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USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67)
Encyclopedia
USS Dorothea L. Dix (P-67) was a transport ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
named for Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix was an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane who, through a vigorous program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums...
(1802–1887).
Dorothea L. Dix was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 22 June 1940 as Exemplar by Bethlehem Steel Company, Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Miss P. J. Kalloch; transferred to the Navy on 13 September 1942; and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 17 September 1942, Captain L. B. Schulten in command.
Mediterranean, 1942–1943
Putting to sea from Cove Point, Maryland, on 23 October 1942, Dorothea L. Dix sailed with Task Force 34 (TF 34) to land Army troops and supply scout boats in the assault at SafiSafi, Morocco
Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of the Doukkala-Abda Region, it has a population of 282,227 , but is also the centre of an agglomeration which has an estimated 793,000 inhabitants ....
, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
, from 8 to 12 November, during "Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
". She returned to Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 24 November. Between 12 December 1942 and 5 April 1943 she made two more transatlantic voyages to Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, carrying Army troops and nurses.
After amphibious training at Norfolk, she sailed on 8 June 1943 for Oran, arriving on 22 June. On 5 July she got underway for the invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
, arriving off Scoglitti
Scoglitti
Scoglitti is a small fishing village near the town of Vittoria on the south coast of Sicily.In addition to its fishing industry, the village derives a substantial part of its income from tourism...
late on 9 July and debarking her troops and cargo early the next day under heavy air attack. She embarked wounded and one Italian prisoner and returned to Oran on 15 July. A week later she was en route to New York, arriving on 3 August to debark her passengers, German prisoners of war. A similar voyage was made to Oran between 21 August and 21 September after which she sailed on 8 October for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Dorothea L. Dix arrived at Gourock Bay
Gourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on 17 October 1943, and sailed ten days later for Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
where she exchanged troops for 243 survivors of and for Oran to embark Army troops. She unloaded cargo at Gourock Bay between 24 and 30 November then sailed to New York, arriving on 11 December. Between 29 December 1943 and 10 March 1944 she carried troops on two voyages from New York to Gourock Bay and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Normandy landings, 1944
On 23 March 1944 Dorothea L. Dix sailed from New York for BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, arriving on 3 April. After amphibious training in the Clyde area, she sortied with Temporary Transport Division 97 from the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on 5 June for the invasion landings
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
at Normandy the following day. She returned to Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay
Weymouth Bay is a sheltered bay on the south coast of England, in Dorset. It is protected from erosion by Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland, and includes several beaches, notably Weymouth Beach, a gently curving arc of golden sand which stretches from the resort of Weymouth, along to the...
on the 7th to debark casualties, then embarked troops in the Clyde area and tanks at Avonmouth
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...
which she carried to Naples, arriving on 16 July.
Mediterranean, 1944
She put out from Naples on 13 August 1944 for the invasion of southern FranceOperation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
two days later, unloading tanks and Army troops for the assault landings. She continued to support this operation by carrying French, British, and Italian as well as American troops to Baie de la Cavalaire
Cavalaire-sur-Mer
Cavalaire-sur-Mer is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-History:During World War II, on August 16, 1944, it was one of the sites of a beach landing in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern FranceCavalaire-sur-Mer is probably...
and Marseilles from Naples and Oran until 22 October. Three days later she left Oran for New York, arriving on 8 November.
Pacific, 1945–1946
Dorothea L. Dix put to sea from New York on 18 December 1944, and arrived at San Francisco on 4 January 1945. Two weeks later she sailed to carry Army troops to Pearl Harbor, returning to San Francisco on 2 February. After a voyage to AttuAttu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
, to transport Army troops to Aleutian Islands she proceeded to Okinawa arriving on 1 May. Here she landed support troops and embarked casualties and naval passengers for San Francisco, arriving on 27 May.
Between 10 June 1945 and 9 February 1946 Dorothea L. Dix operated on transport duty from San Francisco and other west coast ports to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, carrying replacements to the Pacific and returning veterans. She sailed to New York on 29 March 1946, was decommissioned there on 24 April 1946, and returned to the Maritime Commission for disposal the same day.