For other ships with the same name, see USS La Salle.
The first USS La Salle (AP-102) of the United States Navy was the lead ship of her class of transport ships in use during the latter part of World War II.
The ship was laid down on 29 April 1942 under Maritime Commission contract as the Type C2 ship SS Hotspur by Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California, launched on 2 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Naomi S. Kehoe, acquired by the Navy on 18 March 1943, and commissioned as Hotspur on 31 March 1943.
Service historyEdit
Renamed La Salle on 6 April 1943, she left Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California on 14 April with Seabees for Guadalcanal, returning to San Francisco on 10 July. On 7 August, she departed from Port Hueneme, California, carrying contingents of United States Navy Argus Units 7,8 and 9, the Ninth Special Construction Battalion and the Fifth Special Medical Unit all bound for operations in the South Pacific. From there she steamed to Wellington, New Zealand, arriving on 27 October. There and in the New Hebrides, she conducted simulated attacks and landing boat exercises with marines in preparation for the assault on Tarawa, for which she sailed on 13 November with Task Force 53. She arrived off the invasion beaches on 19 November, and was shelled by enemy shore batteries early the next morning, suffering no serious damage. She cleared Tarawa the 24th and steamed to San Diego, where she arrived on 13 December to prepare for the invasion of the Marshalls.
La Salle left the west coast on 13 January 1944 and arrived off Kwajalein eight days later to land men of the 4th Marine Division. La Salle left the atoll on 8 February for Pearl Harbor, then later made several reinforcement movements.
From Pearl Harbor she sailed on 11 May with troops for the invasion of the Marianas, arriving on D-Day, 15 June to witness the pre-invasion bombardment before landing her marines. She retired from the battle zone on 23 June and reached Pearl Harbor on 24 July. She then proceeded to Guadalcanal in August where rehearsals for the capture of the Palaus ended on 8 September. She arrived off the Palaus on 15 September and made a feinting attack to keep enemy troops occupied in the northern islands during the attack on Peleliu itself. She landed her troops on the beaches of Angaur the 17th and departed on 23 September for Manus, where she embarked 1,373 troops of the Army 1st Cavalry Division for the Leyte invasion.
La Salle reached the northern transport area off Leyte on 20 October, and all troops and cargo were ashore by nightfall. She retired to the Palaus and then to Guam, where she embarked reinforcements for transport to San Pedro Bay on 23 November. The vessel next loaded 934 troops at Sansapor, New Guinea, and sailed on 30 December for Luzon. On the morning of her departure, she assisted in shooting down an enemy "Jake". She unloaded on 9 January at Lingayen Gulf, and then returned to Leyte.
On 29 January 1945 she arrived off Luzon to discharge 731 troops in order to block Japanese retirement into the Bataan Peninsula. She departed the same day and put into San Pedro Bay on 1 February to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa, off which she arrived from Ulithi on 11 April. She fought off heavy suicide attacks during the next five days, and retired unscathed on 16 April, steaming for Guam and a Seattle overhaul.
Between September 1945 and June 1946, La Salle made four "Magic Carpet" voyages, and one passage in January to deliver occupation troops to Yokosuka. She decommissioned at Seattle on 24 July 1946 and was returned to the Maritime Commission the following day.
La Salle received eight battle stars for World War II service.
