USS ''Shelby'' (APA-105) was a ''Windsor''-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 ...

that served with the

US 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 ...

during World War II. She was commissioned late in the war and initially assigned to transport duties; consequently she did not take part in any combat operations. ''Shelby'' was named after

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in nine US states. She was laid down on 13 June 1944 under

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 c ...

contract by the

Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard Maryland Steel, in Sparrows Point, Maryland, US, was founded in 1887. It was acquired by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in 1916 and renamed as the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard. The shipyard was sold in 1997 to Baltimore Marine Industrie ...

Sparrows Point, Maryland Sparrows Point is an industrial area in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Edgemere. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known ...

; launched on 25 October 1944; and commissioned on 20 January 1945.

World War II

''Shelby'' underwent shakedown in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

, and then reported to

Davisville, Rhode Island Davisville is a village in the town of North Kingstown and county of Washington County in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It was formerly the home of the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center, which housed the United States Navy's Sea ...

, to embark 1,356

Seabees United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Forces (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Dependi ...

. Sailing on 24 February, she delivered the men to

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 ...

on 17 March.

Invasion of Okinawa

At Pearl, she loaded combat medical supplies and 1,383 troops, and sailed on 7 April. Stopping at

Eniwetok 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 legi ...

from 15 to 23 April and at

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

from 27 to 29 April, ''Shelby'' arrived at

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 ...

and disembarked her troops on 3 and 4 May. The ships there underwent frequent air attacks, and, on 4 May, a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

aircraft passed over ''Shelby'' and crashed into the light cruiser anchored nearby. The same day, ''Shelby'' began receiving casualties from the beach, although cargo unloading continued until 6 May. On 8 May, she got underway with 166 wounded servicemen on board, whom she disembarked 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 12 May before returning to San Francisco on 28 May. On 13 June, ''Shelby'' sailed from San Francisco with troops and cargo for

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, where she arrived on 8 July after stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi. She then returned, via the same route, to San Francisco on 5 August; and, after 10 days repairs, moved to San Diego to load more cargo and passengers.

After hostilities

Sailing on 20 August, ''Shelby'' arrived at Pearl Harbor on 26 August and sailed from there on 1 September with troops and equipment for the occupation of Japan. The transport entered

Sasebo, Japan is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

, on 22 September; and, after disembarking her troops, departed on 25 September to pick up additional occupation forces in 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 ...

. She embarked these in

Lingayen Gulf Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordillera Central. The Agno ...

between 3 and 5 October and delivered them at

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

on 14 October.

Operation Magic Carpet

Embarking some marine units there, she sailed from Sasebo on 21 October and arrived at Saipan on 6 November. At Saipan, ''Shelby'' reported for duty with

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 ...

, and she sailed on 7 November loaded with homeward-bound servicemen. Disembarking these at Los Angeles on 21 November, she underwent repairs before sailing from San Pedro on 13 December on her second "Magic Carpet" run. She embarked troops at Manila between 2 and 4 January 1946, and returned them to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

on 23 January. A month later, she sailed for the east coast, arriving at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

on 14 March for inactivation.

Decommission

''Shelby'' was decommissioned on 14 May 1946, delivered 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 ...

on 16 May 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 ...

on 5 June 1946.

Service stars

''Shelby'' received one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

for her World War II service.

Commercial service

''Shelby'' was sold to

American Export Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

in 1948, which renamed her ''Exeter''. She was sold again on 24 September 1965, renamed ''Oriental Pearl'', and re-flagged in

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. She was scrapped in 1974.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shelby (APA-105) Windsor-class attack transports Type C3-S-A3 ships of the United States Navy Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland 1944 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105 USS Shelby APA-105