Bollinger (APA-234)
1944-1947
A county in the southeastern part of the state of Missouri.
(APA-234; displacement 14,837 (trial); length 455'0"; beam. 62'0"; draft 24'0" (limiting); speed 17.7 knots (trial); complement 536; troops 1,563; armament 1 5-inch, 12 40 millimeter, 10 20 millimeter; class Haskell; type VC2-S-AP5)
Bollinger (APA-234) was laid down on 7 October 1944 at Vancouver, Wash., by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp, under a Maritime Commission contract (M. C. V. Hull 680); launched on 19 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. T. M. Meade; delivered to the Navy on 8 December 1944; and placed in commission at Astoria, Oregon, on 9 December 1944, Cmdr. Carter A. Printup in command.
After outfitting, Bollinger moved to Seattle, Wash., on 20 December 1944. On Christmas Day 1944, the attack transport departed Seattle and shaped a course, via San Francisco, Calif., for San Pedro, Calif. Between 31 December 1944 and 13 January 1945, she conducted shakedown training out of San Pedro. On the latter date, the ship headed south to San Diego, Calif., and two weeks of amphibious training. The attack transport completed that training on 29 January and began two weeks of yard availability at the Destroyer Base, San Diego.
Bollinger departed San Diego on 13 February 1945 with replacements for the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing embarked. She made a brief stop at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on her way to Majuro Atoll where she arrived on 27 February. The ship’s passengers disembarked that day; and, on the 28th, Bollinger got underway for Eniwetok. Between 1 March and 4 April, she participated in the removal of the Fourth Marine Division from Iwo Jima.
From 7 April to 20 April 1945, the attack transport underwent repairs at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. On 22 April, she departed Pearl Harbor to return to the west coast and arrived in San Pedro, Calif., on the 29th. During the first half of May, Bollinger embarked troops at Port Hueneme and San Francisco, Calif., and Seattle, clearing the latter port on 16 May bound, ultimately, for the Ryūkyū Islands. She made stops at Oahu, Eniwetok, and Ulithi before arriving at Okinawa on 2 July. There, she disembarked her passengers and replaced them with elements of the Sixth Marine Division. The attack transport left Okinawa on 7 July and after stops at Saipan and Guam, disembarking the marines at the latter island, Bollinger arrived in San Francisco on 29 July.
The ship underwent repairs during the first week of August 1945 and then loaded troops for transportation overseas. She stood out of San Francisco on 10 August and, during the voyage, made stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi before arriving at Leyte on 7 September. Later, Bollinger moved north to Luzon where she visited Manila and Lingayen. On 12 September, the attack transport started out for Japan with occupation troops embarked. She made two such voyages from the Philippines to Japan before heading back to the United States from Japan. She returned to the west coast at San Diego on 15 November. The attack transport made another round-trip, transpacific voyage in December 1945 and January 1946. At that point, Bollinger settled into a routine of transpacific voyages that endured until early 1947.
On 1 April 1947, Bollinger was placed out of commission at San Francisco. The next day, she was turned over to the Maritime Commission to be berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif., placed in Unit M-12. Her name was stricken from the Navy Register on 22 May 1947.
Under the Fiscal Year 1955 Repair Program of the Maritime Administration (MarAd) (the successor to the Maritime Commission), ex-Bollinger was removed from the waters of Suisun Bay at 1115 on 15 June 1955 for repairs, under a general agency agreement with the Coastwise Line, and returned by that same company at 1445 on 24 August 1955. At some point the hull of the vessel was found to be badly corroded, MarAd records indicating the corrosion in corroded welded areas being as deep as ¼ to ½ inch. Farrell Lines acquired the ship on 19 February 1982, then immediately sold it to C. W. Enterprises & Investment Inc., a California corporation, who would sell her for scrapping within 24 months in either South Korea or Taiwan. She was withdrawn from the fleet and delivered to her purchaser at 1050 on 23 April 1982 to be broken up.
Bollinger earned one battle star during World War II, for her participation in the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (6-16 March 1945).
Raymond A. Mann
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
24 January 2024
