.gif)
USS Laurens (APA-153)
Encyclopedia
USS Laurens (APA-153) was a Haskell-class
attack transport
acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II
for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas.
Laurens, an attack transport, was launched by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon
, under Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. James C. Black; acquired by the Navy 7 September 1944; and commissioned the same day, Capt. A. R. Ponto in command.
coast, Laurens departed Oakland, California
, 26 October 1944, arriving Lae
, New Guinea
, 12 November. For the next month she operated out of New Guinea
and New Caledonia
, training in preparation for the Lingayen Gulf
landings. Forwarded to Guadalcanal
in mid-December, Laurens loaded over 1,400 troops and proceeded to Manus
, Admiralty Islands
.
to land troops off San Fabian
, Philippine Islands, 9 days later. She stood out of Lingayen Gulf on the 12th, returning to New Guinea
27 January. During February she made another cruise to the Philippines
transporting forces to Leyte
and remained there in preparation for the Okinawa campaign.
for Okinawa, doorstep to Japan
. The first wave of troops hit the beach 1 April 1945 while Laurens arrived in the transport area 9 miles offshore. The continued landing troops and cargo until she sailed for Saipan
, 6 April arriving there 4 days later.
and San Diego, California
, before returning Eniwetok 15 June 1945. For the next 6 weeks the transport operated among the islands, transferring troops and supplies to various staging areas. After loading war veterans at Ulithi
31 July, Laurens sailed the same day for San Francisco, arriving there 1 day before the end of the war.
, 8 January 1946, on her final “Magic Carpet” run from the Far East. The following month she sailed for the eastern seaboard.
, and returned to War Shipping Administration
(WSA) 13 April 1946. On 2 May 1956 Laurens entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet
in the Hudson River
, New York
, where she remained. She was eventually struck from the Navy List
(date unknown) and was sold for scrapping in 1988.
service.
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...
acquired by the U.S. 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...
for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas.
Laurens, an attack transport, was launched by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon
Portland, 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 Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. James C. Black; acquired by the Navy 7 September 1944; and commissioned the same day, Capt. A. R. Ponto in command.
World War II service
After shakedown along the CaliforniaCalifornia
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...
coast, Laurens departed Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, 26 October 1944, arriving Lae
Lae
Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...
, 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...
, 12 November. For the next month she operated out of 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...
and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, training in preparation for the 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...
landings. Forwarded to Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
in mid-December, Laurens loaded over 1,400 troops and proceeded to Manus
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...
, Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
.
Landing troops in the Philippine Islands
Laurens departed Manus 2 January 1945 and arrived in Lingayen GulfLingayen 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...
to land troops off San Fabian
San Fabián
San Fabián is one of 21 communes in the Ñuble Province of central Chile's Biobío Region. The capital is the town of San Fabián de Alico. The commune spans an area of .-Administration:...
, Philippine Islands, 9 days later. She stood out of Lingayen Gulf on the 12th, returning to 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...
27 January. During February she made another cruise 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...
transporting forces to Leyte
Leyte
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...
and remained there in preparation for the Okinawa campaign.
Landing troops onto the beaches of Okinawa
On 27 March 1945 Laurens steamed out of Leyte GulfLeyte 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...
for Okinawa, doorstep to Japan
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...
. The first wave of troops hit the beach 1 April 1945 while Laurens arrived in the transport area 9 miles offshore. The continued landing troops and cargo until she sailed for 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...
, 6 April arriving there 4 days later.
End-of-war operations
During May Laurens was under repair 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...
and San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, before returning Eniwetok 15 June 1945. For the next 6 weeks the transport operated among the islands, transferring troops and supplies to various staging areas. After loading war veterans 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...
31 July, Laurens sailed the same day for San Francisco, arriving there 1 day before the end of the war.
Post-war Magic Carpet assignments
Following the Japanese surrender, Laurens carried occupation troops to the Japanese home islands, then formed a unit of the “Operation Magic Carpet” fleet assigned to bring the fighting men home. She returned to 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...
, 8 January 1946, on her final “Magic Carpet” run from the Far East. The following month she sailed for the eastern seaboard.
Post-war decommissioning
Laurens decommissioned 10 April 1946 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....
, and returned to War Shipping Administration
War 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....
(WSA) 13 April 1946. On 2 May 1956 Laurens entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National 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 the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, New York
New 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...
, where she remained. She was eventually struck from the Navy List
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
(date unknown) and was sold for scrapping in 1988.
Military awards and honors
Laurens received two battle stars for World War IIWorld 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.