USS Horace A. Bass (DE-691/APD-124/LPR-124) was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 high-speed transport in commission from 1944 to 1969.

Construction and commissioning

Originally projected as a Rudderow-class

Rudderow class destroyer escort

The Rudderow class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 to 1945. Of this class, 22 were completed as destroyer escorts, and 50 were completed as Crosley-class high speed transport and were re-classified as High speed transport APDs. One ship was converted...

 destroyer escort

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 (DE-691), Horace A. Bass (APD-124) was selected for completion to a modified design as a high-speed transport (APD), designed for landing and supporting raiding parties while retaining a secondary, destroyer escort-like role of convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 escort. Laid down on 3 August 1944 at Quincy

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Fore River, she was launched on 12 September 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Horace A. Bass Jr., widow

Widow

A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...

 of Ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 Horace A. Bass Jr.

Horace A. Bass Jr.

Horace Ancel Bass Jr. was a United States Navy officer and pilot who received the Navy Cross for his actions at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.-Biography:...

, and commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 21 December 1944, Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 F. W. Kuhn in command.

World War II service 1944-1945

Horace A. Bass fitted out at the Boston Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

, Boston, Massachusetts, and conducted shakedown training off Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, after which she sailed to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where she arrived 15 February 1945. Departing on 16 February 1945, Horace A. Bass escorted ammunition ship

Ammunition ship

An ammunition ship is a warship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for Navy ships and aircraft. Their cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks between decks, and mechanisms for flooding entire compartments with sea water in...

 USS Firedrake (AE-14)

USS Firedrake (AE-14)

USS Firedrake , a Wrangell-class ammunition ship was launched 12 May 1944 by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N.C., as Winged Racer; sponsored by Mrs. R. M. Kitchins; acquired by the Navy 29 June 1944; and commissioned 27 December 1944 in Jacksonville, FL, Commander A...

 to Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, from where she proceeded to San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, arriving on 3 March 1945. After gunnery exercises in the area she sailed westward to join in the climactic phase of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Horace A. Bass stopped at Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

; Eniwetok; and Ulithi Atoll, en route Okinawa, where the largest fleet assembled in the Pacific was supporting United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 forces in what was to be the final major land battle of the war against Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. She arrived off Okinawa on 6 April 1945, just in time to take part in repelling one of the fiercest Japanese air assaults of the campaign. As the desperate attack was driven off, Horace A. Bass was credited with at least one plane shot down. As the battle raged ashore, she served on the vital picket line to warn of incoming Japanese air raids until 10 April 1945, when she sailed with a convoy to Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

. On the return passage she sank the Japanese submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 RO-109 with a single accurate depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

 attack south of Okinawa on 25 April 1945.

Arriving at Okinawa on 26 April 1945, Horace A. Bass resumed the hectic picket duty interspersed with convoy voyages to Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

 and Guam. Though Okinawa was secured in mid-June 1945, Japanese air attacks continued, and Horace A. Bass continued to provide antiaircraft and antisubmarine protection to the many ships off Okinawa. Early on 30 July 1945, she was on picket duty in the area when a low-flying kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

 suicide aircraft crashed through her superstructure

Superstructure

A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...

 and fell alongside, its bomb

Bomb

A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...

 exploding close aboard. Horace A. Bass suffered hull damage and 14 casualties, but was quickly repaired. She remained off Okinawa until sailing north toward Japan on 14 August 1945.

Horace A. Bass received two battle stars for World War II service, for:

• Okinawa Gunto Operation: Assault and Occupation of Okinawa Gunto 6 April 1945 to 10 April 1945 and 25 April 1945 to 30 June 1945
• Third Fleet Operations Against Japan 10 July 1945 to 15 August 1945

Peacetime service, 1945-1950

After the end of hostilities with Japan on 15 August 1945, Horace A. Bass remained off Japan with United States Third Fleet units until the ships triumphantly entered Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 on 27 August 1945. Horace A. Bass took part in 'the occupation of the giant Yokosuka Naval Base

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka

U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, or Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka is a United States Navy base, in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, U.S. 7th Fleet and...

, furnishing the prize crew

Prize crew

Prize crew is a term used to indicate a number of crew members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship.In the early days of sailing and up into the American Civil War, capturing enemy ships was quite common...

 which took possession of battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 Nagato

Japanese battleship Nagato

Nagato was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the lead ship of her class. She was the first battleship in the world to mount 16 inch guns, her armour protection and speed made her one of the most powerful capital ships at the time of her commissioning.She was the flagship of Admiral...

