The attack cargo ship made her maiden voyage late in April from New York to Norfolk, Virginia, and then conducted shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay. On 8 June, she put to sea with a convoy bound for the Mediterranean Sea. Andromeda arrived in Mers el Kebir, Algeria, on the 22nd and began training for the Allied invasion of Sicily. On 5 July, the attack cargo ship left Oran, Algeria, with Task Force (TF) 85 and set a course for the southern coast of Sicily. She and her colleagues in Cent Force arrived in the transport area off Scoglitti during the night of the 9th and 10th. Allied troops stormed ashore in the darkness of the early morning hours of the 10th, and Andromeda spent the next two days disgorging her cargo. Late in the evening of the 12th, she departed the area in company with Ancon, 10 other auxiliaries, and an escort of nine destroyers.
Returning to Oran, Andromeda spent the next few weeks at several locations on the North African coast preparing for another amphibious assault. On 5 September, the attack cargo ship stood out of Mers el Kebir with Task Group (TG) 81.2, the transport group of the Southern Attack Force for the invasion of the Italian mainland just to the southeast of Naples on the shores of the Gulf of Salerno. She arrived at her destination late in the evening of the 8th. Early the next morning, troops of the Army's 36th Division stormed ashore at Salerno. Andromeda remained in the transport area in the gulf until the 10th discharging troops and equipment to fuel the offensive. She departed the area during the last watch of the 10th with a convoy bound for Oran, Algeria. The attack cargo ship anchored in Oran on the morning of the 14th. On the 19th, she headed back to Salerno carrying supplies and reinforcements. Andromeda unloaded at Salerno on the 22nd and the 23rd and then embarked upon the return voyage to Algeria.
The Andromeda at sea
She arrived at Mers el Kebir on 26 September. The attack cargo ship spent about six weeks practicing amphibious landings with American and Free French troops on the Algerian coast at Mers el Kebir, Oran, and Arzew. Between 5 November and 7 November, she made the passage to Bizerte, Tunisia, where she loaded cargo and embarked troops until the 19th. Departing Bizerte, Andromeda made a six-day stop at Mers el Kebir between 23 November and 29 November and an overnight pause at Oran on the 29th and 30th before joining a convoy bound for the British Isles. The ship visited Belfast in Northern Ireland and several ports in Scotland and then headed across the Atlantic on 18 December.
Andromeda arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, on 2 January 1944 and began a yard overhaul on the 3rd. On 13 February and 14 February, the attack cargo ship made the passage to New York. She loaded cargo at New York and then, on 27 February, put to sea with a convoy bound for Europe. She reached Newport in Wales on 9 March and unloaded cargo on the 10th, 11th, and 12th. After visiting several Scottish ports, Andromeda stood out of the River Clyde on 29 March and shaped course for North Africa. The ship reached Mers el Kebir again on 6 April and spent the next two months conducting amphibious training on the Algerian coast between Mers el Kebir and Arzew.
On 16 June, the attack cargo ship left the North African coast for the Italian boot. She entered Naples on the 19th and remained there until the 23rd. Steaming by way of Palermo, Sicily, Andromeda made Algiers on 7 July. She loaded cargo and got underway again for Naples on the 8th. Arriving at her destination on 10 July, she divided her time between Naples and the Gulf of Pozzuoli for the rest of the month. Andromeda spent the first part of August in the Bay of Castellamare waiting for the beginning of Operation "Dragoon", the invasion of southern France. The attack cargo ship left the Bay of Castellamare on 12 August and arrived off the invasion beaches on the 15th. She unloaded her cargo and headed back to Oran on the 16th. For over two months, the ship went back and forth across the Mediterranean Sea carrying supplies and reinforcements from North Africa to the armies operating ashore in southern France.
