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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Wayne (APA-54)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Uniform - Juliet
NKUJ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (7) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)


Sumter Class Attack Transport
  • Laid down, 20 April 1942, as SS Afoundria, a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-E1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 476) at Gulf Shipbuilding Corp., Chickasaw, AL.
  • Redesignated a Naval Transport, and renamed Wayne (AP-99)
  • Launched, 6 December 1942
  • Reclassified Amphibious Attack Transport (APA-54), 1 February 1943
  • Acquired by the Navy, 30 April 1943
  • Placed in commission "in ordinary" the next day for transit to her conversion yard, Bethlehem Steel Corp., Key Highway Yard, Baltimore, MD.
  • Decommissioned, 11 May 1943
  • Recommissioned USS Wayne (APA-54), 27 August 1943, CDR. Thomas V. Cooper USN in command
  • During WWII USS Wayne was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twelve, COMO. H. B. Knowles;
    TransDiv Thirty-Six, CAPT. G.W. Johnson USN (18) and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marshall Islands operation
    Kwajalein Atolls, 31 January to 8 February 1944
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 13 to 25 October and 14 November 1944
    Bismarck Archipelago operation
    Admiralty Island landings 11 to 12 April 1944
    Cape Gloucester, New Britain, 23 to 25 April 1944
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 to 18 January 1945
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 25 July 1944
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and capture of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 9 April 1945
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944
     

  • Following World War II USS Wayne was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 10 to 27 September 1945
  • Decommissioned, 16 March 1946, at Gulf Shipbuilding Corp, Chickasaw, AL.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946
  • USS Wayne earned seven battle stars for her World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, name reverted to SS Afoundria
  • Merchant Service
  • Sold to Waterman Steamship Corp, Mobile, AL. in 1947, renamed SS Beauregard, operated into the 1970s with a succession of shipping companies as a container ship, Beauregard Inc, Litton Industries Leasing Corp, Reynolds Leasing Corp. and Sea-Land Service
  • Final Disposition, SS Beauregard was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in May 1977
    Specifications:
    Displacement 13,910 t.(fl)
    Length 468' 9"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 23' 3"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    38 Officers
    619 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    93 Officers
    1,400 Enlisted
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Cargo Capacity 1,300 DWT
    non-refrigerated 170,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 8,575 Bbls
    Diesel 750 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    three turbo-drive Ship's Service Generators, 300Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    single propeller, 6,000shp

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Wayne (APA-54)
    Wayne
    100305410
    66k Starboard broadside view of USS Wayne (APA-54) at anchor off Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA., 12 September 1943.
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH 93603
    Robert Hurst
    Wayne 35k USS Wayne (APA-54) at anchor with covered lighter alongside, 13 September 1943, off Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VA. Robert Hurst
    Wayne 88k USS Wayne (APA-54) getting underway, date and location unknown. >Russ Padden
    Wayne 44k USS Wayne (APA-54) underway, date and location unknown. Grady (Willie) Willmon
    Wayne
    100305411
    259k Starboard broadside view USS Wayne (APA-54) at anchor with a tug alongside, date and location unknown. MARAD
    Merchant Service Waterman SS Corp. Sea-Land Services
    Wayne 56k Ex-USS Wayne (APA-54) in merchant service as the Waterman Lines freighter SS Beauregard moored pierside, circa early 1950s, location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Wayne 95k Waterman Lines freighter SS Beauregard underway in harbor, circa early 1950s, location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Wayne 86k Ex-USS Wayne (APA-54) in merchant service as the Sea-Land container ship SS Beauregard.
    Photo courtesy Sea-Land Services Inc.
    Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Wayne 442k Sea-Land container ship SS Beauregard underway, date and location unknown.
    Photo © M. Lennon.
    Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Wayne 59k Sea-Land container ship SS Beauregard moored pierside, circa late 1960s to mid 1970s, location unknown.
    Photos © D. Telarico.
    Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Wayne 50k

    USS Wayne (APA-54)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Cooper, Thomas Valentine USN (USNA 1916)27 August 1943 - 16 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Amphibious Forces WWII- APA 54 Wayne
    Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945

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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 March 2023