USS ''Newberry'' (APA-158) was a ''Haskell''-class

attack transport Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the Merchant navy, merchant fleet &ndash ...

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 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1984.

History

''Newberry'' was laid down under

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission 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, 1950. The co ...

contract 10 June 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

; launched 24 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph M. McDonald; acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis 6 October 1944; and commissioned the next day.

World War II

''Newberry'' conducted shakedown off the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. states of Cali ...

, then departed

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, for

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, where she conducted final training in amphibious operations. On 31 December 1944 she embarked the 1st Battalion 23rd Marines and their Shore Party A Co 133 NCB plus half of A Co 4th Pioneers--- U.S. 4th Marine Division, and left

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 ...

for the invasion of

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. After landing her Marines, for 10 days following D-day, she took on a total of 439 wounded. Speedy medical attention doubtless saved many from certain death. ''Newberry'' departed Iwo for

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

on the 27th. Sailing via

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 ...

, she embarked part of the U.S. 2d Marine Division at

on 8 March 1945, and on the 27th, got underway for the

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

operation. Standing in reserve, her troops were not needed; and she returned them to

in April. ''Newberry'' remained there until early in June, then sailed to

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

for supplies. She returned to

2 July and sailed for San Francisco less than two weeks later, arriving on the 27th. The attack transport departed the

12 August, carrying replacement troops to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. At

Leyte 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 been ...

she took on Army units destined for occupation duty in the Japanese home islands, debarked them at

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

, and began "

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post–World War II operation by the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European (ETO), Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Libert ...

" duty. She sailed 29 September for

, where she took on 2,500 passengers for

. Exchanging these for another 2,300 veterans, she stood out from Saipan for San Francisco, arriving 24 October. Two weeks later she headed for

with replacements, and returned to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

with still another full load of veterans.

Decommissioning and fate

''Newberry'' was decommissioned on 21 February 1946 and returned 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 ...

(WSA) 3 March at

Lee Hall, Virginia Lee Hall is a community located in the extreme northern portion of the independent city of Newport News in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. History Lee Hall, located in the former Warwick County, was named for nearby Lee ...

, and 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 ...

12 March. She was berthed at

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

, Virginia, as part of the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

. She was sold for scrapping on 17 September 1983 to Desguaces Aviles S.A., Spain, and completely scrapped as of 8 June 1984.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newberry Haskell-class attack transports Newberry County, South Carolina World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Troop ships Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1944 ships