Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Henrico (LPA-45)
ex
USS Henrico (APA-45) (1943 - 1969)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - India - Golf
NKIG

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - Navy Unit Commendation
Second Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Third Row - Europe-Africa-Middle Campaign Medal (2) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Fourth Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (9)
Fifth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Cuba, Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (1) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (3)
Sixth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (49 KIA, Okinawa, 2 April 1945)

Bayfield Class Attack Transport:

Laid down, date unknown, as SS Sea Darter, a Maritime Commission type (C3-S-A2) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 393) at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, MS.

Assigned to the Navy as Naval Transport (AP-90)

Reclassified Attack Transport (APA-45), 1 February 1943

Launched, 31 March 1943

Acquired by the Navy, 23 June 1943

Placed in partial commission, 24 June 1943 through 8 July 1943, for transit to her fitting out yard, LCDR James H. Budd USNR (Ferry Command Crew # 4) in command

Decommissioned, 8 July 1943, at Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Hoboken N.J.

Re-commissioned in full USS Henrico (APA-45), 26 November 1943, CDR. John H. Willis USN in command

During World War II USS Henrico served in both the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 25 March to 14 April 1945
Invasion of southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944

While serving in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Henrico was assigned to:
TransRon Twenty-Three(flagship), COMO. A. S. Witherspoon;
TransDiv Sixty-Seven for the Okinawa Gunto operation

Following World War II USS Henrico was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
21 to 28 April 1947	21 March to 20 April 1947
	29 April to 2 July 1947
	16 to 30 July 1947
	28 July 1948 to 8 February 1949
	18 February to 4 March 1951
	3 to 21 February 1952
	26 January to 14 February 1955

USS Henrico (APA-45) 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

During the Korean War USS Henrico participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Korean War Campaigns
North Korean Aggression 1 August to 12 September 1950 18 September to 31 October 1950	Second Korean Winter 5 to 6, 17 to 18 and 28 to 29 December 1951 11 January 1952
Communist China Aggression 19 November to 29 December 1950	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 5 to 12 and 21 to 26 June 1952
Inchon Landing 13 to 17 September 1950	Third Korean Winter 17 to 30 April 1952
First UN Counter Offensive 5 to 11 February 1951	Korean Summer-Fall 1953 1 to 19 May 1953 29 May to 1 June 1953 16 and 22 to 25 July 1953
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 6 to 7 November 1951 13 to 14 November 1951

During the Vietnam War USS Henrico participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Advisory Campaign 29 June to 9 July 1959 29 January to 1 February 1965 7 February to 13 March 1965 13 to 20 April 1965 3 to 13 May 1965 20 to 22 May 1965	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 26 to 31 August 1966 15 to 30 September 1966 26 October to 6 November 1966 31 December 1966 to 16 January 1967 24 February to 24 March 1967

Decommissioned, 14 February 1968

Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 21 February 1968, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.

Title transferred to MARAD, 3 July 1968

Designation changed to Amphibious Transport (LPA-45), 1 January 1969

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1973

USS Henrico earned three battle stars for World War II service, the Navy Unit Commendation and nine battle stars for Korean War service, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with one campaign star for Vietnam War service

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 16 March 1976, to Nicolai Joffe Corp. (PD-X-1004) for $898,327.00 (one of a four ship sale), Withdrawn and delivered, 19 April 1976

Specifications:
Displacement 8,100 t.(lt), 16,100 t.(fl)
Length 492'
Beam 69' 6"
Draft 26' 6"
Speed 18.4 kts.

Complement

Officers 54

Enlisted 450

Flag Accommodations

Officers 43

Enlisted 108

Troop Accommodations

Officers 87

Enlisted 1,452

Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.

