USS Effingham (APA-165)

USS Effingham (APA-165) 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.

History
United States
Ordered: as type VC2-S-AP5
Laid down: date unknown
Launched: 29 September 1944
Acquired: 19 July 1944
Commissioned: 1 November 1944
Decommissioned: 17 May 1946
Stricken: date unknown
Fate: fate unknown
General characteristics
Class and type: Haskell-class attack transport
Displacement: 12,450 tons (full load)
Length: 455 ft 0 in (138.68 m)
Beam: 62 ft 0 in (18.90 m)
Draught: 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
Speed: 19 knots
Complement: 536
Armament:

World War II service

Effingham (APA-165) was launched 29 September 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. J. C. Casada; transferred to the Navy 19 July 1944; and commissioned 1 November 1944, Commander C. H. McLaughlin, USNR, in command.

Landing troops and supplies at Okinawa

Sailing from San Francisco, California, 2 January 1945, Effingham trained at Guadalcanal with the 1st Marines, then staged at Ulithi for the invasion landings on Okinawa 1 April. For 6 days she remained off the island, unloading her cargo and fighting off enemy air attacks. She returned to San Francisco for overhaul, then arrived back at Okinawa 12 August.

End-of-war operations

With the end of the war, she transported troops to Jinsen, Korea, and Taku, China, for the reoccupation of those countries. In October and November she embarked Chinese troops at Hong Kong for transfer to Chinwangtao and Tsingtao. She returned to the U.S. west coast in December bringing home servicemen, and after a similar voyage to the Far East on "Operation Magic Carpet" duty (which also returned Mochitsura Hashimoto to Japan after he testified at the Charles B. McVay III court-martial), sailed for the U.S. East Coast.

Post-war decommissioning

She was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, 17 May 1946, and returned to the Maritime Commission for disposal 3 days later.

Military awards and honors

Effingham received one battle star for World War II service.

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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