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USS Casa Grande (LSD-13)
Encyclopedia
USS Casa Grande (LSD-13) was a Casa Grande-class
dock landing ship
of the United States Navy
, named in honor of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
near Coolidge, Arizona
.
The ship was originally authorized under the Lend-Lease Act
as BAPM-5, the fifth of seven British Mechanized Artillery Transports, to be named HMS Portway (F144).
Reclassified a Landing Ship Dock, LSD-13, on 1 July 1942, the contract for LSD-13 was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia
, on 10 September 1942.
Renamed HMS Spear, LSD-13's keel was laid down, on 11 November 1943.
While under construction, LSD-13, -14
, and -15
were reassigned back to the United States.
The ship was renamed Casa Grande, and, as the first of her class in the U.S. Navy, gave her name to the class.
Casa Grande was launched 11 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. G. Delapalme; and commissioned 5 June 1944, Lieutenant Commander F. E. Strumm, USNR, in command.
19 July 1944, Casa Grande was delayed at Balboa
, Panama Canal Zone
for repairs en route to Pearl Harbor
, where she arrived 21 August. Here she offloaded landing craft
brought from the east coast, and loaded men and equipment for the invasion of Yap
. However, upon her arrival at Eniwetok
on 25 September, she was ordered to Manus Island
to prepare for the Leyte operation
. Assigned to the Southern Attack Force, she entered Leyte Gulf
uneventfully, and took part in the initial assault on 20 October. Her men worked at fever pace under enemy air attack as they launched their landing craft and serviced other small craft engaged in this triumphant return to the Philippines
, and on 22 October, she withdrew for Hollandia
. During the next month, she made two voyages from New Guinea
to Leyte, ferrying reinforcements, and evacuating casualties.
December 1944 found Casa Grande preparing for the second of the massive operations in the Philippines, and on 31 December she sailed in Attack Group "Baker" of Task Force 79 (TF 79) for Lingayen Gulf
. First enemy contact came at sunset on 8 January 1945, as a small but determined group of kamikaze
s attacked. One of these broke through to damage Kitkun Bay
(CVE-71) severely, but Casa Grande came through unscathed, and joined in driving away the scattered individual enemy aircraft which pushed the attack onward.
Although sporadic attacks by Japanese aircraft and small ships tried to disrupt the landings, the long months of detailed planning bore fruit as Casa Grande and the others of her group carried out their landing assignments smoothly on 9 January 1945. She continued to operate in support of the invasion, plying between Lingayen
, Leyte, and Morotai
until 30 January. Casa Grande next cruised among the Solomons to load Marines
, landing craft, and tank
s for the invasion of Okinawa
. She took departure from Ulithi
on 26 March, and arrived off Okinawa
at dawn of 1 April. Landing equipment and troops under the first of the kamikaze attacks which were to bathe the Okinawa operation in blood, she moved to Kerama Retto on 4 April to operate a small boat repair shop there until 3 June, when she sailed for a minor overhaul at Leyte.
Through July 1945, Casa Grande sailed between ports of the South Pacific
and Philippines transporting men and landing craft, and on 23 July she sailed for dry-docking at San Francisco.
Between 12 September 1945, when she returned to Honolulu, and 20 April 1946, when she docked at San Francisco, Casa Grande supported occupation and redeployment operations in the western Pacific. She ferried landing craft and motor torpedo boat
squadrons, calling at ports in the South Pacific
, China
, Japan
, Korea
, Okinawa
, the Philippines
, and Alaska
. On 14 May 1946, she left San Francisco for Norfolk, Va., where she was decommissioned and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
, Norfolk Group 23 October 1946.
, Casa Grande was recommissioned 1 November 1950 and based at Norfolk
. Exercises off the east coast, and supply missions to Newfoundland and Greenland
, as well as amphibious training in the Caribbean
, formed the pattern of her operations through 1960. She voyaged to the Mediterranean
for service in the 6th Fleet on three occasions.
