_at_San_Francisco%2c_California_(USA)%2c_in_1951_(USN_434604).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSBottineau (APA-235) |
| Namesake | Bottineau County, North Dakota |
| Builder | Kaiser Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 11 October 1944 |
| Launched | 22 November 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs Paul Durand |
| Acquired | 30 December 1944 |
| Commissioned | 30 December 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 31 August 1955 |
| Reclassified | LPA-235, 1 January 1969 (while in Reserve Fleet) |
| Stricken | 1 July 1961 |
| Honours & awards | Onebattle star forWorld War II |
| Fate | Scrapped 1983 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Haskell-classattack transport |
| Displacement | 6,720 tons (lt), 14,837 t. (fl) |
| Length | 455 ft |
| Beam | 62 ft |
| Draft | 24 ft |
| Propulsion | 1 ×Joshua Hendy geared turbine, 2 ×Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 1 × propeller, designed shafthorsepower 8,500 |
| Speed | 17.5knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 2 ×LCM, 12 ×LCVP, 3 ×LCPU |
| Capacity | 86 Officers 1,475 Enlisted |
| Crew | 56 Officers, 480 enlisted |
| Armament | 1 ×5"/38-caliber dual-purpose gun mount, 1 × quad40 mm gun mount, 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts, 10 × single20 mm gun mounts |
| Notes | MCV Hull No. 681, hull type VC2-S-AP5 |
USSBottineau (APA-235) was aHaskell-classattack transport in service with theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1947 and from 1951 to 1955. She was scrapped in 1983.
Bottineau was named afterBottineau County, North Dakota. She was launched on 22 November 1944 byKaiser Shipbuilding ofVancouver, Washington, under aUnited States Maritime Commission contract; transferred to the Navy 30 December, and commissioned the same day.
Reporting to thePacific Fleet,Bottineau carried a cargo of ammunition toPearl Harbor during March 1945. Departing Pearl Harbor 9 April she carried replacement troops toSaipan,Marianas Islands, and evacuated casualties fromOkinawa before returning to the United States on 10 June 1945. She then carried replacementtroops to thePhilippines and returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the invasion ofJapan.
Following the Japanese surrender she landed elements of the 98th Division atWakayama,Honshu, Japan, 1 October 1945.Bottineau departed 6 October forGuam and returned to the United States with Pacific veterans, arriving atSeattle, Washington, 26 January 1946.
Between February and May 1946Bottineau operated betweenSan Francisco andSan Diego. DepartingSan Pedro, California, 25 May 1946, she arrived atBikini Atoll 6 June forOperation Crossroads, designed to test the effectiveness ofatomic bombs on warships. Over 200 warships participated in the operation, 75 of them as targets.
Bottineau's role in the tests was to act as a transport for the target vessel boarding teams. Following the tests she returned to San Francisco, arriving 21 August. She was placed out of commission in reserve there 8 March 1947.
Recommissioned 24 March 1951,Bottineau served with Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, until August when she steamed toNorfolk, Virginia, arriving 4 September.Bottineau served with theAtlantic Fleet, taking part in amphibious training exercises and other routine peacetime duties, until going out of commission at Philadelphia 31 August 1955.
She was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 1 July 1961 and returned to theMaritime Administration, who transferred her to theNational Defense Reserve Fleet,James River,Fort Eustis, Virginia. On 1 January 1969, while still in the Reserve Fleet, she was redesignated an amphibious transport, LPA-235. She was sold for scrapping to Sociedad Anonima Desbar S.A. Spain on 1 August 1983.
For her World War II serviceBottineau received onebattle star.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
