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USS Hansford (APA-106)
Encyclopedia
USS Hansford (APA-106) was a that served with the US Navy during World War II.
Originally christened Sea Adder, the vessel was launched 25 April 1944 as Gladwin by Western Pipe & Steel
of San Francisco, under Maritime Commission contract. She was transferred to the Navy and renamed Hansford (after Hansford County, Texas
) on 25 August, and commissioned on 12 October 1944, Comdr. William A. Lynch in command.
25 November 1944 and unloaded passengers and cargo there on 2 December. In the Hawaiian Islands
she undertook an intensive training program emphasizing landing exercises during daylight and maneuvering in formation at night. On 28 December she embarked the 1st Battalion Landing Team, 27th Regiment, 5th Division, U.S. Marines who joined her crew in amphibious training as they made ready for combat.
, the staging area for the invasion of Iwo Jima
, next step in America's seaborne thrust across the Pacific. After final rehearsal at Saipan, she sortied 16 February 1945 with Task Force 51. The initial assault waves which stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima 19 February included units from Hansford. She continued to land troops and equipment through 25 February. Although she often closed to within 1,000 yards of land, Hansford managed to escape the enemy shells which landed nearby. However, four of her boats, two LCVP's and two LCM's were lost during the operation, and her beach party, which was ashore from 19 February through 22 February, suffered 17 casualties including one officer and three enlisted men killed and one bluejacket
missing. Three members of the boat group were wounded.
Each day while she was anchored off Iwo Jima, Hansford embarked and cared for casualties who were brought on board from the beaches. On the afternoon of 25 February she sailed for Saipan. Upon arrival there on 28 February, she transferred 127 casualties to an Army hospital.
Hansford departed for Tulagi
, Solomon Islands
, 5 March 1945, whereupon arrival 12 March, she replaced the boats lost at Iwo Jima. The next day she sailed for the New Hebrides
, anchoring in Segond Channel, Espiritu Santo
Island, 15 March to embark the 2d Battalion Landing Team, 105th Regiment, 27th Infantry Division (United States)|27th Infantry Division]]. While at Espiritu Santo, Hansford readied herself for further combat. She got underway for Ulithi atoll, the staging area for the invasion of Okinawa, 25 March.
. After a passage made difficult by three submarine contacts and encounters with numerous floating mines, her task group anchored in Kerama Retto
9 April 1945. The next day she steamed to the Hagushi
beaches at Okinawa, where she landed her troops and cargo, and embarked casualties. Hansfords crew often sighted enemy planes which raided the area 20 times during the week she was off Okinawa, but she only opened fire once when an enemy plane passed close aboard at an extremely low altitude. The ship's company suffered their only casualty when the barrel of a 20 mm. gun exploded.
Hansford departed Okinawa with 51 casualties on board 16 April and transferred them to an Army hospital upon her arrival Saipan 20 April. The next day she got underway for Ulithi where she anchored 23 April for a month of training for future operations against the Japanese home islands. She then proceeded to the Philippines
arriving San Pedro Bay
, Leyte Gulf
, 27 May, to continue preparations for invasion.
for passage to occupation duty in Japan. She got underway for Tokyo Bay
on 25 August, returned to Subic Bay
that night because of typhoon, and on 27 August again sailed for Japan. Her formation entered Tokyo Bay early in the watch and passed battleship Missouri
as the surrender ceremonies ending the war took place. The next day Hansfords occupation troops and cargo debarked at Yokohama
. During the ensuing weeks at Yokohama, Hansford was a center of much activity since Admiral Hall, now serving as Port Director, was embarked. Her duties included quartering liberated Allied prisoners.
13 October, Hansford sailed with 79 officers and 1,320 enlisted passengers whom she debarked in San Pedro 26 October. After repairs in dry dock, she returned to Nagoya, Japan, 4 December and got underway for Seattle, Washington
, with another load of troops 7 December. The day after her arrival back in Japan, she was released from "Magic Carpet" duty, and sailed for the United States. Subsequently, Hansford sailed via the Panama Canal
to Norfolk, Virginia
. Arriving on 2 May 1946, she decommissioned there 14 June 1946.
and renamed her Steel Apprentice. The vessel operated in the service of Ithsmian from 1949 until 1969.
On October 20, 1953, navigating in thick fog and without operable radar, the Steel Apprentice struck Elbow of Cross Ledge Light
head-on, knocking most of the lighthouse
into the Delaware Bay
.
Steel Apprentice was scrapped at Kaohsiung
, Taiwan
in May 1973.
Originally christened Sea Adder, the vessel was launched 25 April 1944 as Gladwin by Western Pipe & Steel
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...
of San Francisco, under Maritime Commission contract. She was transferred to the Navy and renamed Hansford (after Hansford County, Texas
Hansford County, Texas
Hansford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 5,613. The county is named for John M. Hansford, a Texas state congressman and judge. Hansford County is one of 30 prohibition, or entirely dry, counties in the state of Texas. Its seat is...
) on 25 August, and commissioned on 12 October 1944, Comdr. William A. Lynch in command.
Operational history
After shakedown off San Pedro, California, Hansford got underway for 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...
