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USS Fremont (APA-44)
Encyclopedia
USS Fremont (APA-44) was a that served with the US Navy during World War II.
Fremont was launched 31 March 1943 by Ingalls Shipbuilding
, Pascagoula, Mississippi
; as Sea Corsair, placed in partial commission between 30 May 1943 and 11 June 1943, and commissioned in full 23 November 1943 Captain C. V. Conlan in command.
14 March 1944 for conversion to a staff and command ship
for amphibious operations
, and during the remainder of the war was to carry such distinguished commanders as Rear Admiral William H. P. Blandy
, Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler, Rear Admiral Ralph O. Davis, and Major General Graves B. Erskine
, USMC.
on 16 June, and for 10 days she lay off the island, landing troops and receiving casualties by day, and retiring seaward at night.
, and on 8 September she sortied for the Palau Islands operation. During the initial landings on Peleliu
15 September, Fremont conducted a diversionary demonstration off Babelthaup, then moved into the transport area to land troops on Angaur
17 September. On 23 September Fremont landed men in the unopposed occupation of Ulithi
, then returned to Hollandia
and Manus
for training with soldiers.
20 October, and remained in the Gulf until 18 November, embarking Admiral Fechteler as senior officer present afloat. She came under enemy air attack on several occasions, and on 24 October, during the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf, a small caliber shell which exploded on her bridge injured seven men. Returning to Hollandia 22 November, Fremont embarked men and equipment for rehearsal landings in preparation for the assault on Luzon
. During these exercises, Fremont aided in splashing a lone attacking aircraft.
for the initial landings 9 January 1945, Fremont, with the job done, sailed 11 January for Leyte
, then sailed on to Guam
to embark Marines
for the Iwo Jima
operation.
. On 16 May Fremont returned to Leyte Gulf with troops and sailors, and there received men for transportation to the west coast, where she began an overhaul 26 June 1945.
to bring servicemen eligible for immediate discharge home kept Fremont at sea between 9 October 1945 and 12 August 1946. On 11 January 1947 she cleared Port Hueneme, California
, to join the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk, Virginia
26 January.
17 July to 6 August, returning to reembark troops in September.
While based at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1951, she prominently appeared in the film You're in the Navy Now
.
Her operations when not deployed found Fremont taking part in amphibious operations from Labrador
to the West Indies, and for much of each year, she trained marines along the North Carolina
coast near Camp Lejeune, as well as in the Caribbean. In 1962 she served as the command ship
of Amphibious Squadron Four, Task Force 61
before returning to Italy. She sailed for United States in 1969 for decommissioning at Portsmouth, Virginia.
Fremont received five battle stars for World War II service.
Fremont was launched 31 March 1943 by Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
; as Sea Corsair, placed in partial commission between 30 May 1943 and 11 June 1943, and commissioned in full 23 November 1943 Captain C. V. Conlan in command.
Conversion to command ship
Fremont arrived at Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
14 March 1944 for conversion to a staff and command ship
Command ship
Command ships serve as the flagships of the Commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and his staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities....
for amphibious operations
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
, and during the remainder of the war was to carry such distinguished commanders as Rear Admiral William H. P. Blandy
William H. P. Blandy
William Henry Purnell Blandy , known to friends as "Spike", was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II.-Biography:...
, Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler, Rear Admiral Ralph O. Davis, and Major General Graves B. Erskine
Graves B. Erskine
General Graves Blanchard Erskine was a United States Marine Corps officer who led the 3rd Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.-Early years:...
, USMC.
Saipan
Fremonts first assault landing was at SaipanSaipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
on 16 June, and for 10 days she lay off the island, landing troops and receiving casualties by day, and retiring seaward at night.
Palau Islands
Back in Pearl Harbor from 12 July 1944 to 12 August, Fremont sailed then for rehearsal landings in the SolomonsSolomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, and on 8 September she sortied for the Palau Islands operation. During the initial landings on Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
15 September, Fremont conducted a diversionary demonstration off Babelthaup, then moved into the transport area to land troops on Angaur
Angaur
Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...
17 September. On 23 September Fremont landed men in the unopposed occupation of Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, then returned to Hollandia
Jayapura
Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
and Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
for training with soldiers.
Casualties at Leyte
Fremont cleared Manus 12 October 1944 for the initial landings in Leyte GulfLeyte Gulf
Leyte Gulf is a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte in the Philippines, adjoining the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, at . The Gulf is bounded on the north by the island of Samar, which is separated from Leyte on the west by the narrow San Juanico Strait, and on the south by...
20 October, and remained in the Gulf until 18 November, embarking Admiral Fechteler as senior officer present afloat. She came under enemy air attack on several occasions, and on 24 October, during the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf, a small caliber shell which exploded on her bridge injured seven men. Returning to Hollandia 22 November, Fremont embarked men and equipment for rehearsal landings in preparation for the assault on Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
. During these exercises, Fremont aided in splashing a lone attacking aircraft.
Luzon
Arriving in Lingayen GulfLingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
for the initial landings 9 January 1945, Fremont, with the job done, sailed 11 January for Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, then sailed on to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
to embark Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
for the Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
operation.
Iwo Jima
Again combining her key services as command ship with skillful landing of troops, she arrived off Iwo Jima 19 February, put the Marine command party ashore 24 February, and began landing troops and cargo. She returned to Saipan 9 March with casualties and prisoners of war, then sailed for repairs and rehearsal landings off New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. On 16 May Fremont returned to Leyte Gulf with troops and sailors, and there received men for transportation to the west coast, where she began an overhaul 26 June 1945.
After hostilities
Two voyages to Pearl Harbor, and two more to Pacific islands and the PhilippinesPhilippines
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...
to bring servicemen eligible for immediate discharge home kept Fremont at sea between 9 October 1945 and 12 August 1946. On 11 January 1947 she cleared Port Hueneme, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to join the Atlantic Fleet at Norfolk, Virginia
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....
26 January.
Postwar career
In the years from 1947 through 1960, Fremont completed seven tours of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, participating in amphibious exercises with marines and ships of other NATO navies. The Lebanon Crisis broke out during her 1958 tour of duty, and she joined in landing Marines at BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
17 July to 6 August, returning to reembark troops in September.
While based at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1951, she prominently appeared in the film You're in the Navy Now
You're in the Navy Now
You're in the Navy Now is a Hollywood film released in 1951 by Twentieth Century Fox about the United States Navy in the first months of World War II. Its initial release was titled USS Teakettle...
.
Her operations when not deployed found Fremont taking part in amphibious operations from Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
to the West Indies, and for much of each year, she trained marines along the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
coast near Camp Lejeune, as well as in the Caribbean. In 1962 she served as the command ship
Command ship
Command ships serve as the flagships of the Commander of a fleet. They provide communications, office space, and accommodations for a fleet commander and his staff, and serve to coordinate fleet activities....
of Amphibious Squadron Four, Task Force 61
Task Force 61
Task Force 61 is a task force of the United States Navy that today denotes what used to be designated the Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group of the United States Sixth Fleet. It is composed of approximately three Amphibious assault ships, but in 2008 is designated the Expeditionary Strike Group...
before returning to Italy. She sailed for United States in 1969 for decommissioning at Portsmouth, Virginia.
Fremont received five battle stars for World War II service.