USS Fuller (APA-7)
USS Fuller (AP-14, later APA-7) at anchor, 1941
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Laid down: | 1918 as War Wave |
| Launched: | 1919 as Archer |
| Acquired: | 12 November 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 9 April 1941 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 March 1946 |
| Struck: | not known |
| Fate: | Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 1 July 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 8,000 t.(lt) 14,450 t.(fl) |
| Length: | 507 ft (155 m) |
| Beam: | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
| Propulsion: | four Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers; one De Laval Steam Turbine, geared turbine drive; single propeller; designated shaft horsepower 9,500 |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 150,000 cu. ft., 2,900 t. |
| Complement: | 43, Enlisted 337 |
| Armament: |
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USS Fuller (APA-7) was a Heywood-class attack transport acquired by the U.S. Navy for service as a troop carrier just prior to World War II. She served in the Pacific War, a very dangerous area in the early years of the war, and safely returned home post-war with nine battle stars to her credit.
The second Navy ship to be named Fuller was laid down in 1918 as War Wave at Bethlehem Steel Company's (Union Iron Works into 1917), Alameda, California yard as hull # 169A for the British Shipping Controller, London, requisitioned during construction and completed 1919 by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as Archer assigned official number 217596. Renamed City of Newport News on acquisition by the Baltimore Mail S.S. Co. in 1930. Transferred to the Navy 12 November 1940; and commissioned in ordinary for conversion the same day; and commissioned in full 9 April 1941, Captain P. S. Theiss in command. She was reclassified from AP-14 to APA-7 on 1 February 1943. The conversion added 100 feet (30 m) in length to allow more cargo and marines to be carried.
After training her crew in the operation of landing craft, Fuller arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, for duty in the Atlantic Fleet 15 June 1941. She sailed from Charleston 22 June in the convoy carrying the first marine troops to the occupation of Iceland, from which she returned to Norfolk, Virginia, 22 July. Training operations with marines on the North Carolina coast, and with her division in the Norfolk area, continued until her departure from Hampton Roads 5 December 1941 to transport marines to Cuba, the Canal Zone, and Puerto Rico. She returned north for exercises with soldiers in Lynnhaven Roads, then between 19 February 1942 and 25 March, carried troops and cargo to Northern Ireland.
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