USS Appanoose

SS A. J. Cassatt on delivery from Bethlehem-Fairfield in August 1944.
History
United States
Name	A.J. Cassatt Appanoose
Namesake	A.J. Cassatt Appanoose County, Iowa
Ordered	as a type (EC2-S-C1 hull), MCE hull 2662, SS A.J. Cassatt
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland
Laid down	20 June 1944
Launched	27 July 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. A. J. Cassatt
Acquired	10 August 1944
Commissioned	26 September 1944
Decommissioned	26 November 1945
Stricken	5 December 1945
Identification	Hull symbol:AK-226
Fate	Sold 1947 for civilian service Scrapped after 23 December 1964
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Crater-class cargo ship
Displacement	4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard) 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam	56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft	28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power	2 × Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 220psi 450° 2,500 shp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion	1 × General Machine Corp. vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 1 × shaft
Speed	12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Complement	209 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose (DP) gun 1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber DP gun 2 × 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounts 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon AA gun mounts

USS Appanoose (AK-226) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the United States Navy named for Appanoose County, Iowa.^[2]

A. J. Cassatt was laid down on 20 June 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 2662) by the Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore, Maryland; launched on 27 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Cassatt. She was acquired by the Navy on 10 August 1944, renamed Appanoose (AK-226) and commissioned on 26 September 1944.

On 1 October, Appanoose proceeded to the Chesapeake Bay for shakedown. After loading cargo at Davisville, Rhode Island, the ship got underway for the Philippine Islands. Appanoose transited the Panama Canal; made intermediate stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi; and anchored at Tacloban, Leyte Island, on 21 December. Three days later, the ship moved to Samar to begin assembling pontoons. Despite enemy torpedo attacks, she successfully completed the task and withdrew to Tacloban on 21 January 1945.

Appanoose sailed on 23 January, bound for the west coast. After a brief stop at Manus, the ship continued on to the California coast and arrived at San Pedro, Los Angeles on 23 February. Appanoose departed the west coast on 9 March and sailed for the Ryukyus.

After stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi, Appanoose reached Okinawa on 28 April and began discharging her cargo at Buckner Bay on 3 May. During the three months Appanoose was stationed at Okinawa, she endured numerous Japanese air attacks. The ship claimed to have downed one Japanese plane and assisted in downing four more.

On 5 August, Appanoose departed the Okinawa area and sailed in a convoy to Saipan, her first port of call on a voyage that took her by way of Pearl Harbor, to San Francisco, California. Appanoose made San Francisco on 5 September and, shortly thereafter, began a period of drydocking and availability.

Upon completion of the repair work on 8 October, Appanoose headed for the Panama Canal Zone. Having transited the Panama Canal, the ship reported to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, on 30 October.

Appanoose was decommissioned there on 26 November 1945 and turned over to the War Shipping Administration. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 5 December 1945.

Appanoose earned one battle star for her World War II service