_at_anchor%2c_circa_in_1945_(USN_1044190).jpg) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Pitt |
| Namesake | Pitt County, North Carolina |
| Ordered | as aType VC2-S-AP5 hull,MCE hull 571[1] |
| Builder | Permanente Metals Corporation,Richmond, California |
| Yard number | 571[1] |
| Laid down | 8 September 1944 |
| Launched | 10 November 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Gwin Fallis |
| Commissioned | 11 December 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 9 April 1947 |
| Reclassified | redesignated Amphibious Transport (LPA-223), 14 August 1968 |
| Stricken | 23 April 1947 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors and awards | 1 ×battle star for World War II service |
| Fate |
|
| 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) |
| Boats & landing craft carried |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Troops | 86 officers, 1,475 enlisted |
| Complement | 56 officers, 480 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of | TransRon 13 |
| Operations | Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto (2–12 April 1945) |
| Awards | |
USSPitt (APA-223/LPA-223) was aHaskell-classattack transport in service with theUnited States Navy from 1944 to 1947. She was scrapped in 1980.
Pitt was of the VC2-S-AP5Victory ship design type and named afterPitt County, North Carolina. She was laid down on 8 September 1944, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCV hull 571, byPermanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2,Richmond, California; launched on 10 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Gwin Fallis; and commissioned on 11 December 1944.[3]
Aftershakedown off theCalifornia coast,Pitt departed 10 February 1945, viaPearl Harbor andEniwetok, forUlithi Atoll,Caroline Islands, to join 600 other ships preparing for the invasion ofOkinawa. She unloaded half of her ammunition cargo there, and the rest atLeyte.[3]
After loadingUS Army troops from the damaged attack transportSamuel Chase), she steamed forKerama Retto where her troops cleaned outZamami Shima, a key island in the small group off the southwest coast of Okinawa.[3]
She then became "receiving ship" for theKerama Retto Naval Base, caring for several hundred survivors of Japanesesuicide attacks, and shooting down one suicide plane on 6 April.Pitt steamed toSaipan,Tulagi,Noumea, andGuam before returning with passengers toSan Francisco, California, for the celebrations of theJapanese surrender.[3]
On 19 August,Pitt sailed via Ulithi toMindanao and Leyte, where she loaded troops to occupyAomori, northernHonshū,Japan, on 25 September.Pitt then began a series ofOperation Magic Carpet assignments, returning fighting men to the States from suchPacific Ocean locations asSaipan andTinian,Manila, andNagoya, Japan.[3]
She decommissioned and was transferred to theMaritime Commission (MARCOM) on 9 April 1947, and was struck from theNaval Vessel Register on 23 April 1947.[3] Placed in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet, was laid up in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet,Suisun Bay Group,Benicia, California.[2] She was briefly removed from the fleet 13 September 1954, byPope & Talbet until 22 October 1954, under a Repair Program.[4] On 14 August 1968, the designation "attack transport", APA, was changed to "amphibious transport", LPA, andAPA-223 becameLPA-223.[2] On 15 February 1980,A. L. Burbank & Co., receivedPitt along withMagoffin,Sevier, andPickaway to trade withMoore McCormack Lines, Inc., for SSMormaccape and SSMormactrade. She was then sold toCarol Shipping & Trading Corporation,Liberia, who sold her toKang Hiva Enterprise,Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to be scrapped. She was withdrawn from the fleet 14 April 1980.[4]
Pitt received onebattle star for World War II service.[3]
Online resources
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