USS Pitt (APA-223)

USS Pitt (APA-223/LPA-223) was a Haskell-class attack transport that saw service with the US Navy in World War II. She was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type and named after Pitt County, North Carolina.

History
United States
Name: Pitt
Namesake: Pitt County, North Carolina
Ordered: as a Type VC2-S-AP5 hull, MCE hull 571[1]
Builder: Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Yard number: 571[1]
Laid down: 8 September 1944
Launched: 10 November 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. Gwin Fallis
Commissioned: 11 December 1944
Decommissioned: 9 April 1947
Reclassified: redesignated Amphibious Transport (LPA-223), 14 August 1968
Stricken: 23 April 1947
Identification:
Honors and
awards:		 1 × battle star for World War II service
Fate: transferred to Maritime Commission (MARCOM), 9 April 1947, laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, California
Status: trade-out, 15 February 1980, withdrawn, 14 April 1980
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Haskell-class attack transport
Type: Type VC2-S-AP5
Displacement:
  • 6,873 long tons (6,983 t) (light load)
  • 14,837 long tons (15,075 t) (full load)
Length: 455 ft (139 m)
Beam: 62 ft (19 m)
Draft: 24 ft (7.3 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 17.7 kn (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph)
Boats & landing
craft carried:
Capacity:
  • 2,900 long tons (2,900 t) DWT
  • 150,000 cu ft (4,200 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Troops: 86 officers, 1,475 enlisted
Complement: 56 officers, 480 enlisted
Armament:
Service record
Part of: TransRon 13
Operations: Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (2–12 April 1945)
Awards:

Construction

Pitt was laid down on 8 September 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCV hull 571, by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California; launched on 10 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Gwin Fallis; and commissioned on 11 December 1944, with Captain Walter S. Mayer, Jr., USN, in command.[3]

Service history

After shakedown off the California coast, Pitt departed 10 February 1945, via Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok, for Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, to join 600 other ships preparing for the invasion of Okinawa. She unloaded half of her ammunition cargo there, and the rest at Leyte.[3]

Invasion of Okinawa
Further information: Battle of Okinawa

After loading US Army troops from the damaged attack transport Samuel Chase), she steamed for Kerama Retto where her troops cleaned out Zamami Shima, a key island in the small group off the southwest coast of Okinawa.[3]

Transport duty

She then became "receiving ship" for the Kerama Retto Naval Base, caring for several hundred survivors of Japanese suicide attacks, and shooting down one suicide plane on 6 April. Pitt steamed to Saipan, Tulagi, Noumea, and Guam before returning with passengers to San Francisco, California, for the celebrations of the Japanese surrender.[3]

End-of-war – Operation Magic Carpet

On 19 August, Pitt sailed via Ulithi to Mindanao and Leyte, where she loaded troops to occupy Aomori, northern Honshū, Japan, on 25 September. Pitt then began a series of Operation Magic Carpet assignments, returning fighting men to the States from such Pacific Ocean locations as Saipan and Tinian, Manila, and Nagoya, Japan.[3]

Decommissioning

She decommissioned and was transferred to the Maritime Commission (MARCOM) on 9 April 1947, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 23 April 1947.[3]

Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, California.[2]

She was briefly removed from the fleet 13 September 1954, by Pope & Talbet until 22 October 1954, under a Repair Program.[4]

On 14 August 1968, the designation “attack transport”, APA, was changed to “amphibious transport”, LPA, and APA-223 became LPA-223.[2]

Fate

On 15 February 1980, A. L. Burbank & Co., received Pitt along with Magoffin, Sevier, and Pickaway to trade with Moore McCormack Lines, Inc., for SS Mormaccape and SS Mormactrade. She was then sold to Carol Shipping & Trading Corporation, Liberia, who sold her to Kang Hiva Enterprise, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to be scrapped. She was withdrawn from the fleet 14 April 1980.[4]

Honors and awards

Pitt received one battle star for World War II service.[3]

Notes
    Citations
    1. Kaiser No. 2 2010.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2015.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Pitt". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "Kaiser Permanente No. 2, Richmond CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
    • "USS Pitt (LPA-223)". Navsource.org. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
    • "Pitt (APA-223)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 29 January 2017.


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