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Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Boats-Ships--Support Ships
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  • World War II 1939-1945
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Broadwater (APA-139)

1945-1946

A county in the west central part of the state of Montana.

(APA-139: displacement 14,837 (trial); length 455'0"; beam 62'0"; draft 24'0" (limiting); speed 17.7 knots (trial); complement 536; troops 1,561; armament 1 5-inch, 12 40 millimeter, 10 20 millimeter; class Haskell; type VC2-S-AP5)

Broadwater (APA-139) was laid down on 1 September 1944 at Wilmington, Calif., by the California Shipbuilding Corp. under a Maritime Commission contract (M.C.V .Hull 55); launched on 5 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. A. E. Florer; delivered to the Navy on 31 December 1944; and commissioned at Terminal Island, Calif., on 2 January 1945, Capt. George G. Herring, Jr., in command.

After fitting out and underway tests, Broadwater began shakedown training out of San Pedro, Calif., on 12 January 1945. On the 26th, she commenced amphibious training in the San Diego area. At the conclusion of that assignment on 12 February, the attack transport arrived at the Craig Shipbuilding Co., Long Beach, for a post-shakedown availability. On 23 February, she put to sea and, the following day, arrived in San Francisco. There, she loaded cargo until 2 March at which time the ship shaped a course for Hawaii. By the 8th, she was in Hawaiian waters conducting further amphibious training.

On 28 March 1945, she embarked elements of severa1 construction battalions and, on the 29th, got underway from Pearl Harbor. On 6 and 7 April, Broadwater stopped at Eniwetok then continued west. She spent from 13 to 15 April at Kossol Roads in the Palau Islands. On 17 April, the attack transport anchored in Guiuan harbor at Samar in the Philippine Islands. She remained in the Samar-Leyte area for almost two weeks before getting underway for the Marianas on 30 April. The ship arrived at Apra Harbor, Guam, on 4 May but put to sea again on the 7th. She arrived back in San Francisco on 22 May.

After loading cargo and embarking passengers, Broadwater departed San Francisco on 29 May 1945. She made stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi before arriving at Manila in the Philippines on 22 June. There, she unloaded cargo and disembarked troops. On 28 June, the ship stood out of Manila Bay bound for New Guinea. She arrived at Hollandia on the northern coast of New Guinea on 3 July and began taking on cargo and passengers. Departing Hollandia on 6 July, the attack cargo ship arrived back in Manila Bay on 10 July. After unloading cargo and disembarking passengers, Broadwater moved to Subic Bay on the 18th and began loading cargo. On 20 July, the ship set sail for the United States. She dropped anchor at San Pedro on 8 August.

After almost two weeks of voyage repairs at the California Shipbuilding Corp., Broadwater began loading occupation troops on 24 August 1945. She started across the Pacific on the 25th, made an overnight stop at Eniwetok on 7 and 8 September, and arrived in Manila on 15 September. Her passengers went ashore at Manila, and Broadwater got underway for Leyte. She reached San Pedro Bay on the 19th and stayed there until the 23d. On the 24th, the attack transport anchored in Legaspi harbor, Luzon. She remained at Legaspi until 4 October when she weighed anchor for Japan. She arrived in Tokyo on the 13th. Later that month, the ship headed back to the United States, arriving home early in November.

By late January 1946, Broadwater had moved to the east coast at Norfolk to prepare for inactivation. Decommissioned on 28 February 1946, she was turned over to the Maritime Commission’s War Shipping Administration for disposal on 1 March 1946, entering the James River Reserve Fleet berthing area, Lee Hall, Virginia, at 1:00 p.m. that day. Her name was stricken from the Navy Register on 20 March 1946.

Ex-Broadwater remained in reserve off Lee Hall, save for a period under a general agency agreement with the American-Foreign Steamship Corp. as part of the Reserve Fleet’s 1956 Repair Program (from 10:45 a.m. on 8 July to 9:15 a.m. on 7 September 1955) until purchased for non-transportation use, as a scrap sale, by Andy International, Inc., on 13 June 1974. She was physically delivered to her purchaser at 1:30 p.m. on 1 October 1974.

Raymond A. Mann; updated, Robert J. Cressman

6 May 2021

 
Published: Thu May 06 23:53:14 EDT 2021