.jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | |
| Ordered | as a type (EC2-S-C1 hull),MCE hull 1598, SSNathaniel J. Wyeth |
| Builder | Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation,Portland, Oregon |
| Laid down | 31 January 1943 |
| Launched | 24 February 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Vincent Palmer |
| Acquired | 28 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 8 November 1943, USSDe Grasse (AP-164) |
| Decommissioned | 28 March 1946 |
| Reclassified | 20 August 1944, AK-223 |
| Refit | converted for Naval service at United Engineering Co., Alameda, CA. |
| Stricken | 17 April 1946 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors and awards | 3 ×battle stars |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 10 February 1970 |
| General characteristics[1] | |
| Class & type | Crater-classcargo ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
| Draft | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
| Troops | 1176 officers and enlisted |
| Complement | 256 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | |
USSDe Grasse (AP-164/AK-223), originallySSNathaniel J. Wyeth, was aCrater-classcargo ship active with theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. It was the second ship of the Navy to bear the name De Grasse, named afterFrenchAdmiralFrançois Joseph Paul de Grasse.
De Grasse was launched 24 February 1943, asliberty ship SSNathaniel J. Wyeth by theOregon Shipbuilding Corporation,Portland, Oregon, under aMaritime Commission contract. She was sponsored by Mrs. V. Palmer, acquired by the Navy on 28 October 1943, and converted by theUnited Engineering Company inAlameda, California.De Grasse was commissioned 8 November 1943. She was reclassifiedAK-223, 20 August 1944.
De Grasse sailed fromPort Hueneme, California, 22 November 1943, with construction battalion troops and cargo, arriving atPearl Harbor 2 December. Along with training assault troops in theHawaiians, she carried men and equipment to theMarshalls andGilberts on two voyages in February and March 1944. On 29 May she departed Pearl Harbor for the invasion of theMarianas, and between 20 and 25 June and again on 2 and 3 July lay offSaipan to land reinforcements.De Grasse returned to Pearl Harbor 27 July and until the end of 1944 transported troops among the Marshalls, the Gilberts, and the Marianas, and trained men in the Hawaiian area for amphibious assaults.
De Grasse sailed from Pearl Harbor 17 January 1945, to carry troops fromEniwetok,Guam,Saipan, andMajuro toUlithi, staging point for theOkinawa operation.De Grasse arrived off Okinawa 26 April, and the following day landed men and supplies atIe Shima. After two voyages to carryArmy hospital units fromNouméa andEspiritu Santo to Okinawa, she sailed from Okinawa 5 August forSan Francisco and overhaul.
De Grasse was assigned toOperation Magic Carpet duty after the war. She returned to San Francisco 23 January 1946, was decommissioned 28 March 1946, and delivered to theWar Shipping Administration the same day for disposal.
De Grasse received threebattle stars for World War II service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.