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USS Dickens (APA-161)
Encyclopedia
USS Dickens (APA-161) was a Haskell-class
attack transport
built and used by the US Navy in World War II
. She was a Victory ship
design, VC2-S-AP5. She was named after Dickens County, Texas, USA.
, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. A. M. Owens; transferred to the Navy 18 October 1944; and commissioned the same day, Captain R. M. Ingram, USNR, in command.
Dickens arrived at Pearl Harbor
11 December 1944 with an unusual cargo, $150 million worth of occupation scrip
t [sic.] for use later in the war. From 11 December to 27 January 1945 she conducted amphibious training operations with elements of the 5th Marines, then sailed by way of Eniwetok and Saipan
, to Iwo Jima
for the initial assault landings
19 February. She remained off Green Beach under famed Mount Suribachi until 25 February when she sailed for Saipan carrying casualties and 455 survivors of .
After her landing craft
were replaced at Tulagi
, Dickens rehearsed at Espiritu Santo
, then sailed from Ulithi
4 April 1945 for support landings on Okinawa
between 9 and 14 April. Returning to Saipan with casualties 18 April, she embarked reinforcements at Guam
and landed them on Okinawa from 15 to 19 May, again returning to Saipan with casualties and troops relieved of duty at Okinawa. On 1 June, Dickens entered Subic Bay
where she joined in amphibious training until the cessation of hostilities
.
On 25 August 1945 Dickens sailed for Japan
with Occupation troops whom she landed at Tokyo Bay
2 September. She returned to the Philippines
until 20 October when she stood out for Seattle, arriving 9 November. She was assigned to "Magic Carpet"
duty and made one voyage to Tacloban, Philippine Islands, and one to Pearl Harbor, to bring home returning veterans until 4 March when she sailed for the east coast
. Arriving at Norfolk
23 March, Dickens was decommissioned there 21 May 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day.
in James River, Virginia. Between 22 July and 14 October 1955 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet for a Repair Program, GAA- South Atlantic SS, and returned. Ex-Dickens was sold for $310,989 to Luria Brothers & Co., Inc. for scrapping on 7 May 1974. At 1300 EDT, on 18 June 1974 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet and sent to the breaker's yard
.
Haskell class attack transport
Haskell-class attack transports were amphibious assault ships of the United States Navy created in 1944. They were designed to transport 1,500 troops and their combat equipment, and land them on hostile shores with the ships' integral landing craft....
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...
built and used by the US Navy in 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...
. She was a Victory ship
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
design, VC2-S-AP5. She was named after Dickens County, Texas, USA.
World War II service
Dickens was launched 8 September 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. A. M. Owens; transferred to the Navy 18 October 1944; and commissioned the same day, Captain R. M. Ingram, USNR, in command.
Dickens 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...
11 December 1944 with an unusual cargo, $150 million worth of occupation scrip
Scrip
Scrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...
t [sic.] for use later in the war. From 11 December to 27 January 1945 she conducted amphibious training operations with elements of the 5th Marines, then sailed by way of Eniwetok and Saipan
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...
, to 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...
for the initial assault landings
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
19 February. She remained off Green Beach under famed Mount Suribachi until 25 February when she sailed for Saipan carrying casualties and 455 survivors of .
After her 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...
were replaced 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...
, Dickens rehearsed 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....
, then sailed 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...
4 April 1945 for support landings on 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...
between 9 and 14 April. Returning to Saipan with casualties 18 April, she embarked reinforcements at Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and landed them on Okinawa from 15 to 19 May, again returning to Saipan with casualties and troops relieved of duty at Okinawa. On 1 June, Dickens entered Subic Bay
Subic 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...
where she joined in amphibious training until the cessation of hostilities
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
.
On 25 August 1945 Dickens sailed for 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...
with Occupation troops whom she landed at 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...
2 September. She returned 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...
until 20 October when she stood out for Seattle, arriving 9 November. She was assigned to "Magic Carpet"
Operation Magic Carpet (World War II)
Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II effort by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and CBI theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships, and troop transports began repatriating soldiers from...
duty and made one voyage to Tacloban, Philippine Islands, and one to Pearl Harbor, to bring home returning veterans until 4 March when she sailed for the east coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Arriving at Norfolk
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....
23 March, Dickens was decommissioned there 21 May 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day.
Fate
Ex-Dickens was placed in the National Defense Reserve FleetNational Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
in James River, Virginia. Between 22 July and 14 October 1955 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet for a Repair Program, GAA- South Atlantic SS, and returned. Ex-Dickens was sold for $310,989 to Luria Brothers & Co., Inc. for scrapping on 7 May 1974. At 1300 EDT, on 18 June 1974 she was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet and sent to the breaker's yard
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
.