USS ''Appanoose'' (AK-226) was a in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

named for Appanoose County, Iowa.U.S. Navy Archives, http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/appanoose.html ''A. J. Cassatt'' was laid down on 20 June 1944 under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

contract (MCE hull 2662) by the Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard Inc.,

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

; 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 The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

for shakedown. After loading cargo at

Davisville, Rhode Island Davisville, Rhode Island is a village in the town of North Kingstown in the U.S. state of Rhode Island that was formerly the home of the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center, which housed the United States Navy's SeaBees. Village descr ...

, the ship got underway for the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. ''Appanoose'' transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

; made intermediate stops at

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

and

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

; and anchored at Tacloban,

Leyte Island Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, on 21 December. Three days later, the ship moved to

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

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 California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

coast and arrived at San Pedro, Los Angeles on 23 February. ''Appanoose'' departed the west coast on 9 March and sailed for the

Ryukyu The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonagu ...

s. After stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi, ''Appanoose'' reached

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

on 28 April and began discharging her cargo at

Buckner Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, a ...

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 Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. ''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

, 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 The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

. Her name was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

on 5 December 1945. ''Appanoose'' earned one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for her World War II service

Civilian service

*sold to Fordom Trading Co, N.Y., November 1947, for Cia de Operaciones Maritimas SA, Panama RP - renamed SS ''Santa Ana'' - reflagged Panamanian *sold to Cia Nav San Maritime SA, Panama RP in 1951, - name retained - Panamanian flagged *sold to San Martin Cia de Nav SA, 1952, - name retained - Panamanian flagged *1958 managed by Cargo & Tankship Management Corp, N.Y. *1961 managed by Santa Maria Shipowning & Trading Co (Bermuda) Ltd - name retained *arrived Yokohama, 4 November 1964, in tow after losing propeller while bound from Osaka to Portland, OR.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appanoose (AK-226) Crater-class cargo ships Appanoose County, Iowa World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Baltimore 1944 ships