She sailed for the first such deployment 20 April 1953, and on 13 August, was dispatched to the Ionian Islands
to aid victims of earthquake
s. At Cephalonia
she established a beach center for medical supplies and provisions, and sent parties in to the mountains to deliver supplies and bury the dead. When Casa Grande sailed from Cephalonia a week later, she left behind a hospital corpsman, as well as details of Marines who began rebuilding homes and roads. She returned to Norfolk from this cruise 28 October 1953.
Her next deployment to the Mediterranean took place between 29 July 1959 and 9 February 1960. On her return to the States she cruised off the east coast in amphibious exercises and participated briefly in "Project Mercury
" (man in space) operations. Casa Grande sailed for 6th Fleet duty in November and finished 1962 in the Mediterranean as the command ship of Task Force 61
Amphibous Squadron Six.
Casa Grande was decommissioned on 6 October 1969, and transferred to the National Defense Reserve Force.
The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
, on 11 October 1976, and sold, 6 April 1992, for $270,000 to Baxter Shipping Inc., Burbank, California
.
Casa Grande received three battle stars
for World War II
service.
Casa Grande class dock landing ship
The Casa Grande class was a class of dock landing ships used by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy during the Second World War. Nineteen ships were planned, but two, and were cancelled before being completed.-Design:...
dock landing ship
Dock landing ship
A Dock landing ship or Landing ship is a form of amphibious warship designed to support amphibious operations. These amphibious assault ships transport and launch amphibious craft and vehicles with their crews and embarked personnel...
of the United States Navy
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...
, named in honor of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, in Coolidge, Arizona, just northeast of the city of Casa Grande, preserves a group of Ancient Pueblo Peoples Hohokam structures of the Pueblo III and Pueblo IV Eras.-Ancient pueblos:...
near Coolidge, Arizona
Coolidge, Arizona
Coolidge is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 8,154.Arizona Highway 87 and Arizona Highway 287 pass through the town. Coolidge is 56 miles southeast of Phoenix, and 69 miles northwest of Tucson. It is 21 miles...
.
The ship was originally authorized under the Lend-Lease Act
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
as BAPM-5, the fifth of seven British Mechanized Artillery Transports, to be named HMS Portway (F144).
Reclassified a Landing Ship Dock, LSD-13, on 1 July 1942, the contract for LSD-13 was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, on 10 September 1942.
Renamed HMS Spear, LSD-13's keel was laid down, on 11 November 1943.
While under construction, LSD-13, -14
USS Rushmore (LSD-14)
USS Rushmore was a Casa Grande-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy.She was the named in honor of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota....
, and -15
USS Shadwell (LSD-15)
USS Shadwell was a in the United States Navy. She was named after Shadwell plantation, Albemarle County, Virginia, the birthplace and early home of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States.Initially authorized under the Lend-Lease Act...
were reassigned back to the United States.
The ship was renamed Casa Grande, and, as the first of her class in the U.S. Navy, gave her name to the class.
Casa Grande was launched 11 April 1944, sponsored by Mrs. G. Delapalme; and commissioned 5 June 1944, Lieutenant Commander F. E. Strumm, USNR, in command.
World War II
Sailing from Hampton RoadsHampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
19 July 1944, Casa Grande was delayed at Balboa
Balboa, Panama
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.- History :The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean...
, Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
for repairs en route to 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...
, where she arrived 21 August. Here she offloaded landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
brought from the east coast, and loaded men and equipment for the invasion of Yap
Yap
Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
. However, upon her arrival at Eniwetok
Enewetak
Enewetak Atoll is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area totals less than , surrounding a deep central lagoon, in circumference...
on 25 September, she was ordered to Manus Island
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
to prepare for the Leyte operation
Battle of Leyte
The Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the invasion and conquest of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American and Filipino guerrilla forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines led by...
. Assigned to the Southern Attack Force, she entered Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
uneventfully, and took part in the initial assault on 20 October. Her men worked at fever pace under enemy air attack as they launched their landing craft and serviced other small craft engaged in this triumphant return to 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...