United States Navy Muster Rolls – U.S.S. La Salle (AP-102) – dated 7 August 1943
External linksEdit
Photo gallery of USS La Salle at NavSource Naval History
October 20, 2023
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For other ships with the same name see USS La Salle The first USS La Salle AP 102 of the United States Navy was the lead ship of her class of transport ships in use during the latter part of World War II HistoryUnited StatesNameUSS La SalleBuilderMoore Dry Dock Company Oakland CaliforniaLaid down29 April 1942Launched2 August 1942Acquired18 March 1943Commissioned31 March 1943 as USS HotspurDecommissioned24 July 1946RenamedUSS La Salle 6 April 1943Honors andawards8 battle stars World War II FateReturned to the Maritime Commission 25 July 1946 Sold for commercial service 1948 Wrecked and scrapped 1968General characteristicsClass and typeLa Salle class transportDisplacement5 933 long tons 6 028 t Length459 ft 2 in 140 m Beam63 ft 19 m Draft23 ft 7 m PropulsionSteam turbine single shaft 6 000 hp 4 474 kW Speed16 5 knots 30 6 km h 19 0 mph Troops1 676 menComplement316 officers and enlistedArmament1 5 38 caliber gun 4 3 50 caliber guns 12 20 mm gunsThe ship was laid down on 29 April 1942 under Maritime Commission contract as the Type C2 ship SS Hotspur by Moore Dry Dock Company Oakland California launched on 2 August 1942 sponsored by Mrs Naomi S Kehoe acquired by the Navy on 18 March 1943 and commissioned as Hotspur on 31 March 1943 Service history EditRenamed La Salle on 6 April 1943 she left Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme California on 14 April with Seabees for Guadalcanal returning to San Francisco on 10 July On 7 August she departed from Port Hueneme California carrying contingents of United States Navy Argus Units 7 8 and 9 the Ninth Special Construction Battalion and the Fifth Special Medical Unit all bound for operations in the South Pacific From there she steamed to Wellington New Zealand arriving on 27 October There and in the New Hebrides she conducted simulated attacks and landing boat exercises with marines in preparation for the assault on Tarawa for which she sailed on 13 November with Task Force 53 She arrived off the invasion beaches on 19 November and was shelled by enemy shore batteries early the next morning suffering no serious damage She cleared Tarawa the 24th and steamed to San Diego where she arrived on 13 December to prepare for the invasion of the Marshalls La Salle left the west coast on 13 January 1944 and arrived off Kwajalein eight days later to land men of the 4th Marine Division La Salle left the atoll on 8 February for Pearl Harbor then later made several reinforcement movements From Pearl Harbor she sailed on 11 May with troops for the invasion of the Marianas arriving on D Day 15 June to witness the pre invasion bombardment before landing her marines She retired from the battle zone on 23 June and reached Pearl Harbor on 24 July She then proceeded to Guadalcanal in August where rehearsals for the capture of the Palaus ended on 8 September She arrived off the Palaus on 15 September and made a feinting attack to keep enemy troops occupied in the northern islands during the attack on Peleliu itself She landed her troops on the beaches of Angaur the 17th and departed on 23 September for Manus where she embarked 1 373 troops of the Army 1st Cavalry Division for the Leyte invasion La Salle reached the northern transport area off Leyte on 20 October and all troops and cargo were ashore by nightfall She retired to the Palaus and then to Guam where she embarked reinforcements for transport to San Pedro Bay on 23 November The vessel next loaded 934 troops at Sansapor New Guinea and sailed on 30 December for Luzon On the morning of her departure she assisted in shooting down an enemy Jake She unloaded on 9 January at Lingayen Gulf and then returned to Leyte On 29 January 1945 she arrived off Luzon to discharge 731 troops in order to block Japanese retirement into the Bataan Peninsula She departed the same day and put into San Pedro Bay on 1 February to prepare for the invasion of Okinawa off which she arrived from Ulithi on 11 April She fought off heavy suicide attacks during the next five days and retired unscathed on 16 April steaming for Guam and a Seattle overhaul Between September 1945 and June 1946 La Salle made four Magic Carpet voyages and one passage in January to deliver occupation troops to Yokosuka She decommissioned at Seattle on 24 July 1946 and was returned to the Maritime Commission the following day La Salle received eight battle stars for World War II service References EditThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here United States Navy Muster Rolls U S S La Salle AP 102 dated 7 August 1943External links EditPhoto gallery of USS La Salle at NavSource Naval History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS La Salle AP 102 amp oldid 1121242842, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
