_underway%2c_circa_1945-1946_(NH_80008).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSTodd |
| Namesake | |
| Builder | North Carolina Shipbuilding Company,Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Laid down | 10 August 1944 |
| Launched | 10 October 1944 |
| Commissioned | 30 November 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 25 June 1946 |
| Renamed |
|
| Stricken | 19 July 1946 |
| Fate | Sold for commercial service, scrapped 22 February 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Tolland-classattack cargo ship |
| Displacement | 13,910 long tons (14,133 t) full |
| Length | 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m) |
| Beam | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Propulsion | General Electric geared turbine drive, single propeller, 6,000shp |
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Complement | 395 |
| Armament |
|
USSTodd (AKA-71) was aTolland-classattack cargo ship in service with theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1972.
Todd was named after counties inKentucky,Minnesota, andSouth Dakota. She was laid down underUnited States Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1400) on 10 August 1944 atWilmington, North Carolina, by theNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 10 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. R. Gregg Cherry; acquired by the Navy from theWar Shipping Administration on 14 November; andcommissioned on 30 November 1944.
The ship held shakedown training in theChesapeake Bay and then moved up the coast toDavisville, Rhode Island, to load cargo. On 4 January 1945,Todd began an independent voyage toHawaii. She transited thePanama Canal on 11 January and arrived atPearl Harbor on the 26th. She unloaded her cargo, participated in training exercises for two weeks, and got underway forNew Caledonia on 12 February.
On 22 February,Todd arrived atNouméa to await further orders. During the next 10 weeks, the ship moved only once and that was to carry tracked landing vehicles 50 miles up the coast to Uarai Bay for the Army. She left Nouméa on 3 May and proceeded, viaManus, to the Philippines. The cargo ship arrived atLeyte on 16 May and headed forHollandia 12 days later. She loaded troops and supplies and returned to Manila on 17 June.Todd then made two more round-trips from the Philippines toNew Guinea. The ship was unloading cargo atSubic Bay whenhostilities with Japan ceased.
She embarked occupation troops, with their equipment, at Manila and got underway for Japan on 27 August. The troops disembarked at Yokohama on 2 September. A voyage from the Philippines toOkinawa and another from the Philippines to Japan followed. In October and early November, she made calls at Hong Kong andQingdao before proceeding toSasebo.Todd embarked elements of the5th Marine Division and departed Japan for the United States on 7 December.
The ship arrived at San Diego on 22 December 1945 and disembarked her passengers. She moved toSan Pedro the next day and off-loaded ammunition.Todd proceeded to San Francisco on 9 January 1946 and entered theHunters Point Naval Shipyard for voyage repairs. Between 15 February and 15 March, she made one last voyage toHawaii.
On 5 April,Todd stood out of San Francisco bound forNorfolk and inactivation. She arrived on 1 May and was decommissioned on 25 June 1946.Todd was returned to theWar Shipping Administration the next day and was struck from theNavy List on 19 July 1946.
Ex-USSTodd was sold on 26 September 1947 toOceanic Steamship Company and renamed SSVentura. After 14 years of service, she was sold by Oceanic toMatson Navigation Company and renamed SSHawaiian Wholesaler on 25 March 1961. A few months later (20 July 1961) she was sold again, this time toSea-Land Service, Inc. who renamed her SSChatham. Sea-Land used the old AKA for a little less than three years before transferring her to theMaritime Administration as part of the MARAD exchange program, 13 May 1965. MARAD sold the ship on 15 May 1969 to Gatx/Boothe Corp. On 22 February 1972, she was sold for the final time, to Sing Cheng Yug Iron and Steel of Taiwan for scrapping.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.