, and on 22 October, she withdrew for Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
. During the next month, she made two voyages from New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
to Leyte, ferrying reinforcements, and evacuating casualties.
December 1944 found Casa Grande preparing for the second of the massive operations in the Philippines, and on 31 December she sailed in Attack Group "Baker" of Task Force 79 (TF 79) for Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
. First enemy contact came at sunset on 8 January 1945, as a small but determined group of 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 attacked. One of these broke through to damage Kitkun Bay
USS Kitkun Bay (CVE-71)
USS Kitkun Bay was a US Navy Casablanca class escort carrier launched on 8 November 1943.Originally designated as an AVG, was classified as ACV-71 on 20 August 1942 and reclassified as CVE-71 on 15 July 1943...
(CVE-71) severely, but Casa Grande came through unscathed, and joined in driving away the scattered individual enemy aircraft which pushed the attack onward.
Although sporadic attacks by Japanese aircraft and small ships tried to disrupt the landings, the long months of detailed planning bore fruit as Casa Grande and the others of her group carried out their landing assignments smoothly on 9 January 1945. She continued to operate in support of the invasion, plying between Lingayen
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
, Leyte, and Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
until 30 January. Casa Grande next cruised among the Solomons to load Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, landing craft, and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s for the invasion of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
. She took departure from Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
on 26 March, and arrived off Okinawa
Okinawa Prefecture
is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
at dawn of 1 April. Landing equipment and troops under the first of the kamikaze attacks which were to bathe the Okinawa operation in blood, she moved to Kerama Retto on 4 April to operate a small boat repair shop there until 3 June, when she sailed for a minor overhaul at Leyte.
Through July 1945, Casa Grande sailed between ports of the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
and Philippines transporting men and landing craft, and on 23 July she sailed for dry-docking at San Francisco.
Between 12 September 1945, when she returned to Honolulu, and 20 April 1946, when she docked at San Francisco, Casa Grande supported occupation and redeployment operations in the western Pacific. She ferried landing craft and motor torpedo boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
squadrons, calling at ports in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 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...
, Okinawa
Okinawa Prefecture
is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
, 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...
, and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. On 14 May 1946, she left San Francisco for Norfolk, Va., where she was decommissioned and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
United States Navy reserve fleets
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an...
, Norfolk Group 23 October 1946.
1950 – 1969
With the outbreak of the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Casa Grande was recommissioned 1 November 1950 and based at Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
. Exercises off the east coast, and supply missions to Newfoundland and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, as well as amphibious training in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, formed the pattern of her operations through 1960. She voyaged to the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
for service in the 6th Fleet on three occasions.
She sailed for the first such deployment 20 April 1953, and on 13 August, was dispatched to the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
to aid victims of earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s. At Cephalonia
Kefalonia
The island of Cephalonia, also known as Kefalonia, Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of . It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit...
she established a beach center for medical supplies and provisions, and sent parties in to the mountains to deliver supplies and bury the dead. When Casa Grande sailed from Cephalonia a week later, she left behind a hospital corpsman, as well as details of Marines who began rebuilding homes and roads. She returned to Norfolk from this cruise 28 October 1953.
Her next deployment to the Mediterranean took place between 29 July 1959 and 9 February 1960. On her return to the States she cruised off the east coast in amphibious exercises and participated briefly in "Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
" (man in space) operations. Casa Grande sailed for 6th Fleet duty in November and finished 1962 in the Mediterranean as the command ship of Task Force 61
Task Force 61
Task Force 61 is a task force of the United States Navy that today denotes what used to be designated the Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group of the United States Sixth Fleet. It is composed of approximately three Amphibious assault ships, but in 2008 is designated the Expeditionary Strike Group...
Amphibous Squadron Six.
Casa Grande was decommissioned on 6 October 1969, and transferred to the National Defense Reserve Force.
The ship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval 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 11 October 1976, and sold, 6 April 1992, for $270,000 to Baxter Shipping Inc., Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
.
Casa Grande received three battle stars
Service star
A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...
for World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
service.