_underway_on_3_June_1954_(7574956).jpg) USSOlmsted (APA-188) in 1954 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Olmsted |
| Namesake | Olmsted County, Minnesota |
| Ordered | as aType VC2-S-AP5 hull,MCE hull 656[1] |
| Builder | Kaiser Shipbuilding Company,Vancouver, Washington |
| Yard number | 656[1] |
| Laid down | 11 April 1944 |
| Launched | 4 July 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Duncan Gregg |
| Commissioned | 5 September 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 21 February 1947 |
| Recommissioned | 2 February 1952 |
| Decommissioned | 27 February 1959 |
| Stricken | 1 July 1960 |
| Identification |
|
| Motto | "You Call We Haul" |
| Honors & awards | 1 ×battle stars for World War II service |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 1 August 1981 |
| General characteristics[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) (ship's trials) |
| Boats & landing craft carried |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 87 officers, 1,475 enlisted |
| Complement | 99 officers, 593 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of: | TransRon 14 |
| Operations: | Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (1–22 April 1945) |
| Awards: | |
USSOlmsted (APA-188) was aHaskell-classattack transport that saw service with theUS Navy for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas. She was of the VC2-S-AP5Victory ship design type.Olmsted was named forOlmsted County, Minnesota.
Olmsted (APA–188), approved 16 March 1944, was laid down byKaiser Shipbuilding Co.,Vancouver, Washington, 11 April 1944, as MCV Hull no. 656; launched 4 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Duncan Gregg; accepted and commissioned 5 September 1944.[3]
On completion of shakedown 27 October 1944,Olmsted joined theU.S. Pacific Fleet. Transporting troops and supplies in support of amphibious operations, she spent the last year of the war in thePacific Ocean with an itinerary that reads like a summary of the war's climactic stages:New Guinea, theAdmiralties,Leyte,Lingayen Gulf,Okinawa andJapan.[3]
Apparently charmed, she was bombed atLuzon and again atOkinawa without damage. Twice before the surrender of Japan, she returned to the States to lift reserve troops into the battle zone. She was in Japan to participate in the first occupational landings there, debarking theArmy's 81st (Wildcat) Division.[3]
Landing the 81st atHonshū wasOlmsted's last full dress amphibious operation before post war "Operation Magic Carpet" duty. Olmsted made three voyages from the states to the war torn Western Pacific to return veterans and materials until she was ordered to theU.S. East Coast for deactivation.[3]
On 21 February 1947,Olmsted was placed out of commission in reserve atNorfolk, Virginia. Due to deteriorating international conditions,Olmsted was recalled to active service and commissioned 2 February 1952 under command of Captain R. C. Leonard, and assigned to theAmphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet.[3]
After shakedown, operating out of Norfolk,Olmsted participated in training exercises along theU.S. East Coast, atGuantánamo Bay and in theMediterranean conducting amphibious assault landings. Her primary mission was training Marines and Sailors in Amphibious Warfare tactics. She also conducted training cruises forMidshipmen and Naval Reservists. With interim periods for overhaul and operational readiness training,Olmsted served in this capacity until she decommissioned 27 February 1959, atNorfolk, Virginia, and was assigned to the Norfolk Group,Atlantic Reserve Fleet,[3] 14 January 1960.[4]
Transferred to the custody of MARAD, 30 June 1960,Olmsted was struck from theNaval Register 1 July 1960.[3]
On 1 August 1983,[5] theWaterman Steamship Corporation boughtOlmsted and then resold her toBalbao Desquaces Maritimos for scrapping. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 16 September 1983.[4]
Olmsted earned onebattle stars for service inWorld War II.[3]
Online resources
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