USS Crescent City
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | A popular nickname for New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Builder | Bethlehem Steel |
| Launched | 17 February 1940 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs M. L. Pedrick |
| Christened | Delorleans |
| Acquired | 9 June 1941 |
| Commissioned | 10 October 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 30 April 1948 |
| Renamed | TS Golden Bear II, Artship |
| Reclassified | AP-40 to APA-21, 1 February 1943 |
| Stricken | 12 April 1946 |
| Identification |
|
| Honours and awards | Ten battle stars for World War II service |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, January 2012 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Crescent City class attack transport |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 491 ft (150 m) |
| Beam | 65 ft 6 in (19.96 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | Officers 36, Enlisted 498 |
| Armament |
|
USS Crescent City (AP-40/APA-21) was the
Construction
Originally named the SS Delorleans, the ship was contracted on 16 December 1938 by
Delorleans was the second of a series of six ships, the previous ship being Delbrasil and next the Deltargentino, designed by the Mississippi Shipping Company, as a modification of the standard C3 design, to carry both passengers and cargo between New Orleans and Buenos Aires on the so-called "Coffee Run". Twenty six staterooms accommodated 67 passengers on the shelter deck.[1] The names Deltargentino (1942) and Delorleans (1942) were later reused during construction for ships of the same basic design that were also put into service as commissioned Navy ships.[2]
Government requisition
The Maritime Commission's Division of Emergency Shipping announced on 4 June 1941 that it had requisitioned twenty-eight merchant vessels (twenty-one for the Navy and seven to the Army) among which Delorleans was among the group allocated to Navy.
World War II
Departing Norfolk, Virginia 15 December 1941 loaded with troops and equipment, Crescent City debarked her passengers in the Panama Canal Zone, then sailed to San Diego to load Navy and Marine passengers for Pearl Harbor. She carried civilian evacuees back to San Diego, returning immediately with workers and equipment to rush repairs of the damaged naval base at Pearl Harbor. Assigned to transport men and equipment to set up the advanced base at Efate, New Hebrides, she voyaged on this mission until arriving at San Diego 22 April 1942 for a brief overhaul.
Invasion of Guadalcanal
On 1 July 1942 Crescent City sailed from San Diego bound for the initial assault landings on Guadalcanal. Landing her troops 7 August under heavy air attack, she splashed at least five of the enemy planes. For two days she remained at anchor unloading the necessary supplies to hold the beachhead, then returned to Espiritu Santo to unload material to set up a new forward base to supply the Guadalcanal operations.
Sailing from
Invasion of Bougainville
On 28 October 1943 Crescent City sortied for the
Invasions of Peleliu and Leyte
Crescent City was held in reserve during the assaults on
Conversion to hospital ship
After overhaul, Crescent City departed San Francisco on 25 February 1945 and arrived at Pearl Harbor 4 March. Here she was converted to a temporary hospital evacuation ship, and two weeks later was underway for
After hostilities
Aiding in the redeployment of troops for the occupation of China, Crescent City lifted the
Departing Seattle 23 January 1946 Crescent City arrived at Norfolk on 14 February. She operated from New York and Norfolk on training duty in the Caribbean until 10 October 1947 when she sailed for the west coast.
Decommission
Arriving at San Francisco 1 November, Crescent City was placed out of commission in reserve 30 April 1948 and transferred to the Maritime Commission 3 September 1948.
Awards and decorations
Crescent City was awarded the
Postwar service
After decommission, Crescent City was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Benicia, California.
On 28 August 1970 the Maritime Administration (MARAD) loaned the ship for training purposes to the California Maritime Academy who renamed her TS Golden Bear.[4] She sailed on 28 major ocean cruises over 24 years. In 1995 she was returned to MARAD and the Reserve Fleet.
On 28 October 1997 the ship was returned to MARAD custody.[4] The ship had been approved for donation to the Artship Foundation of Oakland, California with donation pending in the Department of Defense budget authorization, but the provision did not make it from draft legislation to enacted 1996 legislation.[4] On eventual transfer the ship was renamed Artship as part of a failed art colony project. Artship was sold in 2004 to be scrapped in Texas, but dismantling was halted due to high PCB levels and because she was considered too historic.[5]
Scrapping
On 7 November 2012 S.S. Pacific Star (formerly Delorleans, Crescent City, Golden Bear, Artship) was auctioned off for $1 on the steps of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. She departed Mare Island, California 15 January 2012 under tow for Brownsville, Texas where she was eventually scrapped.[6]
See also
- SS Delbrasil (design details)
References
- ^ Pacific Marine Review (1940). "S.S. Delbrasil—Maritime Commission's First Cargo and Passenger Liner is Delivered to The Mississippi Shipping Company as First In a Program of Six Such Vessels for the New Orleans --South American Ports Run". Consolidated 1940 issues (July). 'Official Organ: Pacific American Steamship Association/Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast: 42–47. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Colton, T. (10 June 2011). "Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point MD". ShipbuildingHistory. T. Colton. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ Pacific Marine Review (1941). "The Maritime Commission Now in Complete Control of Coastwise, Intercoastal and Overseas Shipping—Acquisition of Ships For Emergency". Consolidated 1941 issues (July 1941). 'Official Organ: Pacific American Steamship Association/Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast: 45. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c Maritime Administration. "Delorleans". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ Peter Knego (24 June 2010). "Canvas Bleak For ARTSHIP?". Maritime Matters. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ Martin Cox (17 January 2012). "PACIFIC STAR, ex ARTSHIP, To The Breakers". Maritime Matters. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
External links
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- USS Crescent City (APA-21), DANFS Online.
- APA-21 Crescent City, Navsource Online.
- Sawyer, L.A. and Mitchell, W.H., From America to the United States (history of the US Maritime Commission), World Ship Society, 1984, ISBN 0-905617-31-2
- Discovery of PCBs Prevents Bay Area "Artship" From Being Scrapped in China 4 May 2004 commondreams.org/news