USS Lamar (APA-47)

USS Lamar (APA-47)
Shipname	USS Lamar (APA-47)
Country	United States
Namesake	Lamar County
Builder	Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Laid down	1943
Launched	1944
Commissioned	1944
Decommissioned	1946
Fate	Transferred to Maritime Commission
Class	Bayfield-class attack transport
Displacement	14,000 tons (full load)
Length	492 ft
Beam	69 ft
Draft	26 ft
Propulsion	Steam turbines, geared
Speed	17 kn
Complement	~1,100
Armament	1 × 5"/38 cal, 4 × 40 mm, 10 × 20 mm
Embarked	~1,500 troops

USS Lamar (APA-47) was a Bayfield-class attack transport commissioned in 1944 for service with the United States Navy during World War II. Designed to carry and land assault troops, she served in the Pacific Theater of Operations supporting amphibious operations, troop movements, and occupation duties before decommissioning in the immediate postwar period. The ship embodied wartime shipbuilding efforts by Bethlehem Steel Corporation and contributed to United States Navy amphibious warfare capabilities during pivotal campaigns.

Construction and Commissioning

Laid down under a Maritime Commission contract at the Sparrows Point Shipyard of Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Maryland, she was launched amid the industrial mobilization that followed the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II. Her keel was completed alongside other Bayfield-class attack transport vessels derived from the Type C3 ship hull, reflecting design adaptations from the United States Maritime Commission. During fitting out she received troop accommodations, landing craft davits, and armament modifications consistent with Admiral Ernest J. King’s emphasis on amphibious capability. Commissioning ceremonies linked her to naval traditions observed at Commissioning of naval ships and to the naval infrastructure concentrated at Norfolk Navy Yard and other Atlantic ports.

World War II Service

Assigned to the Pacific Fleet following shakedown in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and transit via the Panama Canal, she participated in operations supporting major campaigns in the Pacific War. Lamar embarked elements of United States Marine Corps and United States Army units for movement to forward areas, contributing to logistics during operations associated with Operation Cartwheel and the final island campaigns that included assaults like Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. Emphasizing amphibious doctrine developed from lessons at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan, she deployed her complement of LVT and LCVP landing craft to put troops ashore, coordinated with Underwater Demolition Teams and naval gunfire from Cruisers of the United States Navy and Destroyers of the United States Navy. Lamar also performed casualty evacuation and logistical redistribution among Fleet logistics nodes, linking operations to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’s command of the Pacific Ocean Areas.

During convoy operations she navigated submarine and aerial threats posed by elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy and coordinated with Air Sea Rescue and Convoy escort procedures. Following Victory over Japan Day, she transported occupation troops to ports in Japan and Korea, supporting Allied occupation of Japan responsibilities undertaken by the United States Armed Forces and multinational contingents under General Douglas MacArthur’s command.

Postwar Service and Decommissioning

In the immediate postwar period Lamar participated in Operation Magic Carpet rotations, repatriating United States servicemen from Pacific bases and former combat zones to United States ports. She visited major bases such as Guam, Saipan, Pearl Harbor, and Manila while executing troop movements and equipment redeployments tied to the demobilization of the United States military after World War II. As naval force structures contracted under peacetime policy set by the United States Congress and influenced by directives from the Department of the Navy, Lamar was ordered inactivated and proceeded to reserve berthing.

Decommissioned in 1946, she was returned to the Maritime Commission and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet pending final disposition. Subsequent disposition followed the pattern of many wartime transports transferred to the Maritime Administration and either sold for commercial conversion, retained in reserve for contingency sealift, or scrapped in shipbreaking facilities associated with the postwar industrial reconsolidation.

Awards and Honors

For wartime service Lamar received campaign recognition consistent with participation in Pacific amphibious operations, including campaign stars and eligibility for World War II Victory Medal and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. Individual crew members qualified for awards administered by the Department of the Navy and the United States Department of Defense that recognized service during specified campaigns and occupational periods. The ship’s records and deck logs contributed to the official documentation used in verifying entitlement to decorations maintained by the National Personnel Records Center and Naval History and Heritage Command.

Ship Specifications and Modifications

As a Bayfield-class attack transport, Lamar was built on the Type C3-S-A2 hull form, displacing approximately 14,000 tons fully loaded, with an overall length near 492 feet and a beam near 69 feet. Propulsion comprised steam turbine machinery with geared reduction driving twin screws to reach speeds around 17 knots, comparable to contemporaneous transports such as USS Bayfield (APA-33) and USS Charles Carroll (APA-28). Embarked troop capacity approached 1,500 personnel supported by cargo holds, troop berthing, and medical spaces adapted from merchant standards used by the United States Maritime Commission. Armament configurations typically included a single 5"/38 caliber gun mount, multiple 40 mm Bofors gun mounts, and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon for anti-aircraft defense, with radar and communications suites upgraded during wartime refits under supervision of Bureau of Ships protocols.

Modifications over her brief active life reflected evolving amphibious doctrine: enhanced davits for Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP), improved boat handling equipment, and alterations to accommodate seabees and specialized assault contingents. Postwar reductions removed certain wartime fittings prior to layup in the Reserve Fleet.

Category:Bayfield-class attack transports Category:Amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Navy Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States