964. She disembarked her Marine contingent at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, in mid-March and headed back to the West Coast, arriving in Long Beach on 6 April. Bayfield operated out of Long Beach for more than a year and then deployed to the Far East again in May 1965.
Bayfield returned to the West Coast in December and resumed local training missions in the Long Beach and San Diego operating areas early in 1966. Later that spring, she began a five-month overhaul at the Todd Shipyard in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
. Getting underway from Todd Shipyard "Bayfield" sailed to Mare Island to take on ammunition then proceeding on to Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (San Francisco). "Bayfield" was in Hunters Point during the 1966 Hunters Point Race Riots and crew members were escorted back to ship under police escort from Market Street in San Francisco. The ship left the yard on 26 September and spent several weeks at San Diego for amphibious maneuvers and refresher training.
Bayfield embarked on another tour of duty in the Far East on 28 December, refueled at Pearl Harbor early in January 1967, and continued on westward. She touched at Okinawa on 19 January and continued on to the Philippines. At Subic Bay, ComPhibRon 7 shifted his flag to the transport and she got underway for Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
on 31 January
Vietnam War
The ship served as a floating barracks at Da NangDa Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
until 15 February 1967 and then sailed for Okinawa to take on Marines and equipment for rotation to the Vietnamese combat zone. During that operation, Bayfield anchored at the mouth of the Cua Viet River, and her embarked Marines went ashore to rotate with units that had been serving eight miles upriver at Dong Ha
Dong Ha
Đông Hà is the capital town of Quang Tri province, Vietnam. It is located at around . Dong Ha is situated at the crossroads of National Highway 1A and Route 9, part of the East-West Economic Corridor . It lies on the Reunification Express Railway and is served by Dong Ha Railway Station...
. Bayfield returned to Okinawa on 13 March.
In April, she loaded troops for another landing and put them ashore south of Da Nang on 28 April. The transport continued to serve off the coast of Vietnam until 28 May, ferrying troops between points as needed and transporting casualties to the hospital ship . Relieved by the , Bayfield headed home, via Sasebo, Hong Kong and Pearl Harbor.
Bayfield earned four battle stars for World War II service, four for Korean service, and two for service in Vietnam.
Decommissioning
USS Bayfield carried out exercises until 27 December, at which time she was placed in a reduced readiness status. Berthed next to the at Long Beach, Bayfield prepared for inactivation. She was placed out of commission, in reserve, on 28 June 1968. A board of inspection and survey found the transport to be "unfit for further service", and her name struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register 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 the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 1 October 1968. She was sold to the Levin Metals Corporation of San Pedro, California on 15 September 1969 and scrapped.