On 25 October 1944, however, she set out from Mers el Kebir to return to the United States. Andromeda arrived in Boston, Mass., on 8 November and commenced a month of repairs on the 9th. After loading cargo at Davisville, R.I., the attack cargo ship put to sea for the journey to the Pacific. Steaming by way of Norfolk, she arrived in the Canal Zone at the end of December, transited the canal on the 31st and resumed her voyage west on New Year's Day 1945. She entered Pearl Harbor on 15 January and began the ubiquitous cargo loading operation. On 24 January, the ship got underway for the southwestern Pacific. She unloaded cargo at Nouméa, New Caledonia, between 3 February and 7 February and then returned to sea bound for the Solomon Islands.
On 10 February, Andromeda arrived at Guadalcanal. She spent the ensuing five weeks in the Solomon Islands carrying out amphibious exercises in preparation for the assault on Okinawa. The attack cargo ship left the Solomons on 15 March bound ultimately for the campaign about to unfold in the Ryukyu Islands. She entered Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands on the 21st and bided her time until the 27th when her portion of the invasion force sortied from the lagoon. Andromeda arrived in the transport area off Okinawa on L-day, 1 April. The soldiers and marines carried out their landing that morning, and support ships like Andromeda began to disgorge supplies and equipment. The attack cargo ship stayed in the vicinity for nine days. During that time, the Japanese launched massive air attacks in an attempt to thwart the offensive. Andromeda went to general quarters time after time to help beat off the aerial onslaught and, on at least one occasion, helped to splash one of the intruders.
The attack cargo ship cleared the Ryukyu Islands on 9 April and laid in a course for Hawaii. She pulled into Pearl Harbor on the 24th and loaded cargo until near the middle of May. On 12 May, Andromeda put to sea on her way back to Okinawa. Steaming by way of Eniwetok in the Marshalls and Ulithi in the Carolines, the ship reached Okinawa on 7 June. She stayed there for a week then headed back to Pearl Harbor on the 14th. Andromeda reentered Pearl Harbor on 29 June and then conducted training at Maui before setting a course for the Mariana Islands. She reached Saipan on 28 July and passed a fortnight in the Marianas. Andromeda returned to sea on 11 August, and hostilities ended four days later when she was half the way to the Solomons. She spent the period 18 to 23 August in the Solomons and returned to the Marianas at Guam on the 30th.
During the two months following Japan's surrender, Andromeda carried out two missions to the home islands and made a voyage to Manila in the Philippines. After embarking servicemen at Sasebo, Japan, the attack cargo ship got underway for the United States on 6 November. After a nonstop voyage, she returned to American soil at Seattle, Washington, on 22 November. The ship spent four weeks there before heading south to San Francisco, California, where she arrived on 22 December 1945.
Cold War
Andromeda remained on active duty during the late 1940s and early 1950s. She made cargo runs between the west coast and American bases at such places as Pearl Harbor, Midway, Wake Island, Kwajalein, Guam, and Saipan. In September and October 1949, the attack cargo ship made a round-trip voyage from the West Coast to the East Coast and back. She resumed operations from her base on the west coast upon her return. In August 1950, she voyaged north to the Pribilof Islands and, in March 1951, left the west coast for the Far East. Andromeda provided logistics support for United Nations forces fighting the Korean War until returning to San Diego at the end of the year. After 10 months of duty on the west coast, the ship returned to the Orient and logistics support for the United Nations defense of South Korea. She took up duty along the west coast in the spring of 1953, but interrupted it for a round-trip voyage to Yokosuka, Japan, in August and early September. Andromeda deployed to the Far East in 1954 and participated in Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of refugees from North Vietnam in August and September. The attack cargo ship came back to the west coast from that assignment in October and arrived in San Diego on 20 November[1] and operated on the Pacific Coast. In June 1955 the ship sailed to Seattle in preparation for the Dewline Operation. On 6 July the ship sailed north to Icy Cape, and when the ice cleared, went around Pt. Barrow and then to her offloading sites as far east as Cape Peary in Amundsen Gulf. During this operation in the ice, the ship broke the palm of her rudder. The ship was evacuated of none essential personnel and towed back to Pt. Barrow where the personnel were backloaded. Andromeda was then tow to Seattle arriving early October. Long gashes in the hull from contact with the ice could not be repaired and the ship was deactivated.
