Kingman (APB-47)
1945-1977
A county in the state of Illinois
(APB-47: displacement 4,080; length 328'0"; beam 50'0"; draft 11'2"; speed10.0 knots; complement 137; armament 8 40 millimeter, 12 20 millimeter; class Benewah)
Kingman (AKS-18), originally projected as LST-1113, was laid down on 8 January 1945 at Evansville, Indiana, by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.; reclassified as a barracks ship (self-propelled) APB-47 on 3 March 1945; launched on 17 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. K. B. Bragg; transferred to New Orleans, La.,; and commissioned on 27 June 1945, Lt. R. J. Figaro in command.
After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Kingman cleared Gulfport, Miss., and steamed westward through the Panama Canal, arriving at Pearl Harbor, Territoiry of Hawaii, on 2 September 1945, the day of Japan's surrender. Five days later, the barracks ship sailed for the Far East, arriving at Sasebo on 8 October via Eniwetok and Guam.
Kingman remained in Japanese ports for five months before loading U.S.-bound troops and departing Sasebo on 16 March 1946. Kingman arrived at San Diego on 29 April and remained there until she decommissioned on 15 January 1947. She was assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, ultimately berthed at Bremerton, Washington.
Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1977, ex-Kingman was disposed of, by Maritime Administration (MarAd) sale, on 19 November 1980, to Levin Metals Corp. to be broken up for scrap.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
13 March 2023
