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USS Oxford (APA-189)
Encyclopedia
USS Oxford (APA-189) 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.
; launched 12 July; underwent trials prior to acceptance by the Navy; and commissioned 11 September at the Naval Station, Astoria, Oregon
, Comdr. Paul S. Crandall in command.
After a brief fitting out period and shakedown in the Seattle, Washington
, and San Diego, California
, areas, Oxford embarked 1,478 troops at San Francisco, California
, and steamed for the Southwest Pacific Ocean
26 October 1944. She arrived Finschhafen
, New Guinea
12 November, and then operated between Hollandia
and Noumea
, New Caledonia
, as well as between Florida Island and Mantis Island.
, Luzon
, Philippine Islands, 11–13 January 1945 as a unit of task group TG 77.9. She then continued to transport troops between Leyte
, Manus
, and Wakde
Islands. She also provided troop transport services during the initial landings at Okinawa 1–5 April, after which she steamed to Guam
, to Pearl Harbor
, and finally to San Francisco, California
, arriving 11 May to embark replacement troops.
One week later she again steamed for the Southwest Pacific, this time to the Carolines, the Philippines, New Guinea
, and Eniwetok, which she reached 22 July. On the 24th, she departed in company with three other ships for San Francisco, but two days out she had to put in at Midway Island to repack her stern tube. She then steamed independently for San Francisco 29 July but, en route was diverted to San Pedro, California, where she tied up the second week of August.
, and San Francisco. She departed 23 August for Eniwetok with U.S. Army replacement troops. After calls at Ulithi
, Manila
, Subic Bay
, and Japanese ports, Oxford returned to San Francisco in late November.
, 26 February, decommissioned 17 April, was redelivered to War Shipping Administration
(WSA) the next day, and was struck from the Navy List
1 May and scrapped in 1974.
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.
World War II service
The first ship to be named Oxford by the Navy, APA–189 was laid down 17 April 1944 as M.C. Hull 657 by Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, WashingtonVancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
; launched 12 July; underwent trials prior to acceptance by the Navy; and commissioned 11 September at the Naval Station, Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, Comdr. Paul S. Crandall in command.
After a brief fitting out period and shakedown in the 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...
, 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...
, areas, Oxford embarked 1,478 troops at San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and steamed for the Southwest Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
26 October 1944. She arrived Finschhafen
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a district on the northeast coast of the Morobe province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the port of the same name.The port was discovered in 1884 by the German researcher Otto Finsch. In 1885 the German colony of German New Guinea created a town on the site and named it...
, 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, and then operated between 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....
and Noumea
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, 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...
, as well as between Florida Island and Mantis Island.
Landing troops and their equipment in the Philippines
Oxford participated in landing operations 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...
, 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...
, Philippine Islands, 11–13 January 1945 as a unit of task group TG 77.9. She then continued to transport troops between 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...
, 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...
, and Wakde
Wakde
Wakde is an island of Indonesia, part of the province of West Papua, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas.Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, Wakde served as an airbase...
Islands. She also provided troop transport services during the initial landings at Okinawa 1–5 April, after which she steamed to 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...
, 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...
, and finally to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, arriving 11 May to embark replacement troops.
One week later she again steamed for the Southwest Pacific, this time to the Carolines, the Philippines, 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 Eniwetok, which she reached 22 July. On the 24th, she departed in company with three other ships for San Francisco, but two days out she had to put in at Midway Island to repack her stern tube. She then steamed independently for San Francisco 29 July but, en route was diverted to San Pedro, California, where she tied up the second week of August.
End-of-war operations
After voyage repairs at Todd Shipyard, San Pedro, and assumption of command by Captain J. C. Goodnough, Oxford called at both San Diego, CaliforniaSan 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...
, and San Francisco. She departed 23 August for Eniwetok with U.S. Army replacement troops. After calls 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...
, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, 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...
, and Japanese ports, Oxford returned to San Francisco in late November.
Post-war decommissioning
In January 1946 Oxford was released from the naval service for postwar disposal. Assigned to Commander, 5th Naval District, she arrived 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....
, 26 February, decommissioned 17 April, was redelivered 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) the next day, and was 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....
1 May and scrapped in 1974.
Military awards and honors
Oxford received one battle star 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.