USS Gilliam

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History
United States
NameUSS Gilliam (APA-57)
NamesakeGilliam County, Oregon
Builder
Consolidated Steel
Launched28 March 1944
Sponsored byMrs. A. O. Williams of Wilmington
Acquired31 July 1944
Commissioned1 August 1944
DecommissionedN/A
StrickenN/A
Honours and
awards		Two
battle stars for World War II
service
FateSunk during Operation Crossroads on 1 July 1946 at Bikini Atoll
General characteristics
Class and type
Gilliam-class attack transport
Displacement4,247 tons (lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
Length426 ft (130 m)
Beam58 ft (18 m)
Draft16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion
Westinghouse
turboelectric drive, 2 boilers, 2 propellers, Design shaft horsepower 6,000
Speed16.9 knots
Capacity47 Officers, 802 Enlisted
Complement27 Officers 295 Enlisted
Armament1 x
20mm
gun mounts
Notes
MCV
Hull No. 1850, hull type S4-SE2-BD1

USS Gilliam (APA-57), named for

her class of attack transports serving in the United States Navy during World War II
.

Construction and commissioning

Gilliam was

Maritime Commission contract by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Wilmington in Los Angeles, California, sponsored by Mrs. A. O. Williams of Wilmington. The U.S. Navy acquired Gilliam on 31 July 1944 and commissioned
her on 1 August 1944.

Operational history

World War II

The first of a new type of attack transport, Gilliam stood out of

6th Army Headquarters for passage to Lingayen Gulf
.

Heavy air attacks

Gilliam was part of a 36-ship

Japanese plane released a torpedo two minutes later which hit SS Antoine Saugrain. Just after 12:30 two more planes came in low and fast, and one got another torpedo into the stricken merchantman
, which was then dead in the water.

Intense fire from the convoy drove the planes off, but later that afternoon another Japanese aircraft dove in at 15:30, and after running into heavy fire, made a suicide crash on SS Marcus Daly. The Japanese caught her on the bow at waterline and started fires and explosions. A second kamikaze tried his luck but missed and crashed into the sea after repeated hits from the convoy's gunners.

Anton Saugraine and Marcus Daly were kept afloat by quick damage control, but the former ship was attacked again the next day while under tow and finally sunk. During this engagement, Gilliam's unflinching crew stood at

General Quarters for nearly 12 hours and the ship reached Leyte
on 6 December without damage.

Invasion of Luzon

At Leyte Gilliam acted as receiving ship for the crews of damaged warships and undertook medical and salvage operations in spite of continued air alerts. After embarking over 500 soldiers at Tacloban, she sailed from that port 7 January 1945 bringing troops to Lingayen Gulf in support of the invasion. She returned to Leyte on 14 January to embark elements of the 32nd Infantry Division and brought them safely back to Lingayen Gulf 27 January.

Invasion of Okinawa

After loading casualties for passage to Leyte, Gilliam sailed from that port 2 February to embark

Okinawa
.

Gilliam closed Okinawa on 1 April and in the face of kamikaze attacks debarked reconnaissance parties of the 3rd Amphibious Corps and unloaded vital cargo. On 5 April she sailed for the United States via Saipan and Pearl Harbor, mooring at San Francisco 27 April for drydock repairs.

Subsequently Gilliam embarked men of the

Eniwetok and Ulithi
. She off-loaded cargo and passengers at Okinawa and then headed back to San Francisco.

After hostilities

Gilliam arrived back at San Francisco on 10 August, where nearly 1,000 troops were embarked and brought to Pearl Harbor on 27 August. Men of the Headquarters and Service Battalions, 5th Amphibious Corps came on board at Hawaii, and Gilliam sailed 1 September for Sasebo, Japan, and put her occupation troops ashore 3 weeks later.

On 25 September 1945 she got underway for Manila, and after embarking more than 450 veterans of the 33rd Infantry Division at Lingayen Gulf, she carried them to Sasebo, arriving 15 October.

Operation Magic Carpet

After returning to

Operation Magic Carpet fleet and sailed 2 November with 1,000 sailors and soldiers, debarking them at Portland, Oregon
, 21 November 1945.

Operation Crossroads

Map showing Gilliam near the center of the Able blast.

Following a voyage to

Bikini atoll in the summer of 1946. On the morning of 1 July 1946, Gilliam, a target ship for Test Able, was the first ship struck by the blast and sunk quickly in Bikini lagoon, badly damaged.[1]
She was decommissioned, 5 July 1946 and struck from the Naval Register, 20 July 1946.

Decorations

Gilliam received three

battle stars for World War II service and two Navy Occupation Service Medals
for her actions during the occupation of Japan.

References

  1. ^ Delgado 1991, pp. 87–92. The worse hull damage was that done to Gilliam, which was described as "badly ruptured, crumpled, and twisted almost beyond recognition." Gilliam sank in 79 seconds.
  • USS Gilliam (APA-57), DANFS Online.
  • APA-57 Gilliam, Navsource Online.
  • ASIN B0014H9NEW
    , retrieved 8 November 2009

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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