USS Burleson

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USS Burleson (APA-67) arriving from Bikini Atoll upon completion of her deployment in Operation Crossroads.
History
United States
NameUSS Burleson
NamesakeBurleson County, Texas
Laid down22 April 1944
Launched11 July 1944
Commissioned8 November 1944
Decommissioned9 November 1946
Stricken1 September 1968
FateSold in 1968 for scrapping
General characteristics
Class and typeGilliam-class attack transport
Displacement7,000 tons
Length426 feet
Beam58 feet
Draught16 feet
Speed16.9 knots (31.3 km/h)
Capacity849 troops
Complement220 officers and men
Armament
  • one
    5-inch 38 caliber
    gun
  • eight
    40 mm
    guns

USS Burleson (APA-67), a

launched on 11 July 1944 sponsored by Mrs. Darryl F. Zanuck, delivered to the Navy on 7 November 1944, and commissioned on 8 November 1944. The ship was named after a county in east central Texas
about 60 miles due east of Austin.

Following shakedown training out of

Ulithi Atoll. She spent the period 21 to 27 March at anchor in Ulithi lagoon and, on the latter day, got underway in convoy bound for the Ryukyu Islands
.

Burleson entered the transport area off

Pearl Harbor Navy Yard
. On 25 June, the ship got underway from Pearl Harbor on her way back to the western Pacific.

After stops at

Jinsen, Korea, on 8 September and began disembarking troops assigned to military government units. On 13 September, she returned to Okinawa and operated in the Ryukyu Islands until 26 September. On that day, she departed Okinawa with elements of the First Marine Division embarked. The attack transport reached Taku
, China, on 30 September and spent the next five days disembarking troops and unloading cargo.

Burleson as a training ship at Little Creek in 1951.

She continued to perform duty in support of occupation forces until November when she returned to Pearl Harbor with a complement of troops returning home. In December, she was assigned to the 14th Naval District temporarily to undergo modifications preparatory to her participation in Operation Crossroads, nuclear tests scheduled for the following summer at Bikini Atoll. In June 1946, Burleson moved from Pearl Harbor to Bikini carrying animals to be used in the two nuclear tests. She observed both tests and moved into the test area after each to remove the animals for study.

At the end of the summer of 1946, Burleson sailed to the East Coast of the United States. She reported for duty at the Naval Amphibious Base,

unclassified miscellaneous vessel IX-67. She continued to serve as a training ship at Little Creek until her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
on 1 September 1968. On 20 November 1968, she was sold to the North American Smelting Company for scrapping.

Burleson received one

battle star for her World War II
service.

References

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

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