USS President Hayes (APA-20)
Encyclopedia
USS President Hayes (APA-20) was a that saw service with the US Navy
in World War II
.
President Hayes was laid down as MC
Hull No. 55 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. 26 December 1939; launched 4 October 1940; turned over to American President Lines
20 February 1941; acquired by the Navy 7 July 1941; designated AP–39; and commissioned 15 December 1941, Commander F. W. Benson in command. The ship was redesignated an attack transport (APA-20) on 1 February 1943.
, via the Panama Canal
. During February and March she evacuated civilians and service dependents from Pearl Harbor
, then conducted amphibious
assault exercises off San Diego, California. On 1 July, with U.S. Marines
embarked, she sailed for the Tonga Islands to stage for the assault on Guadalcanal
.
. For the next two months she brought supplies and reinforcements from Tonga
, Nouméa
, and New Zealand
. Then, during December, she moved cargo forward from Australia
and New Zealand to New Caledonia
. In January 1943 she resumed reinforcement runs to Guadalcanal and, as APA–20 (effective 1 February 1943), continued that duty until June.
and Espiritu Santo
. On 30 October she embarked units of the 3rd Marine Division at Guadalcanal for the invasion of Bougainville Island
, 1 November, then brought in reinforcements and replacements during the rest of November into early January 1944.
. In April and May she transported Army replacements for the Marines on New Britain
. On 4 June she sailed, with units of the 3rd Marine Division embarked, for the Marshall Islands
to stage for the assault on Guam. Enemy resistance during the Saipan operation
delayed sailing, but on 21 July she landed her troops and supplies east of Apra Harbor.
21 October. Retiring to Manus Island
29 October after unloading her troops, she witnessed the explosion of ammunition ship on 10 November. President Hayes was not hit and dispatched fire and rescue parties to the stricken ships.
, President Hayes, with other units of Transport Division 32, had Ready Reserve troops embarked, and after the beachhead had been secured landed her troops and embarked the 81st Army Infantry Division to stand by as a floating reserve. She then steamed to the Philippines
, and from May to July moved more troops up from the southwest Pacific to the Philippines. Japan surrendered while she was at San Pedro, California loading more troops for deployment to the Pacific Theater.
14 September, then, with troops of the 25th Infantry Division aboard, continued on to Wakayama, Japan, arriving 7 October. On 29 October the troops were debarked at Nagoya, and the next day President Hayes departed for duty with Operation Magic Carpet, returning 1400 dischargees from the Marianas to Los Angeles, California
, on each of two round trips.
into 1949.
. She was assigned to the Stockton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet
, 28 November 1950. Her name was stricken from the Navy List
and she was transferred to the Maritime Commission 1 October 1958. She was sold for scrap in February 1973.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
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...
.
President Hayes was laid down as MC
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
Hull No. 55 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. 26 December 1939; launched 4 October 1940; turned over to American President Lines
American President Lines
American President Lines Ltd. is the world's seventh-largest container transportation and shipping company, providing services to more than 140 countries through a network combining intermodal freight transport operations with IT and e-commerce...
20 February 1941; acquired by the Navy 7 July 1941; designated AP–39; and commissioned 15 December 1941, Commander F. W. Benson in command. The ship was redesignated an attack transport (APA-20) on 1 February 1943.
World War II
On 6 January 1942 President Hayes sailed for 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...
, 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...
. During February and March she evacuated civilians and service dependents from 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...
, then conducted amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
assault exercises off San Diego, California. On 1 July, with U.S. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
embarked, she sailed for the Tonga Islands to stage for the assault on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
.
Invasion of Guadalcanal
On the evening of 7 August, while under air attack, President Hayes landed units of the 2nd Marine Regiment on the northeastern side of GuadalcanalGuadalcanal
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...
. For the next two months she brought supplies and reinforcements from Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, Nouméa
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,...
, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Then, during December, she moved cargo forward from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand to 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...
. In January 1943 she resumed reinforcement runs to Guadalcanal and, as APA–20 (effective 1 February 1943), continued that duty until June.
Rendova landings
In June she participated in the Rendova landings, shooting down 7 enemy planes. In July, President Hayes completed another troop lift to Guadalcanal, then carried cargo between Guadalcanal, Nouméa, EfateÉfaté
Efate is an island in the Agean Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in The Republic of Maliki. It is also known as Île Vate. It is the most populous island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third largest island. Most inhabitants of Efate live in Port Vila, the national...
and 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....
. On 30 October she embarked units of the 3rd Marine Division at Guadalcanal for the invasion of Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, 1 November, then brought in reinforcements and replacements during the rest of November into early January 1944.
Invasion of Guam
On 20 March units of the 4th Marine Regiment, transported by President Hayes, peacefully occupied Emirau IslandLanding on Emirau
The Landing on Emirau was the last of the series of operations that made up Operation Cartwheel, General Douglas MacArthur's strategy for the encirclement of the major Japanese base at Rabaul. A force of nearly 4,000 United States Marines landed on the island of Emirau on 20 March 1944. The island...
. In April and May she transported Army replacements for the Marines on New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
. On 4 June she sailed, with units of the 3rd Marine Division embarked, for the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
to stage for the assault on Guam. Enemy resistance during the Saipan operation
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...
delayed sailing, but on 21 July she landed her troops and supplies east of Apra Harbor.
Rescue of survivors from Mount Hood
After resupply runs to various bases, President Hayes was off 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...
21 October. Retiring to Manus Island
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...
29 October after unloading her troops, she witnessed the explosion of ammunition ship on 10 November. President Hayes was not hit and dispatched fire and rescue parties to the stricken ships.
Invasion of the Philippines
Steaming for San Francisco and overhaul the following day, she returned to the Pacific and made runs between Espirito Santo, Guadalcanal, and Nouméa. During the invasion of OkinawaBattle 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...
, President Hayes, with other units of Transport Division 32, had Ready Reserve troops embarked, and after the beachhead had been secured landed her troops and embarked the 81st Army Infantry Division to stand by as a floating reserve. She then steamed 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...
, and from May to July moved more troops up from the southwest Pacific to the Philippines. Japan surrendered while she was at San Pedro, California loading more troops for deployment to the Pacific Theater.
End-of-war assignments
President Hayes arrived at ManilaManila
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,...
14 September, then, with troops of the 25th Infantry Division aboard, continued on to Wakayama, Japan, arriving 7 October. On 29 October the troops were debarked at Nagoya, and the next day President Hayes departed for duty with Operation Magic Carpet, returning 1400 dischargees from the Marianas to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, on each of two round trips.
Postwar service
On 1 January 1946 she reported to the Naval Transportation Service to deliver dependents of service personnel to Honolulu. President Hayes continued to operate with the U.S. Pacific FleetUnited States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
into 1949.
Decommission
President Hayes was decommissioned 30 June 1949 at Mare IslandMare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
. She was assigned to the Stockton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet
United States Navy reserve fleets
The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an...
, 28 November 1950. Her name was stricken 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....
and she was transferred to the Maritime Commission 1 October 1958. She was sold for scrap in February 1973.