USS La Salle (AP-102)
 |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name: | USS La Salle |
| Builder: | Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California |
| Laid down: | 29 April 1942 |
| Launched: | 2 August 1942 |
| Acquired: | 18 March 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 31 March 1943, as USS Hotspur |
| Decommissioned: | 24 July 1946 |
| Renamed: | USS La Salle, 6 April 1943 |
| Honors and awards: |
8 battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate: |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | La Salle-class transport |
| Displacement: | 5,933 long tons (6,028 t) |
| Length: | 459 ft 2 in (140 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draft: | 23 ft (7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbine, single shaft, 6,000 hp (4,474 kW) |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Troops: | 1,676 men |
| Complement: | 316 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
|
The first USS La Salle (AP-102) of the United States Navy was the lead ship of her class of transport ships in use during the latter part of World War II.
The ship was laid down on 29 April 1942 under Maritime Commission contract as the Type C2 ship SS Hotspur by Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California, launched on 2 August 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Naomi S. Kehoe, acquired by the Navy on 18 March 1943, and commissioned as Hotspur on 31 March 1943, Comdr. Fred C. Fluegel in command.
Renamed La Salle on 6 April 1943, she left Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California on 14 April with Seabees for Guadalcanal, returning to San Francisco on 10 July. On 7 August, she departed from Port Hueneme, California, carrying contingents of United States Navy Argus Units 7,8 and 9, the Ninth Special Construction Battalion and the Fifth Special Medical Unit all bound for operations in the South Pacific. From there she steamed to Wellington, New Zealand, arriving on 27 October. There and in the New Hebrides, she conducted simulated attacks and landing boat exercises with marines in preparation for the assault on Tarawa, for which she sailed on 13 November with Task Force 53. She arrived off the invasion beaches on 19 November, and was shelled by enemy shore batteries early the next morning, suffering no serious damage. She cleared Tarawa the 24th and steamed to San Diego, where she arrived on 13 December to prepare for the invasion of the Marshalls.
...
Wikipedia