_on_17_November_1944_(80-G-287614).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSEastland |
| Namesake | Eastland County, Texas |
| Ordered |
|
| Laid down | 4 July 1944 |
| Launched | 19 September 1944 |
| Acquired | 26 October 1944 |
| Commissioned | 26 October 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 15 April 1946 |
| Stricken | date unknown |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| 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 |
|
USSEastland (APA-163) was aHaskell-classattack transport in service with theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1946 She was scrapped in 1974.
Eastland was launched 19 September 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,Portland, Oregon, for theMaritime Commission; sponsored by Mrs. Allan Hunger; transferred to the Navy and commissioned 26 October 1944.
Eastland sailed fromSan Pedro, California, 26 December 1944, carrying 64 naval aviators toPearl Harbor, where she arrived onNew Year's Day 1945. She continued west on 17 January transporting men toEniwetok,Kossol Roads, andPeleliu before arriving atLeyte, 9 February. After amphibious training,Eastland sailed fromLeyte 21 March forKerama Retto, the islands which proved the indispensable stepping stone and logistic base for invading and holding nearbyOkinawa.
ArrivingKerama, 26 March, she landed her troops without opposition onYakabi Shima and remained in thearchipelago until 26 April. Several times during that period,Eastland fired on planes which attacked the anchorage; though not damaged herself, the transport splashed at least three enemy aircraft.
After a month atUlithi,Eastland sailed intoSan Francisco Bay on 11 June 1945. She replenished her stores and embarked passengers and cargo atEniwetok,Ulithi,San Pedro Bay andLeyte, from which she returned to theGolden Gate, 13 August.
She sailed again 24 August to carry replacement soldiers to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, arriving 14 September. After interisland transport duty until September, she put out forHakodate,Japan, where she discharged occupation troops and their supplies from 4 to 7 October.
Eastland continued on transport duty in the westernPacific Ocean, liftingU.S. Marines fromGuam toTaku Bar, then reachedInchon to embark homeward-bound servicemen forPortland, Oregon, arriving in theColumbia River 2 December 1945. She made another such "Operation Magic Carpet" voyage betweenSeattle, Washington, andYokosuka, Japan, from 17 December 1945 to 28 January 1946. Two days later, she sailed forSan Francisco, California, andNorfolk, Virginia, arriving 24 February.
Eastland was decommissioned there 15 April 1946 and delivered to theWar Shipping Administration the following day for disposal. She was sold for scrapping on 23 January 1974 to Consolidated Steel Corporation,Brownsville, Texas.
Eastland received onebattle star forWorld War II service atOkinawa.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
