US WW2-era vessel
For other ships with the same name, see
USS DuPage
.
USS
DuPage
(AP-86/APA-41)
was a
Bayfield
-class
attack transport
in service with the
United States Navy
from 1943 to 1946. She was then sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1973.
History
[
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]
DuPage
was named for
DuPage County, Illinois
and was launched on 19 December 1942 as
Sea Hound
(AP-86) by
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Co.,
Pascagoula, Mississippi
, under a
Maritime Commission
contract; sponsored by Mrs. Leigh R. Sanford; reclassified APA-41 on 1 February 1943; placed in ferry commission on 28 February 1943, decommissioned on 17 March 1943 for conversion by Todd-Erie Basin Dry Docks, Brooklyn, N.Y.; and recommissioned on 1 September 1943.
Pacific War
[
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DuPage
reached
San Diego, California
, from
Norfolk, Virginia
on 2 November 1943 to serve as
flagship
for a transport division during training. She sailed from
San Diego
on 13 January 1944 carrying
U.S. Marines
for the assault landings on
Kwajalein
, where she remained from 31 January to 6 February.
DuPage
sailed by way of
Funafuti
,
Ellice Islands
, to
Guadalcanal
, arriving on 18 February.
Based at Guadalcanal
DuPage
served in the redeployment of troops in the
Solomons
and carried troops for the
assault landings on Emirau Island
on 11 April 1944 and the support landings at
Cape Gloucester
,
New Britain
, from 28 April to 1 May. On 3 June she got underway for the invasion of
Guam
, landing her troops from 21 to 26 July. After evacuating casualties to
Eniwetok
, and exercising off
Espiritu Santo
,
DuPage
returned to Guadalcanal on 27 August to replenish, overhaul her
landing craft
, and train for the invasion of the
Palau Islands
.
DuPage
sortied from Guadalcanal on 8 September 1944 and landed her troops in the assault of
Peleliu
a week later. For 12 days she remained in the area providing logistics support for landing craft and small patrol vessels. Three of her own landing craft were lost and one man killed during the bitter fighting.
Arriving at
Hollandia
,
New Guinea
on 30 September,
DuPage
prepared for the invasion of the
Philippines
. She carried
U.S. Army
troops for the initial landings at
Leyte
on 20 October and sailed at once to bring reinforcements from Hollandia for support landings on 14 November.
After rehearsal landings in New Guinea,
DuPage
sailed from
Aitape
on 28 December 1944 for the invasion of
Lingayen Gulf
, landing her troops on the beaches near
San Fabian
on 9 January 1945 and embarking casualties from the beach and other ships.
On the evening of the next day while
DuPage
was preparing to leave the area, enemy aircraft attacked. Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire, a
kamikaze
crashed to port damaging her severely as well as starting fires which stubbornly recurred and were fought all through the night. She lost 35 killed and 136 wounded; five men who were blown over the side were picked up by escorting
destroyers
. Despite her injuries
DuPage
continued to fulfill her duty as guide ship and arrived safely at Leyte three days later to transfer her casualties and undergo emergency repairs.
After landing troops at
Zambales
,
Luzon
on 29 January 1945,
DuPage
left
San Pedro Bay
on 11 February and embarking U.S. Marines at
Manus
and
Pearl Harbor
en route, arrived at San Francisco on 10 March for overhaul and battle damage repairs. She sailed from
Alameda
on 14 May to embark troops at
Seattle, Washington
, for Pearl Harbor.
She continued to Eniwetok for amphibious exercises, then transported troops and cargo from
Ulithi
to
Okinawa
, arriving on 5 July. Three days later she sailed with combat-tested U.S. Marines for Guam, then continued to Eniwetok and San Francisco where she arrived on 28 July. After minor alterations she was designated as flagship for Transport Division 63 and sailed on 12 August with
U.S. Army Air Force
personnel whom she disembarked at San Pedro Bay, Leyte on 5 September.
DuPage
sailed from Lingayen Gulf on 1 October 1945 with troops for the
occupation of Japan
, landing her passengers at
Nagoya
on 26 October. Three days later she was assigned to "
Magic Carpet
" duty and made two voyages between Guam and the
west coast
to return veterans until 5 January 1946 when she arrived at
Portland, Oregon
.
Decommissioning and fate
[
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]
Two weeks later she got underway for the
east coast
, arriving at
New York
on 7 February.
DuPage
was decommissioned on 28 March 1946 and transferred to the
War Shipping Administration
for disposal on 27 June 1946. The ship was acquired by Pope and Talbot Steamship Company in 1946 and rename the SS
P&T Pathfinder
. In 1957, she became SS
Mormacsun
of Moore-McCormack, in 1964 SS
Green Port
of Central Gulf Lines, and in 1967 SS
Pine Tree State
of States-Marine Line. She was sold for scrapping on 7 May 1973 to Li Chong Steel & Iron Works, Ltd. at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Awards
[
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]
DuPage
received six
battle stars
for World War II service.
References
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External links
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