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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Saint Croix (LPA-231)
ex
 USS Saint Croix (APA-231) (1944 - 1969)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Sierra - Juliet
 NPSJ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
Haskell Class Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, 25 September 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP5) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 677) at Kaiser Company Inc., Vancouver WA.
  • Launched, 9 November 1944
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission under loan-charter
  • Commissioned USS Saint Croix (APA-231), 1 December 1944, CAPT. Edmond P. Speight USN (20) in command
  • During World War II USS Saint Croix was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty-Two, COMO. S. P. Jenkins;
     TransDiv Sixty-Six, CAPT. W. G. Ludlow Jr. USN (17)
  • Following World War II USS Saint Croix was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    13 to 19 September 194511 to 17October 1945
     2 to 14 November 1945

  • USS Saint Croix (APA-231) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.3.1 Transportation Group (Transportation Division (TRANSDIV 31) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 7 April 1947
  • Transferred, 7 April 1947, to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 23 April 1947
  • Redesignated Amphibious Transport (LPA-231), 1 January 1969
  • Custody returned to the Maritime Administration, 15 November 1979
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 November 1979, to Apolnia, Ltd. Hong Kong. Removed, 17 December 1979. Scrapped by Keun Hwa Iron and Steel Works, Ltd., Kaohsiun, Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,873 t.(lt) 12,450 t.(fl)
    Length 455'
    Beam 62' Draft 24'
    Speed 17.7 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 56
    Enlisted 480
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 87
    Enlisted 1,475
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Cargo Capacity 2,900 DWTs
    non-refrigerated 150,000 cu ft.
    Boats
    two LCMs
    one open LCPL
    one covered LCPL (Captain's Gig)
    two LCPRs
    eighteen LCVPs
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual-purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 7,780 Bbls
    Diesel 970 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine
    double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 465psi 750°
    single propeller, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Saint Croix 55k USS Saint Croix (APA-231) underway in San Francisco Bay passing under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, December 1945. Photo by LTjg. Gordon Engle USS Chiwawa, submitted by Jon Strupp
    Saint Croix 67k USS Saint Croix (APA-231) underway in San Francisco Bay, circa late 1945 or early 1946.
    US Navy photo # NH 98746 donated by Boatswain's Mate First Class Robert G. Tippins, USN (Retired), 2003 to the US Naval History and Heritage Command.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Saint Croix 71k USS Saint Croix (APA-231) at anchor probably in San Francisco Bay, circa 1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 99011    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Saint Croix 58k USS Saint Croix (APA-231) at anchor, probably in San Francisco Bay, circa 1946. CAPT Jerry Mason, USN
    Saint Croix
    100323105    		 447k USS Saint Croix (APA-231) undeerway in San Francisco Bay, circa early 1947.
    Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum    		 Darryl Baker
    USS Saint Croix (APA/LPA-231)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Speight, Edmond Pryor, USN (USNA 1920)1 December 1944 - 1 December 1945
    02LT. Bohm, Richard Otto, USNR1 December 1945 - 25 March 1946
    03CAPT. Carroll, Chester Edward (Blackie), USN (USNA 1924) :RADM25 March 1946 - 7 April 1947
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 28 February 2025