Decommissioning and fate
Andromeda was placed out of commission at San Diego on 1 May 1956. She was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington Her name was struck from the Navy List on 1 July 1960, and she was sold to the Marine Power & Equipment Co., of Seattle, Washington, on 12 March 1971.
USS Achernar (AKA-53) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy during World War II and after.
USS Algol (AKA-54) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship. She was the first ship of the United States Navy by this name, after Algol, a fixed star in the constellation Perseus. Algol served as a commissioned ship for 22 years and 1 month.
USS Burleson (APA-67), a Gilliam-class attack transport, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Burleson County, Texas. Her keel was laid down on 22 April 1944 at Wilmington, California, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation under a Maritime Commission contract. She was 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.
USS Winston (AKA-94/LKA-94) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1957 and from 1961 to 1969. She was scrapped in 1979.
USS Whiteside (AKA-90) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship named after Whiteside County, Illinois. She served as a commissioned ship for 13 years and 4 months.
USS Alshain (AKA-55) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship in the service of the United States Navy. She was named after the star Alshain in the constellation Aquila, and served as a commissioned ship for 11 years and 9 months.
USS Virgo (AKA-20) was an Andromeda class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy, named after the constellation Virgo. She was later converted to an ammunition ship and redesignated as (AE-30). She served as a commissioned ship for 22 years and 4 months.
USS Cepheus (AKA-18) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy that was manned by United States Coast Guard. She was in service from 1943 to 1946 and was subsequently sold into commercial service. She ran aground on a reef and became a constructive total loss in 1968.
USS Oberon (AK-56/AKA-14/T-AKA-14/LKA-14) was a Arcturus-class attack cargo ship in the United States Navy. She was named after Oberon, one of the moons of the planet Uranus.
USS Procyon (AKA-2) was an Arcturus-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy, named after Procyon, a star in the constellation Canis Minor. She was laid down and launched in 1940, entering service shortly before the American entry into World War II. She served with distinction in World War II, earning five battle stars. Her work included shipping planes in the Pacific, and troops in North Africa. She was part of the Invasion of Sicily and the Invasion of Okinawa. She served as a commissioned ship for 5 years and 4 months. In 1946, the ship was decommissioned, and was later sold to Levin Metals Corp. on 19 November 1973.
USS Botetourt (APA-136) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946 and from 1950 to 1956. She was scrapped in 1974.
USS Bernalillo County (LST-306) was an LST-1-class tank landing ship built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Bayfield (APA-33) was a Bayfield-class attack transport built for the United States Navy during World War II, the lead ship in her class. Named for Bayfield County, Wisconsin, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Staff (AM-114) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Speed (AM-116) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Sustain (AM-119) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Weehawken (CM-12) was originally SS Estrada Palma – a car ferry built in 1920 by William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia. It was acquired by the United States Navy on 15 June 1942; renamed Weehawken on 18 July 1942; converted to a minelayer by the Bethlehem Steel Co. at Hoboken, New Jersey; designated CM-12; and commissioned on 30 September 1942.
USS Thomas Jefferson (APA-30), serving from 1 May 1942 until 18 July 1955, was a transport and then reclassified on 1 February 1943 as a President Jackson-class attack transport. She was laid down under Maritime Commission contract as President Garfield on 5 February 1940 at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company for the American President Lines. The ship was launched on 20 November 1940, sponsored by Miss Eugenia Merrill. President Garfield was completed 26 March 1941 and acquired by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) 29 November 1941 with American President Lines, the WSA agent, operating the ship as a troop transport. On 1 May 1942 the United States Navy purchased the ship and commissioned her USS Thomas Jefferson, named for Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, on 31 August 1942.
USS Bergen (APA-150) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.
USS Arcturus (AK-18/AKA-1) was an Arcturus-class attack cargo ship named after Arcturus, a star in the constellation Boötes. She served as a commissioned ship for 5 years and 5 months.
↑ Associated Press, "Parade of Navy Ships to Bring Thousands Home From Pacific", San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 19 November 1954, Volume LXI, Number 69, page 4.
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