25 November 1944 and unloaded passengers and cargo there on 2 December. In the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
she undertook an intensive training program emphasizing landing exercises during daylight and maneuvering in formation at night. On 28 December she embarked the 1st Battalion Landing Team, 27th Regiment, 5th Division, U.S. Marines who joined her crew in amphibious training as they made ready for combat.
Casualties at Iwo Jima
On 27 January 1945, Hansford sailed for 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...
, the staging area for the invasion of 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...
, next step in America's seaborne thrust across the Pacific. After final rehearsal at Saipan, she sortied 16 February 1945 with Task Force 51. The initial assault waves which stormed the beaches of Iwo Jima 19 February included units from Hansford. She continued to land troops and equipment through 25 February. Although she often closed to within 1,000 yards of land, Hansford managed to escape the enemy shells which landed nearby. However, four of her boats, two LCVP's and two LCM's were lost during the operation, and her beach party, which was ashore from 19 February through 22 February, suffered 17 casualties including one officer and three enlisted men killed and one bluejacket
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
missing. Three members of the boat group were wounded.
Each day while she was anchored off Iwo Jima, Hansford embarked and cared for casualties who were brought on board from the beaches. On the afternoon of 25 February she sailed for Saipan. Upon arrival there on 28 February, she transferred 127 casualties to an Army hospital.
Hansford departed for 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...
, Solomon Islands
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...
, 5 March 1945, whereupon arrival 12 March, she replaced the boats lost at Iwo Jima. The next day she sailed for 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...
, anchoring in Segond Channel, 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....
Island, 15 March to embark the 2d Battalion Landing Team, 105th Regiment, 27th Infantry Division (United States)|27th Infantry Division]]. While at Espiritu Santo, Hansford readied herself for further combat. She got underway for Ulithi atoll, the staging area for the invasion of Okinawa, 25 March.
Okinawa
Hansford sortied to the Ryukyus 4 April to take part in the follow-up phases of the vast Okinawa operation, largest invasion of the Pacific WarPacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. After a passage made difficult by three submarine contacts and encounters with numerous floating mines, her task group anchored in Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
9 April 1945. The next day she steamed to 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 at Okinawa, where she landed her troops and cargo, and embarked casualties. Hansfords crew often sighted enemy planes which raided the area 20 times during the week she was off Okinawa, but she only opened fire once when an enemy plane passed close aboard at an extremely low altitude. The ship's company suffered their only casualty when the barrel of a 20 mm. gun exploded.
Hansford departed Okinawa with 51 casualties on board 16 April and transferred them to an Army hospital upon her arrival Saipan 20 April. The next day she got underway for Ulithi where she anchored 23 April for a month of training for future operations against the Japanese home islands. She then proceeded 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...
arriving San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (Philippines)
San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf, about 15 km east-west and 20 km north-south. The bay is bounded on the north and east by Samar and on the east by Leyte Island. It is connected by San Juanico Strait to Carigara Bay of the Samar Sea. The...
, 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...
, 27 May, to continue preparations for invasion.
After hostilities
The day after the Japanese capitulated, Hansford embarked Commander Amphibious Group 12, Rear Admiral J. L. Hall, and his staff of 62 officers and 218 bluejackets. On 19 August key Army units came on board at LeyteLeyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
for passage to occupation duty in Japan. She got underway for 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...
on 25 August, returned to 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...
that night because of typhoon, and on 27 August again sailed for Japan. Her formation entered Tokyo Bay early in the watch and passed battleship Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
as the surrender ceremonies ending the war took place. The next day Hansfords occupation troops and cargo debarked at Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
. During the ensuing weeks at Yokohama, Hansford was a center of much activity since Admiral Hall, now serving as Port Director, was embarked. Her duties included quartering liberated Allied prisoners.
Operation Magic Carpet
Assigned to Operation Magic CarpetOperation 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...
13 October, Hansford sailed with 79 officers and 1,320 enlisted passengers whom she debarked in San Pedro 26 October. After repairs in dry dock, she returned to Nagoya, Japan, 4 December and got underway for Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, with another load of troops 7 December. The day after her arrival back in Japan, she was released from "Magic Carpet" duty, and sailed for the United States. Subsequently, Hansford sailed via the Panama Canal
Panama 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...
to 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....
. Arriving on 2 May 1946, she decommissioned there 14 June 1946.
Commercial service
Hansford was redelivered to the Maritime Commission and sold 20 May 1947 to Isthmian Lines, who registered her in 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...
and renamed her Steel Apprentice. The vessel operated in the service of Ithsmian from 1949 until 1969.
On October 20, 1953, navigating in thick fog and without operable radar, the Steel Apprentice struck Elbow of Cross Ledge Light
Elbow of Cross Ledge Light
The Elbow of Cross Ledge Light was a lighthouse on the north side of the ship channel in Delaware Bay on the east coast of the United States, west of Egg Island Point. It was destroyed by a ship collision in 1953 and replaced by a skeleton tower on the same foundation.- History :This light was...
head-on, knocking most of the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
into the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
.
Steel Apprentice was scrapped at Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
, 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...
in May 1973.