USS ''Belet'' (APD-109) was a ''Crosley''-class

high-speed transport High-speed transports were converted destroyers and destroyer escorts used in US Navy amphibious operations in World War II and afterward. They received the US Hull classification symbol APD; "AP" for transport and "D" for destroyer. In 1969, t ...

in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1945 to 1946. In 1963, she was transferred to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where she served as ARM ''California'' (H03/B-3). She was wrecked in 1972.

Namesake

Robert Alfred Belet was born on 6 August 1914 at Blairstown,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He first enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

in January 1937 at

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and then reenlisted on 22 January 1941. Belet served at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

;

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southe ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

;

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; and New River,

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, before moving to the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

on 19 June 1942. As a member of the 1st

Signal A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

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, in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, Master Technical Sergeant Belet was at

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

on the night of 9 and 10 August 1942, during operations against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese forces. Belet supervised the repair of a

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s wire in the face of persistent Japanese fire. His leadership contributed to the restoration of the vital communication circuit and for this action he was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

. Belet was later killed in action at Guadalcanal on 12 September 1942.

Construction and commissioning

''Belet'' was laid down as the ''Rudderow''-class

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

USS ''Belet'' (DE-599) on 26 January 1944 by

Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard The Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard of Hingham, Massachusetts, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on Weymouth Back River, it was owned by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company and operated by the nearby Fore River Shipyard. ...

, Inc., at

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

, and was launched on 3 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Eleanor J. Belet, the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

of the ships namesake, Robert Belet. The ship was reclassified as a ''Crosley''-class

and redesignated APD-109 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, she was commissioned on 15 June 1945.

Service history

After taking on stores, ''Belet'' got underway on 3 July 1945 for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for four weeks of

shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

training. Following shakedown, she stood out of

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, on 13 August 1945 with a full load of passengers, bound for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

service in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The next day while at sea, the ship received the news of the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, but she continued on to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, where she arrived on 27 August 1945. On 1 September 1945, ''Belet'' departed San Diego and set course for the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...

. She stopped at

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 Reci ...

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

, only long enough to take on

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

and provisions and then touched briefly at

Eniwetok Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a leg ...

before arriving at

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

on 17 September 1945. ''Belet'' operated out of Saipan, shuttling troops as needed and providing escort and

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

services. ''Belet'' left the Marianas on 8 October 1945 and headed for occupation duty in Japan. On 11 October 1945, she relieved the

United States Coast Guard Cutter United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC. Histo ...

USCGC ''Taney'' (WPG-37) as

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director ship at

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

, Japan. ''Belet'' remained at this station until ordered back to the

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in December 1945. On her homeward voyage, ''Belet'' carried returning servicemen into San Diego in January 1946 and was then ordered back to the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

. Following repairs at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

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, Massachusetts, she steamed to

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, for inactivation.

Decommissioning and disposal

''Belet'' was decommissioned on 22 May 1946 and placed in

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

with the Green Cove Springs Group of the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

. After over 17 years of inactivity, she was declared excess to the needs of the U.S. Navy, and her name was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, 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 authorities of a co ...

on 12 December 1963.

Mexican Navy service

Sold to

on 12 December 1963, ''Belet'' became ARM ''California'' (H03) in the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy () is one of the components of the Mexican Armed Forces. The Secretariat of the Navy is in charge of administration of the navy. The commander of the navy is the Secretary of the Navy, who is both a cabinet minister and a career ...

. She was later assigned the new

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

of ''B03''. ''California'' ran aground on the Bahia Peninsula on 16 January 1972 broadside to the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

, and was judged un salvageable. Abandoned, her hulk broke up on the rocks.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belet (APD-109) Crosley-class high speed transports Ships built in Hingham, Massachusetts 1944 ships World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Crosley-class high speed transports of the Mexican Navy Shipwrecks of the Mexican Pacific coast