_underway%2c_in_the_1950s.jpg) USS Carpellotti (APD-136) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSCarpellotti |
| Namesake | Louis J. Carpellotti |
| Ordered | 1942 |
| Builder | Defoe Shipbuilding Company,Bay City, Michigan |
| Laid down | 31 October 1944 |
| Launched | 10 March 1945 |
| Commissioned | 30 July 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 21 April 1958 |
| Stricken | 1 December 1959 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1966 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Crosley-classhigh speed transport |
| Displacement | 1,450 long tons (1,473 t) |
| Length | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 23knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
| Range |
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| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 ×LCVPs |
| Troops | 162 troops |
| Complement | 204 (12 officers, 192 enlisted) |
| Armament |
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USSCarpellotti (APD-136) was aCrosley-classhigh speed transport in service with theUnited States Navy from 1945 to 1958. She was sold for scrap in 1966.Carpellotti was named afterMarinePrivate First Class Louis J. Carpellotti (1918–1942), who was posthumously awarded theSilver Star for his actions onTulagi, Solomon Islands, during theBattle of Guadalcanal.
Louis J. Carpellotti was born on 13 February 1918 inOld Forge,Pennsylvania. Heenlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps on 22 September 1940.Private First Class Carpellotti was killed in action atTulagi,Solomon Islands. During theBattle of Tulagi, part of the initial landings ofGuadalcanal campaign, he led a detachment to deliver a flanking fire on aJapanese position, enabling the rest of hissquad to assault and capture the position. Carpellotti was posthumously awarded theSilver Star and thePurple Heart.
TheUnited States Navydestroyer escortUSS Carpellotti was named for him, but its construction was cancelled in 1944 before it could belaunched.
Carpellotti, originally designatedDE-720, aRudderow-classdestroyer escort, was re-designated asAPD-136, a fast transport, on 17 July 1944, even before being laid down on 31 October 1944 at theDefoe Shipbuilding Company, inBay City, Michigan. She was launched on 10 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. S. Carpellotti. Builders trials before her pre-commissioning cruise were done inLake Huron.
After completion,Carpellotti sailed from the builder's yard at Bay City toChicago, Illinois. From there, she went through theChicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and down theChicago River toJoliet, Illinois, where pontoons were attached to the ship so it could be pushed down theDes Plaines River,Illinois River, andMississippi River as part of a barge train. After arriving at theTodd Johnson Shipyard inAlgiers, Louisiana, on the west bank of the Mississippi atNew Orleans, the rest of the crew reported aboard, andCarpellotti was commissioned at New Orleans on 30 July 1945.
As it was completed too late for active participation inWorld War II,Carpellotti remained on active duty with theAtlantic Fleet, based inNorfolk,Virginia. Following amidshipman's cruise toEnglish andFrench ports from 24 June through 2 August 1947, she was immobilized with a skeleton crew atYorktown, Virginia, until 3 February 1948.
Resuming active service,Carpellotti operated from Norfolk on amphibious assault exercises along the United States East Coast and in theCaribbean. In the summer, she made midshipman cruises toEuropean ports, and in 1948 made a good-will tour to thePersian Gulf. She also took part inNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises: in 1952 in the first NATO amphibious "Operation Mainbrace"; and in 1955 and 1957 during her tours with the6th Fleet in theMediterranean.
Carpellotti was placed out of commission in reserve at Norfolk on 21 April 1958, and laid up in theAtlantic Reserve Fleet.Carpellotti was stricken from theNaval Vessel Registry on 1 December 1959. She was sold 20 June 1960, for $141,474 toDiamond Manufacturing Company ofSavannah, Georgia, and used in the construction of theNorfolk-Portsmouth, Virginia bridge and tunnel project. In 1966, she was sold by Diamond Manufacturing toBoston Metals Company,Baltimore, Maryland, for scrapping.
 | American Campaign Medal |
 | World War II Victory Medal |
 | National Defense Service Medal |
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
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