Cargo Capacity, 4,700 DWT

175,000 Cu ft

Boats

twelve LCVPs

four LCM (Mk-6)s

three LCP(L) (MK-IV)s

Armament

two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts, one fore and one aft

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 8,310 bbls

Diesel 750 Bbls

Propulsion

one General Electric geared turbine

two Foster-Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 765°

double General Electric Main Reduction Gears

three turbo-drive 250Kw 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

one propeller, 8500shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	69k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** at anchor, circa 1945, location unknown. The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 22. US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 104672-KN, a US Coast Guard photo now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.	Mike Green
	32k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** at anchor, date and location unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in World War II
	65k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Robert Hurst
	70k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** underway, circa 1943-45, location unknown. U.S. Naval Institute photo
100304510	159k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** at anchor in San Francisco Bay, circa 1945-1946. Note ramp of the Oakland - San Francisco Bay bridge to the far left in the background.	Darryl Baker
	69k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** at anchor circa Korean War - Cold War era (1950s) U.S. Naval Institute photo
	341k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** at anchor, date and location unknown. Photo by Ronald Roy SMC USN Ret.	Scott Nelson for his Grandfather Ronald Roy SMC USN Ret. USS Atlas
	65k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** underway, circa Vietnam era (1960s) U.S. Naval Institute photo	Archie Mustard
	48k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** at anchor, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Stanley C. Svec
100304509	678k	*USS Henrico* (APA-45)** underway, date and location unknown.	Nicholas Tiberio

USS Henrico Additional Ships Patches Contributed by Mike Smolinski
			Henrico Assoc.

Commanding Officers
	LCDR. Budd, James Horgeson, USNR (Ferry Crew #4)	24 June 1943 - 8 July 1943
	Decommissioned	8 July 1943 - 26 November 1943
01	CAPT. Willis, John Howard, USN :RADM (USNA 1921B),	26 November 1943 - 18 March 1945
02	CAPT. France, William Cook, USN (USNA 1924) (KIA)	18 March 1945 - 2 April 1945
03	LT. Craig, William Davis, USNR	2 April 1945 - 19 April 1945
04	CAPT. Willis, John Howard, USN :RADM (USNA 1921A)	19 April 1945 - 27 June 1945
05	CAPT. Williams, Jack Bankhead, USN (USNA 1924)	27 June 1945 - 4 January 1947
06	CAPT. Von Kleeck Jr., Ernest St.Clair, USN (USNA 1925)	4 January 1947 - 12 April 1948
07	CAPT. Tibbetts, Frank Pixley, USN (USNA 1925)	12 April 1948 - 26 March 1949
08	CAPT. Woolleson, Henry Dean, USN (USNA 1923)	26 March 1949 - 1 June 1950
09	CAPT. Fradd, John Ernest, USN :RADM (USNA 1926)	1 June 1950 - 29 July 1951
10	CAPT. Taylor, Howard William, USN (USNA 1927)	29 July 1951 - 30 July 1952
11	CAPT. Nutting, Kelvin Lightfoot, USN (USNA 1939)	30 July 1952 - 20 August 1953
12	CAPT. Jones, Lafayette Jackson, USN (USNA 1930)	20 August 1953 - 22 October 1954
13	CAPT. Hill Jr., Andrew Jewell :RADM, USN (USNA 1931)	22 October 1954 - 29 September 1955
14	CAPT. Coleman, Walter Daniel, USN (USNA 1932)	29 September 1955 - 28 September 1956
15	CAPT. Ferguson, Glover Trenholmm USN (USNA 1933)	28 September 1956 - 16 November 1957
16	CAPT. Christie, Gerald Louis, USN (USNA 1935)	16 November 1957 - 7 December 1958
17	CAPT. Shea Jr., William Henry, USN (USNA 1936)	7 December 1958 - 15 December 1959
18	CAPT. Rhodemyre, John Lynn, USN	15 December 1959 - 20 January 1961
19	CAPT. Hayes, Richard Michael, USN (USNA 1938)	20 January 1961 - 18 July 1962
20	CAPT. Dolan, John Henry, USN (USNA 1941)	18 July 1962 - 14 September 1963
21	CAPT. Rosania, Hugh James, USN (USNA 1944)	14 September 1963 - 17 September 1964
22	CAPT. Dankworth Jr., Edwin George, USN (USNA 1943)	17 September 1964 - 2 September 1965
23	CAPT. Durham, Harold Dean, USN	2 July 1965 - 5 August 1966
24	CAPT. Williams, Harlan Dale, USN (USNA 1945)	5 August 1966 - 10 October 1967
25	CAPT. Perez, Raul Brown, USN	10 October 1967 - 14 February 1968


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

For more photos and information about USS Henrico, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
MARAD Vessel History Data Base
USS Henrico APA-45

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page

Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index

Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index

Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index

Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.

This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 7 April 2023

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Henrico (LPA-45)ex USS Henrico (APA-45) (1943 - 1969)

USS Henrico (LPA-45)
ex
USS Henrico (APA-45) (1943 - 1969)