USS Caswell (AKA-72)
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| Career | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Caswell |
| Namesake: | Caswell County, North Carolina |
| Builder: | North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Launched: | 24 October 1944 |
| Acquired: | 27 November 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 13 December 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 19 June 1946 |
| Honors and awards: | 1 battle star (World War II) |
| Fate: |
Sold into merchant service, 23 June 1947 Sold for scrapping, 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Tolland-class attack cargo ship |
| Displacement: | 6,318 long tons (6,419 t) |
| Length: | 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Propulsion: | GE geared turbine drive, single propeller, 6,000 hp (4,474 kW) |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Range: | 17,000 miles |
| Boats and landing craft carried: |
14 × LCVP 8 × LCM |
| Capacity: | 380,000 ft3 (11.000 m³), 5,275 tons |
| Complement: | 395 |
| Armament: |
• 1 × 5"/38 caliber gun • 4 × twin 40 mm guns • 16 × 20 mm guns |
USS Caswell (AKA-72) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy named after Caswell County, North Carolina. Like all AKAs, Caswell was designed to carry military cargo and landing craft, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations. She served as a commissioned ship for 18 months.
Caswell, a Type C2-S-AJ3 ship, was launched on 24 October 1944 by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, North Carolina, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. W. H. Williamson; acquired by the Navy on 27 November 1944; and commissioned on 13 December 1944, Lieutenant Commander P. M. Diffley, USNR, in command.
Contents
Service history
World War II, 1944–1945
Caswell cleared Bayonne, New Jersey, on 16 January 1945 for the Panama Canal and Guadalcanal, arriving on 14 February. A month of training preceded her departure combat-loaded for the Okinawa beaches. Sailing with the Northern Attack Force, Caswell arrived for the initial landings on 1 April, and remained off the beaches for the next week, landing cargo to support the 6th Marines in their rapid advance across the Motobu Peninsula. The skillful work of her men made an important contribution to this success, and she cleared Okinawa on 9 April for overhaul and replenishment at Pearl Harbor.
Post-war activities, 1945–1946
Returning to the West Coast, Caswell loaded cargo for Okinawa, where she arrived on 5 August to begin a series of cargo and troop movements throughout the Far East, calling at ports in the Philippines, China, and Japan until 7 December, when she cleared Sasebo for San Diego. Between 23 February and 2 May 1946, Caswell carried cargo from San Francisco to China.
Decommissioning
Returning to Norfolk, Virginia, she was decommissioned on 19 June 1946. Caswell was returned to the Maritime Commission two days later.
Awards
Caswell received one battle star for World War II service.
References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Caswell at NavSource Naval History
External links
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