_at_anchor%2c_circa_in_1945_(NH_78546).jpg) Berrien, circa in 1945 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSBerrien |
| Namesake | |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel |
| Laid down | 23 February 1944 |
| Launched | 20 May 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Jack Love |
| Acquired | 7 October 1944 |
| Commissioned | 8 October 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 17 May 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 August 1947 |
| Honours and awards | Twobattle stars forWorld War II service |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 17 May 1966 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Gilliam-classattack transport |
| Displacement | 4,247 tons (lt), 7,080 t.(fl) |
| Length | 426 ft (130 m) |
| Beam | 58 ft (18 m) |
| Draft | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Westinghouse turboelectric drive, 2 boilers, 2 propellers, Design shaft horsepower 6,000 |
| Speed | 17knots |
| Capacity | 47 Officers, 802 Enlisted |
| Crew | 27 Officers, 295 Enlisted |
| Armament | 1 x5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mount, 4 x twin40mm gun mounts, 10 x single20mm gun mounts |
| Notes | MCV Hull No. 1855, hull type S4-SE2-BD1 |
USSBerrien (APA-62) was aGilliam-classattack transport that served with theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1966.
Berrien was named aftercounties inGeorgia andMichigan. She was launched 20 March 1944 under aUnited States Maritime Commission contract by theConsolidated Steel Corporation atWilmington, Los Angeles; acquired by the Navy on 7 October 1944; and commissioned on 8 October 1944. The ship was nicknamed the "Mighty B" and the "Blue Bitch".
She departedPearl Harbor for operations in thePacific on 27 January 1945.Berrien arrived in time to participate in theinvasion of Iwo Jima.
Approximately one month later, the ship was again on her way into enemy territory with Transport Squadron 15 as part of theinvasion of Okinawa. OnEaster Sunday morning, theBerrien and other ships of the task force appeared off the southwest shores ofOkinawa as part of a feint to throw enemy forces off balance and pave the way for the main landings on the western beaches ofHagushi. That morning, 2 U.S. Navy ships were hit bykamikaze planes. However, the feint succeeded and it was used again the next day. This worked well and losses were minimal.
TheBerrien cruised offshore for about a week, waiting orders to proceed to Hagushi to unload her cargo. She was finally sent into enemy waters, accompanied by a destroyer escort and the destroyersUSSAmmen andUSSBrown. While en route,Berrien encountered a mine and had near misses by 4 torpedoes fired by aJapanesesubmarine. She arrived at Okinawa and remained there for 10 days, during which she was under constant attack from shore batteries and kamikazes. She received a hit near her stacks which wounded a radioman, making him the 18thBerrien crewman to receive thePurple Heart.[citation needed]
From Okinawa, she sailed back toSaipan, and received orders to head to theSouth Pacific. The crew wasinitiated from 'pollywogs' into respectable 'shellbacks' at theEquator. From Tulagi she steamed toNouméa, New Caledonia, then back to theMariana Islands. On the morning of 3 July, on the way into Guam, she participated in theair-sea rescue of 10 downedArmy fliers. FromGuam she returned to the US. While inSan Francisco, the cease fire order was given in the Pacific theater. The war had ended.
Berrien returned to the Pacific and headed toManila, then toAomori, Japan as part of the initial allied landings in northernHonshu. From there, she steamed north toOtaru, inHokkaidō, northernmost of the mainJapanese home islands, for another initial landing onNippon soil. At this point, the crew was asked if they wished to take part in the Bikini Atoll tests. There were not enough volunteers to man the ship, so she received orders to sail fromOtaru intoTokyo Bay to take onMarines andSailors returning home. She docked in Seattle, where she received many new crew members to replace those discharged, as well as a new captain. She returned to theOrient and was inShanghai, China on theHuangpu River in February 1946, but returned to the United States shortly afterwards.Berrien had 166plank owners, and of the 321 enlisted men, 173 were with her from her commissioning, as were 20 of the 31 officers.
She wasdecommissioned in May 1946, returned to theUnited States Maritime Commission on 12 August 1947, and placed in theSuisun BayReserve Fleet. She participated in theFleet Repair Program from 11 July 1955 to 28 October 1955 until returned to Suisun Bay. She was sold as scrap to Zidell Explorations, Inc. on 17 May 1966 and delivered 16 August 1966.
Berrien received twobattle stars forWorld War II service in the Pacific Theatre.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.