USS Benewah | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Benewah class |
Builders | |
Operators | |
Built | 1943-1946 |
In commission | 1944-1971 |
Planned | 16 |
Completed | 16 |
Active |
|
Laid up | 1 |
Retired | 13 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Barracks ship |
Displacement | 4,000 long tons (4,064 t) |
Length | 328 ft (100 m) oa |
Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
Draft |
|
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Range | 24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t) |
Boats & landing craft carried | 2 or 6 x LCVPs |
Capacity | 2,975 Bbls (diesel) |
Troops | 26 officers, 1200 enlisted men |
Complement | 12 officers, 129 enlisted men |
Armament |
|
The Benewah-class barracks ship was a class of barracks ships of the United States Navy after the Second World War, in the late 1940s. [1]
Thirteen ships were converted into repair ships throughout the later stages of World War II. The ships were converted from the LST-1 and LST-542 classes. After the war, a few ships were then sold to the Philippines and Indonesia.
The ship's hulls remained nearly the same but with new equipment to carry out their purpose were placed on deck alongside several cranes. The ships' armament was slightly changed and relocated to make way for the ships' equipment. All ships served in the Pacific Theater until the end of the war with no ships lost in combat.
APL-40 (ex-USS Nueces) is still active, serving as a transport and berthing vessel for the United States Navy in Yokosuka. APL-39 (ex-USS Mercer) also now berthed in Sasebo.
Benewah-class repair ship [2] | |||||||
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Pennant number | Name | Callsign | Builders | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
APB-35 | Benewah | NUIX | Boston Navy Yard | 6 May 1945 | 9 March 1946 | 26 February 1971 | Sold to Philippines and renamed RPS Tulungan (AH-3), sunk as artificial reef in 1975 |
APB-36 | Colleton | NUIN | 30 July 1945 | 28 January 1967 | 15 December 1969 | Scrapped on 6 January 1973 | |
APB-37 | Echols | NUIZ | 30 July 1945 | n/a | Sold to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), in active service since mid-2000s | ||
APB-38 | Marlboro | - | 17 November 1944 | 18 August 1945 | 5 May 1947 | Scrapped | |
APB-39 | Mercer | NUIQ | 17 November 1944 | 19 September 1945 | 7 January 1970 | Part of the CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Sasebo, Japan | |
APB-40 | Nueces | NUIR | 6 May 1945 | 30 November 1945 | 13 March 1970 | Part of the CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Yokosuka, Japan | |
APB-41 | Wythe | NEWW | Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. | 9 June 1944 | 30 June 1944 | 29 May 1947 | Scrapped on 10 September 1959 |
APB-42 | Yavapai | NFKT | American Bridge & Machine Co. | 6 June 1944 | 30 June 1944 | 3 December 1946 | Scrapped on 11 September 1959 |
APB-43 | Yolo | NFLE | 16 June 1944 | 3 July 1944 | 9 August 1946 | Scrapped on 6 February 1960 | |
APB-44 | Presque Isle | NFLK | 16 June 1944 | 19 July 1944 | 18 April 1947 | Sold to Indonesia and renamed KRI Teluk Ratai (LST-509), decommissioned and laid up | |
APB-45 | Blackford | NBCK | Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. | 9 April 1945 | 9 June 1945 | 26 April 1947 | Sold to merchant service, sunk as artificial reef between 1968 and 1970 |
APB-46 | Dorchester | NBCY | 12 April 1945 | 15 June 1945 | 16 October 1946 | Sold to merchant service, in active service since 1 August 1974 | |
APB-47 | Kingman | NBDB | 17 April 1945 | 17 April 1945 | 15 January 1947 | Scrapped on 19 November 1980 | |
APB-48 | Vanderburgh | NBFT | 20 April 1945 | 3 July 1945 | 17 January 1947 | Scrapped on 12 November 1972 | |
APB-49 | Accomac | NFRR | Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co. | 28 June 1944 | 24 July 1944 | 9 August 1946 | Scrapped on 7 December 1959 |
APB-50 | Cameron | NKBB | Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard | 5 July 1944 | 30 July 1944 | 13 December 1946 | Sold to merchant service, fate unknown |
USS Accomac (LST-710/APB-49) was a LST-542-class tank landing ship, the second ship in the service of the United States Navy named after Accomac, Virginia.
The second USS Mercer is an Benewah-class barracks ship of the United States Navy. Originally classified as Barracks Craft APL 39, the ship was reclassified as Self-Propelled Barracks Ship APB 39 on 7 August 1944. Laid down on 24 August 1944 by Boston Navy Yard, and launched on 17 November 1944 as APB 39, sponsored by Mrs. Lillian Gaudette, the ship was named Mercer, after counties in eight states, on 14 March 1945, and commissioned on 19 September 1945.
USS Myrmidon (ARL-16) was laid down as a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship but converted to one of 39 Achelous-class repair ships that were used for repairing landing craft during World War II. Named for the Myrmidons, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS LST-849 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. Late in her U.S. Navy career, she was renamed Johnson County (LST-849)—after counties in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming—but never saw active service under that name.
USS LST-853 was an LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Navy during World War II. Later in her U.S. Navy career she was renamed Kane County (LST-853)—after counties in Illinois and Utah—but never saw active service under that name.
A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sailors or other military personnel. A barracks ship, a military form of a dormitory ship, may also be used as a receiving unit for sailors who need temporary residence prior to being assigned to their ship. The United States Navy used to call them Yard Repair Berthing and Messing with designations YRBM and YRBM(L) and now classes them as either Auxiliary Personnel Barracks (APB) or Auxiliary Personnel Lighter (aka barge) (APL).
USS Blackford (APB-45) was a Benewah-class self-propelled barracks ship that was in service with the United States Navy during the waning days of World War II. She was decommissioned in April 1947 and sold for merchant service. In c. 1968-1970, she was sunk as a target by the South African Military.
The Type B ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II barges. Barges are very low cost to build, operate and move. Barges were needed to move large bulky cargo. A tug boat, some classed as Type V ships, could move a barge, then depart and move on to the next task. That meant the barge did not have to be rushed to be unloaded or loaded. Toward the end of World War 2, some ships that had not been completed in time for the war were converted to barges. US Navy barges are given the prefix: YWN or YW. Due to shortage of steel during World War II, concrete ship constructors were given contracts to build concrete barges, with ferrocement and given the prefix YO, YOG, YOGN. Built in 1944 and 1945, some were named after chemical elements.
HMS LST-421 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship that was transferred to the Royal Navy during World War II. As with many of her class, the ship was never named. Instead, she was referred to by her hull designation.
The Aristaeus-class repair ship was a class of repair ships of the United States Navy during the Second World War.
USS Nueces (APB-40) is a Benewah-class barracks ship of the United States Navy. She was notable for her service in the Vietnam War.
USS APL-2 is the lead ship of the APL-2-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.
USS APL-4 is an APL-2-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.
USS APL-5 is an APL-2-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.
USS APL-15 is an APL-2-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.
USS APL-18 is an APL-2-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.
USS APL-45 is an APL-41-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.
The APL-17-class barracks ship was a class of barracks ships of the United States Navy after the start of the Second World War, in the 1940s.
USS Echols (APB-37) is a Benewah-class barracks ship of the United States Navy.