USS Henrico (APA-45)
USS Henrico (APA-45), Vietnam era (1960s).
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| Name: | USS Henrico (APA-45) |
| Namesake: | Henrico County, Virginia |
| Builder: | Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| Laid down: | Unknown |
| Launched: | 31 March 1943 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. W. D. Pelan |
| Christened: | SS Sea Darter |
| Acquired: | 23 June 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 26 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 February 1968 |
| Reclassified: |
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| Struck: | 1 June 1973 |
| Honors and awards: |
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| Fate: | Sold by MARAD, 1 October 1979, fate unknown. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Bayfield-class attack transport |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 492 ft (150 m) |
| Beam: | 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
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| Capacity: | 4,500 tons (180,500 cu. ft). |
| Troops: | 80 officers, 1,146 enlisted |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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USS Henrico (APA-45) was a Bayfield-class attack transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II, and subsequently in the Korean War, Cold War and Vietnam War.
The ship was laid down as SS Sea Darter, a Type C3-S-A2 hull, under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 393) by Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, Mississippi. Assigned to the Navy as Naval Transport (AP-90), she was reclassified as Attack Transport (APA-45) on 1 February 1943.
The ship was launched on 31 March 1943, sponsored by Mrs. W. D. Pelan, acquired by the Navy on 23 June 1943, and commissioned next day for transfer to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Hoboken, New Jersey. Decommissioned on 8 July 1943, Henrico then fitted out, and recommissioned on 26 November 1943, Commander J. H. Willis in command.
Following shakedown training in Chesapeake Bay, the attack transport remained to train Army combat teams before departing Norfolk for New York on 2 February 1944. Arriving the next day, Henrico embarked troops and sailed for Scotland on 11 February. Arriving at the Firth of Clyde on 22 February, the ship began amphibious training in preparation for the invasion of Normandy.
Henrico embarked her invasion troops on 26 May at Portland, England, and sailed on 5 June as a part of Rear Admiral John Hall's Omaha Beach Assault Force. On the following day, 6 June, Henrico landed her troops, the 16th Regiment of the First Infantry Division, in the first assault wave on the Easy Red Sector of Omaha Beach in the face of heavy seas and strong enemy fortifications. As the tempo of fighting increased, the ship received casualties from the beaches, returning to Portland later on "D-Day." As the assault area was secured and the advance began, Henrico stood by for shuttle duty, finally sailing for the Firth of Clyde on 19 June.
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