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USS Dauphin (APA-97)
Encyclopedia
USS Dauphin (APA-97) was a Windsor-class
attack transport
that served with the US Navy during World War II
.
Dauphin (APA-97) was named after Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
. Dauphin (APA-97) was launched 10 June 1944 by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract; transferred to the Navy 23 September 1944; and commissioned the same day, Commander B. Connelly in command.
29 October 1944 for duty training precommissioning crews of transport and cargo ships, so serving 36 ships. Clearing Newport 20 January 1945 she arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
the next day to load cargo, and on 13 February got underway for the Pacific.
between 5 and 29 March, and arrived at Ulithi
staging point for the Okinawa operation 15 April. She sailed from Ulithi on the 22d to land reinforcements at Hagushi Beach, Okinawa, from 26 to 30 April.
and arrived at San Francisco 22 May.
A week later Dauphin was underway for the Philippines
. From 27 June until the end of the war she carried troops from New Guinea
to the Philippines.
, Luzon
, with occupation troops. She anchored in Tokyo Bay
the day of surrender, 2 September, and from 4 September to 27 October made four similar voyages carrying troops from the Philippines to Japan
. Assigned to the Operation Magic Carpet fleet she made two voyages carrying home veterans from Sasebo, Japan, and San Pedro Bay, Leyte, between 6 November 1945 and 17 January 1946.
the next day for disposal.
Dauphin earned one battle star for World War II
service.
, and later becoming SS Stevens
, a floating dormitory for Stevens Institute of Technology
. She was scrapped in 1979.
Windsor class attack transport
The Windsor-class attack transport was a class of US Navy attack transport. Ships of the class saw service in World War II.Like all attack transports, the purpose of the Windsors was to transport troops and their equipment to foreign shores in order to execute amphibious invasions using an array of...
attack transport
Attack transport
Attack Transport is a United States Navy ship classification.-History:In the early 1940s, as the United States Navy expanded in response to the threat of involvement in World War II, a number of civilian passenger ships and some freighters were acquired, converted to transports and given hull...
that served with the US Navy during 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...
.
Dauphin (APA-97) was named after Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...
. Dauphin (APA-97) was launched 10 June 1944 by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract; transferred to the Navy 23 September 1944; and commissioned the same day, Commander B. Connelly in command.
World War II
Dauphin reported to Newport, Rhode IslandNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
29 October 1944 for duty training precommissioning crews of transport and cargo ships, so serving 36 ships. Clearing Newport 20 January 1945 she arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, 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....
the next day to load cargo, and on 13 February got underway for the Pacific.
Invasion of Okinawa
She embarked troops and combat cargo at Pearl HarborPearl 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...
between 5 and 29 March, and arrived at 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...
staging point for the Okinawa operation 15 April. She sailed from Ulithi on the 22d to land reinforcements at Hagushi Beach, Okinawa, from 26 to 30 April.
Transport missions
Carrying casualties, she called at SaipanSaipan
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...
and arrived at San Francisco 22 May.
A week later Dauphin was underway for 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...
. From 27 June until the end of the war she carried troops 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 the Philippines.
After hostilities
On 26 August, Dauphin sailed from Batangas BayBatangas Bay
Batangas Bay is a semi-enclosed body of water located in the Philippines. The municipalities of Mabini, Bauan, San Pascual, Tingloy on Maribacan Island and Batangas City are located on the coast of the bay. The water surface area of the bay is about 220 km² , and the coastline has an...
, Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, with occupation troops. She anchored in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
the day of surrender, 2 September, and from 4 September to 27 October made four similar voyages carrying troops from the Philippines to 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...
. Assigned to the Operation Magic Carpet fleet she made two voyages carrying home veterans from Sasebo, Japan, and San Pedro Bay, Leyte, between 6 November 1945 and 17 January 1946.
Decommission
On the last day of January she put out for the east coast, arriving at Norfolk 17 February. Dauphin was decommissioned there 3 April 1946 and delivered to the War Shipping AdministrationWar Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
the next day for disposal.
Dauphin earned one battle star 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.
Commercial Service
Dauphin was sold for commercial service in 1948, being refurbished as passenger-cargo ship SS ExochordaSS Exochorda
SS Exochorda, a 473-foot, 14,500-ton cargo liner in service with American Export Lines from 1948 to 1959. A member of the line's post-war quartet of ships, "4 Aces", Exochorda sailed regularly from New York on a Mediterranean route...
, and later becoming SS Stevens
SS Stevens
SS Stevens, a , 14,893-ton ship, served as a floating dormitory from 1968 to 1975 for about 150 students of Stevens Institute of Technology, a technological university, in Hoboken, NJ...
, a floating dormitory for Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
. She was scrapped in 1979.