USS ''Natrona'' (APA-214) was a of the US Navy in World War II. She was of the VC2-S-AP5 Victory ship design type. ''Natrona'' was named for Natrona County, Wyoming.

Construction

''Natrona'' was laid down 30 June 1944, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract , MCV hull 562, by

Permanente Metals Corporation Permanente Metals Corporation (PMC) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorpor ...

, Yard No. 2,

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

; sponsored by Mrs. Anna Louise Spigler; launched 27 September 1944; and acquired and commissioned by the Navy on 8 November 1944.

Service history

Following shakedown off Southern California, ''Natrona'' sailed for Hawaii 3 January 1945, as a unit of

Transport Squadron A squadron, or naval squadron, is a significant group of warships which is nonetheless considered too small to be designated a fleet. A squadron is typically a part of a fleet. Between different navies there are no clear defining parameters t ...

17. At Pearl Harbor, she debarked Marines, loaded men and equipment of the 806th Engineering Battalion, and continued her westward passage on 16 January. By 1 February, she reached

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, debarked her passengers and cargo, and sailed to Ulithi.

Invasion of Okinawa

At Ulithi, ''Natrona'' took on Marine night fighters and sailed for Leyte to prepare for operation "Iceberg", the invasion of the

Ryūkyūs 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 Yonag ...

. On 21 March, ''Natrona'', with Marine night fighters and 77th Infantry Division men and equipment on board, departed Dulag in TG 51.1. Early on 26 March, she arrived off

Kerama Retto The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami V ...

and proceeded to area "Jig". At 05:39, she lowered away nine wave guide boats, then moved to "Transport Area Fox" where, at 07:05, she had her first experience with Japanese kamikazes. After that air attack she moved to "Inner Transport Area George" to commence discharging her cargo of fuel and ammunition into small craft. At 19:51, she proceeded to the night retirement area. Until 30 March, ''Natrona'' continued daylight replenishment of small craft in area "George", with nightly retirements. On 1 April, Okinawa was invaded and on 2 April, the

anchorage was the scene of a 13-hour battle against suicide planes, swimmers and boats. On 6 April, the anchorage was subjected to its most severe kamikaze attack, during which ''Natrona'' bagged her first unassisted kill. On 7 April, she completed unloading 77th Division cargo. The following day, she crossed to the

Hagushi Beach Hagushi bay is located in Yomitan, Okinawa. The bay is at the mouth of Hija River. The north side of the mouth of the river has a public beach called Toguchi Beach. World War II Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American Am ...

area of Okinawa to debark the Marine night fighters and then returned to Kerama Retto to transport the C.O., General Andrew Bruce and staff of the 77th Division to the same location. Between 14 April and 10 July, ''Natrona'' remained anchored at Kerama Retto, serving as station and receiving ship. She also acted as Fleet Post Office, Headquarters for ComDesRon 2 and ComRepDesPac, Fleet Replacement Center, Fog Oil coordinator and distributor, and subsistence center for crews of damaged and sunken ships. On 10 July, the transport shifted to Buckner Bay and, on 15 July, departed for the US, a veteran of 16 weeks and 208 air attacks in Okinawan waters.

Transport duties

''Natrona'' arrived San Francisco 5 August. Celebrating the end of the war there, she got underway again on 20 August, on the first of two extended transpacific runs carrying replacement troops to forward areas, occupation troops to Japan and returning veterans to the United States. On 13 January 1946, she completed her second cruise at San Pedro.

Decommission

Moving to Mare Island, she underwent inactivation overhaul, and on 29 July, decommissioned and entered the

Pacific 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 ...

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

. She was transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) 26 August 1958, and struck from the Navy List 1 October 1958. ''Natrona'' was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet,

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

, California. On 5 March 1975, she was sold to

Nicolai Joffe Corporation Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the surname ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (crater), a crater on the Moon See also * Niccolai, a surname * Nicolae (disambiguation) * Nicolao * ...

, for $178,789.40, to be scrapped. She was delivered 1 April 1975.

Awards

''Natrona'' received one battle star for World War II service.

Notes

;Citations

Bibliography

Online resources * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Natrona (APA-214) Haskell-class attack transports Natrona County, Wyoming World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Troop ships Ships built in Richmond, California 1944 ships Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton Group Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet