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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSGilliam (APA-57) |
| Namesake | Gilliam County, Oregon |
| Builder | Consolidated Steel |
| Launched | 28 March 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. A. O. Williams of Wilmington |
| Acquired | 31 July 1944 |
| Commissioned | 1 August 1944 |
| Decommissioned | N/A |
| Stricken | N/A |
| Honours and awards | Twobattle stars forWorld War II service |
| Fate | Sunk duringOperation Crossroads on 1 July 1946 atBikini Atoll |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Gilliam-classattack transport |
| Displacement | 4,247 tons (lt), 7,080 t.(fl) |
| Length | 426 ft (130 m) |
| Beam | 58 ft (18 m) |
| Draft | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Westinghouse turboelectric drive, 2 boilers, 2 propellers, Design shaft horsepower 6,000 |
| Speed | 16.9knots |
| Capacity | 47 Officers, 802 Enlisted |
| Complement | 27 Officers 295 Enlisted |
| Armament | 1 x5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mount, 4 x twin 40mm gun mounts, 10 x single20mm gun mounts |
| Notes | MCV Hull No. 1850, hull type S4-SE2-BD1 |
USSGilliam (APA-57), named forGilliam County inOregon, was thelead ship inher class ofattack transports serving in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II.
Gilliam waslaunched on 28 March 1944 under aMaritime Commission contract by theConsolidated Steel Corporation atWilmington inLos Angeles,California,sponsored by Mrs. A. O. Williams of Wilmington. The U.S. Navy acquiredGilliam on 31 July 1944 andcommissioned her on 1 August 1944.
The first of a new type of attack transport,Gilliam stood out ofSan Francisco Bay 16 October 1944 with 750United States Army troops forOro Bay,New Guinea, and delivered them to that port 4 November. Embarking nearly 1000 troops of theU.S. 11th Airborne Division, she sailed a week later and off-loaded her passengers atLeyte, subsequently returning toHumboldt Bay, New Guinea, 22 November.Gilliam got underway again 29 November under orders to steam toLeyte Gulf and embark elements of the6th Army Headquarters for passage toLingayen Gulf.
Gilliam was part of a 36-shipconvoy heading toward thePhilippines when, on 5 December 1944, the convoy came under heavy air attack while 100 miles (160 km) fromLeyte Gulf. At 12:18Gilliam spotted a plane coming in low over the water at deck level, headed for the middle of the convoy. Coming under limited fire, theJapanese plane released atorpedo two minutes later which hitSS Antoine Saugrain. Just after 12:30 two more planes came in low and fast, and one got another torpedo into the strickenmerchantman, which was then dead in the water.
Intense fire from the convoy drove the planes off, but later that afternoon another Japanese aircraft dove in at 15:30, and after running into heavy fire, made a suicide crash onSSMarcus Daly. The Japanese caught her on the bow at waterline and started fires and explosions. A secondkamikaze tried his luck but missed and crashed into the sea after repeated hits from the convoy's gunners.
Anton Saugraine andMarcus Daly were kept afloat by quick damage control, but the former ship was attacked again the next day while under tow and finally sunk. During this engagement,Gilliam's unflinching crew stood atGeneral Quarters for nearly 12 hours and the ship reachedLeyte on 6 December without damage.
At LeyteGilliam acted as receiving ship for the crews of damaged warships and undertook medical and salvage operations in spite of continued air alerts. After embarking over 500 soldiers atTacloban, she sailed from that port 7 January 1945 bringing troops toLingayen Gulf in support of the invasion. She returned to Leyte on 14 January to embark elements of the32nd Infantry Division and brought them safely back to Lingayen Gulf 27 January.
After loading casualties for passage to Leyte,Gilliam sailed from that port 2 February to embarkMarines of theIII Amphibious Corps atGuadalcanal and conducted training exercises in preparation for the coming invasion ofOkinawa.
Gilliam closed Okinawa on 1 April and in the face ofkamikaze attacks debarkedreconnaissance parties of the 3rd Amphibious Corps and unloaded vital cargo. On 5 April she sailed for theUnited States viaSaipan andPearl Harbor, mooring atSan Francisco 27 April for drydock repairs.
SubsequentlyGilliam embarked men of the6th Seabee Battalion aPort Hueneme, California, and sailed 28 May 1945 for Okinawa viaEniwetok andUlithi. She off-loaded cargo and passengers at Okinawa and then headed back to San Francisco.
Gilliam arrived back at San Francisco on 10 August, where nearly 1,000 troops were embarked and brought to Pearl Harbor on 27 August. Men of the Headquarters and Service Battalions,5th Amphibious Corps came on board atHawaii, andGilliam sailed 1 September forSasebo, Japan, and put her occupation troops ashore 3 weeks later.
On 25 September 1945 she got underway forManila, and after embarking more than 450 veterans of the33rd Infantry Division at Lingayen Gulf, she carried them to Sasebo, arriving 15 October.
After returning toCebu in the Philippines 29 October, she became part of theOperation Magic Carpet fleet and sailed 2 November with 1,000sailors and soldiers, debarking them atPortland, Oregon, 21 November 1945.
Following a voyage toSamar,Gilliam moored at Pearl Harbor on 16 February 1946 and prepared to participate in theatomic bomb tests atBikini Atoll in the summer of 1946. On the morning of 1 July 1946,Gilliam, a target ship forTest Able, was the first ship struck by the blast and sunk quickly in Bikini lagoon, badly damaged.[1] She was decommissioned, 5 July 1946 and struck from the Naval Register, 20 July 1946.
World War II Victory Medal
Navy Occupation Service Medal (two awards)Gilliam received threebattle stars forWorld War II service and twoNavy Occupation Service Medals for her actions during the occupation of Japan.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
