_at_anchor%2c_circa_in_1945.jpg) USSNatrona (APA-214), at anchor, date and location unknown. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Natrona |
| Namesake | Natrona County, Wyoming |
| Ordered | as aType VC2-S-AP5 hull,MCE hull 562[1] |
| Builder | Permanente Metals Corporation,Richmond, California |
| Yard number | 562[1] |
| Laid down | 30 June 1944 |
| Launched | 27 September 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs Anna Louise Spigler |
| Commissioned | 8 November 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 29 July 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 October 1958 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors and awards | 1 ×battle star for World War II service |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 5 March 1975, delivered, 1 April 1975 |
| General characteristics APA Specifications[2] | |
| Class & type | Haskell-classattack transport |
| Type | Type VC2-S-AP5 |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 17.7 kn (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 87 officers, 1,475 enlisted |
| Complement | 56 officers, 480 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of | TransRon 17 |
| Operations | Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (26 March–30 June 1945) |
| Awards | |
USSNatrona (APA-214) was aHaskell-classattack transport of theUS Navy inWorld War II. She was of the VC2-S-AP5Victory ship design type.Natrona was named forNatrona County, Wyoming.
Natrona was laid down 30 June 1944, underMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCV hull 562, byPermanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2,Richmond, California; sponsored by Mrs. Anna Louise Spigler; launched 27 September 1944; and acquired and commissioned by the Navy on 8 November 1944.[3]
Followingshakedown off Southern California,Natrona sailed forHawaii 3 January 1945, as a unit ofTransport Squadron 17. AtPearl Harbor, she debarkedMarines, loaded men and equipment of the806th Engineering Battalion, and continued her westward passage on 16 January. By 1 February, she reachedSaipan, debarked her passengers and cargo, and sailed toUlithi.[3]
At Ulithi,Natrona took on Marine night fighters and sailed forLeyte to prepare for operation "Iceberg", the invasion of theRyūkyūs. On 21 March,Natrona, with Marine night fighters and77th Infantry Division men and equipment on board, departedDulag in TG 51.1. Early on 26 March, she arrived offKerama Retto and proceeded to area "Jig".[3]
At 05:39, she lowered away nine wave guide boats, then moved to "Transport Area Fox" where, at 07:05, she had her first experience withJapanesekamikazes. After that air attack she moved to "Inner Transport Area George" to commence discharging her cargo of fuel and ammunition into small craft. At 19:51, she proceeded to the night retirement area. Until 30 March,Natrona continued daylight replenishment of small craft in area "George", with nightly retirements.[3]
On 1 April, Okinawa was invaded and on 2 April, theKerama Retto anchorage was the scene of a 13-hour battle against suicide planes, swimmers and boats. On 6 April, the anchorage was subjected to its most severe kamikaze attack, during whichNatrona bagged her first unassisted kill. On 7 April, she completed unloading 77th Division cargo. The following day, she crossed to theHagushi Beach area of Okinawa to debark the Marine night fighters and then returned to Kerama Retto to transport theC.O.,GeneralAndrew Bruce and staff of the 77th Division to the same location.[3]
Between 14 April and 10 July,Natrona remained anchored at Kerama Retto, serving as station and receiving ship. She also acted asFleet Post Office, Headquarters for ComDesRon 2 and ComRepDesPac, Fleet Replacement Center,Fog Oil coordinator and distributor, and subsistence center for crews of damaged and sunken ships. On 10 July, the transport shifted toBuckner Bay and, on 15 July, departed for the US, a veteran of 16 weeks and 208 air attacks in Okinawan waters.[3]
Natrona arrived San Francisco 5 August. Celebrating the end of the war there, she got underway again on 20 August, on the first of two extended transpacific runs carrying replacement troops to forward areas, occupation troops to Japan and returning veterans to the United States. On 13 January 1946, she completed her second cruise atSan Pedro.[3]
_underway_in_San_Francisco_Bay%2c_California_(USA)%2c_circa_in_late_1945_(NH_98740).jpg)
Moving toMare Island, she underwent inactivation overhaul, and on 29 July, decommissioned and entered thePacific Reserve Fleet atStockton, California.[3]
She was transferred to theMaritime Administration (MARAD) 26 August 1958, and struck from theNavy List 1 October 1958.Natrona was laid up in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet,Suisun Bay, California.[3]
On 5 March 1975, she was sold toNicolai Joffe Corporation, for $178,789.40, to be scrapped. She was delivered 1 April 1975.[4]
Natrona received onebattle star for World War II service.[3]
Online resources
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