USS Balduck

USS Balduck (APD-132) on 23 March 1954
History
United States
Name	USS Balduck
Namesake	Remi A. Balduck
Builder	Defoe Shipbuilding Company, Bay City, Michigan
Laid down	17 June 1944
Launched	27 October 1944
Commissioned	7 May 1945
Decommissioned	31 May 1946
Recommissioned	5 November 1953
Decommissioned	28 February 1958
Reclassified	LPR-132, 1 January 1969
Stricken	15 July 1975
Fate	Sold for scrap, 1 December 1976
General characteristics
Class and type	high speed transport
Displacement	1,450 long tons (1,473 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	36 ft 10 in (11.23 m)
Draft	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion	2 × boilers Turbo-electric drive with 2 × turbines 2 × solid manganese-bronze 3600 lb. 3-bladed propellers, 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m), 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) pitch 12,000 hp (8.9 MW) 2 rudders 359 tons fuel oil
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range	3,700 nmi (6,900 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	4 × LCVPs
Troops	162 troops
Complement	204 (12 officers, 192 enlisted)
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber gun 3 × twin 40 mm guns 6 × single 20 mm guns 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Balduck (APD-132) was a

.

Namesake

Remi August Balduck was born on 30 March 1918 in

and sailed for the South Pacific on 8 May 1942.

Promoted to corporal on 6 June 1942, Balduck landed with the 7th Marines on

posthumously.

Commissioning

Balduck's keel was laid down on 17 June 1944 at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan as a Rudderow-class destroyer escort, designated DE-716. She was re-designated as APD-132, a fast transport, on 17 July 1944, and launched on 27 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Mary Verhougstraete, mother of Corporal Balduck. Builders trials before her pre-commissioning cruise were done in Lake Huron.

After completion, Balduck sailed from the builder's yard at Bay City to

, the rest of the crew reported aboard, and Balduck was commissioned at New Orleans on 7 May 1945.

Service history

1945–1946

As an APD, her primary role was to land raiding parties on enemy beaches and

weapons of destroyer escorts, and served as escorts to amphibious groups. Because they could take on extra personnel, they were often designated as rescue ships if a transport went down.

Departing

, Los Angeles, carrying personnel, before commencing her pre-inactivation overhaul. She went out of commission in reserve at San Diego on 31 May 1946.

1953–1958

Balduck was recommissioned on 5 November 1953, and assigned to

training.

On 1 September 1954, Balduck departed San Diego and steamed to

Nationalist Chinese

soldiers and civilians. Between 1 March and 17 March, Balduck steamed with a task unit between Yokosuka and San Diego. Following repairs, she operated out of San Diego on anti-submarine, amphibious, and air defense training exercises.

Arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, on 15 September 1955, Balduck cruised in Japanese and Philippine waters, and participated in amphibious landing exercises until returning to San Diego on 23 March 1956.

Decommissioning and sale

Balduck was decommissioned on 28 February 1958. While in reserve, her designation changed to Amphibious Transport, Small, LPR-132, on 1 January 1969. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 July 1975 and sold for scrapping, 6 December 1976, for $60,000, to National Metal and Steel Corp., Terminal Island, California.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Balduck at NavSource Naval History