USS Bexar (APA-237)
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USS Bexar (APA-237), date and place unknown
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Bexar (APA-237) |
| Namesake: | Bexar County, Texas |
| Builder: | Oregon Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 2 June 1945 |
| Launched: | 25 July 1945 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs A. E. Gunderson |
| Acquired: | 9 October 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 9 October 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 7 August 1970 |
| Reclassified: | LPA-237, 1 January 1969 |
| Struck: | 1 September 1976 |
| Honours and awards: |
Three battle stars for the Korean War and five for the Vietnam War |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 16 June 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Haskell-class attack transport |
| Tonnage: | 150,000 cu. ft, 2,900 tons |
| Displacement: | 6,720 tons (lt), 14,837 t. (fl) |
| Length: | 455 ft |
| Beam: | 62 ft |
| Draft: | 24 ft |
| Propulsion: | 1 x Joshua Hendy geared turbine, 2 x Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 1 x propeller, designed shaft horsepower 8,500 |
| Speed: | 18 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
2 x LCM, 12 x LCVP, 3 x LCPU |
| Capacity: | 86 Officers 1,475 Enlisted |
| Crew: | 56 Officers, 480 enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 x 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mount, 1 x quad 40mm gun mount, 4 x twin 40mm gun mounts, 10 x single 20mm gun mounts |
| Notes: | MCV Hull No. 1132, hull type VC2-S-AP5 |
USS Bexar (APA-237) was a Haskell-class attack transport that was intended for service with the US Navy in World War II, on the Victory ship design. She was commissioned too late to see action in that conflict but was to see service in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
Bexar was named after Bexar County, Texas. She was launched 25 July 1945 by Oregon Shipbuilding of Portland, Oregon, under a Maritime Commission contract, acquired by the Navy 9 October, and commissioned the same day, Captain R. H. Wilcox, in command.
Upon completion of shakedown training, Bexar joined the Operation Magic Carpet fleet. She returned troops from the Pacific until February 1946. After a brief tour of duty around San Diego during the early part of 1946, she was ordered to Pearl Harbor to prepare for Operation Cross-roads.
In June Bexar proceeded to Bikini Atoll to participate in Operation Crossroads, the large-scale operation designed to test the effectiveness of atomic bombs on warships. Over 200 warships participated in the operation, 75 of them as targets. Bexar served as an equipment supply center.
In August she returned to the West Coast and underwent radioactivity tests.
In January 1947 she joined the Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, based at Norfolk, Virginia. Bexar operated along the Eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean until July 1950, making a Mediterranean cruise (January–February 1948) with Marines embarked.
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