, one of the very few major ships left to the Imperial Japanese Navy

Imperial Japanese Navy

The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

. Horace A. Bass remained at Yokosuka assisting in the occupation until sailing for the United States on 14 January 1946.

Horace A. Bass arrived at San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, California, on 7 February 1946. She was in overhaul at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo

Vallejo, California

Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

, California, from 11 February 1946 to 10 April 1946, then spent the remainder of 1946 in the San Diego area on training operations. She sailed again for the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

 on 27 January 1947, this time to support American efforts to stabilize the volatile situation in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 due to the civil war

Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

 there. Arriving at Tsingtao, China, on 5 March 1947, Horace A. Bass acted as a station ship until sailing again for San Diego on 30 July 1947. She spent the second half of 1947 on training exercises in California waters, and in early 1948 she operated off the coast of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. She proceeded to China again on 16 June 1948, and again served as station ship at Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and Tsingtao, occasionally sailing to the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

 and Guam. As communist troops began to gain the upper hand in the Chinese Civil War, Horace A. Bass evacuated civilians of several nations from Nanking in November 1948. She departed China on 1 December 1948, arriving at San Diego on 21 December 1948 for repairs and training.

After exercises off San Diego and a large amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

 training assault in Hawaii, Horace A. Bass sailed from Hawaii on 14 November 1949 for another tour of duty in China. Arriving at Hong Kong on 30 November 1949, she remained in waters off China and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

n countries to protect American interests in the area, arriving at San Diego on 12 June 1950.

Korean War service 1950-1953

With the outbreak of the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 on 25 June 1950, American naval power moved swiftly into the Far East to support land operations. Horace A. Bass sailed on 14 July 1950 to join the fleet units already deployed off Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, arriving 2 August 1950 with troops of the 2nd Marine Division. Underwater Demolition Team

Underwater Demolition Team

The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...

s and Marine Reconnaissance units were assigned to her, and she moved to the eastern coast of North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 to carry out raids on Communist

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 supply lines. Between 11 August 1950 and 17 August 1950 she made three successful raids, destroying three tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

s and two bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

s. Horace A. Bass also conducted shore bombardments during daylight hours.

As United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 forces prepared to go on the offensive, Horace A. Bass played an important part in the planning for the upcoming Inchon operation

Battle of Inchon

The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations . The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital Seoul two...

. Her raiding parties reconnoitered possible landing beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es between 20 August 1950 and 25 August 1950, and departed Pusan on 12 September 1950 for the main Inchon assault. Horace A. Bass put her troops ashore in the first wave on 15 September 1950, as the extremely successful amphibious operation suddenly reversed the course of the war.

As United Nations troops pushed northward, Howard A. Bass resumed her raiding duties, making two attacks on tunnels and bridges near Songjin between 6 October 1950 and 8 October 1950. For this operation Horace A. Bass carried Royal Marine Commandos. Late in October 1950 she took part in operations to clear the port of Wonsan

Wonsan

Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...

 for another landing, assisting minesweeping groups. She then spent three months on beach survey duty before sailing for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on 28 January 1951. For this highly successful tour of duty, Horace A. Bass and her Special Operations Group

Special Operations Group

Special Operations Group may refer to:* Special Operations Group of Argentina* Special Operations Group of the Australian Victoria Police* Special Operations Group of the Tasmania Police* Special Operations Group of Brazil...

 received the Navy Unit Commendation

Navy Unit Commendation

The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

.

Horace A. Bass steamed toward Korea again on 24 September 1951, and after stopping at Yokosuka resumed bombardment and raiding duties along the coast of North Korea. In 14 separate raids with American, British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and Republic of Korea landing parties, Horace A. Bass did much to interrupt the all-important supply lines from the north, which proved vulnerable to mobile forces afloat. She completed her second tour of duty in Korea on 3 July 1952, when she sailed from Yokosuka. She arrived at San Diego on 20 July 1952.

Horace A. Bass spent the next year in operations off the California coast, but sailed on 15 July 1953 for her third tour of Korean duty. The Korean War ended later that month while she was en route.

Horace A. Bass received six battle stars in addition to her Navy Unit Commendation for Korean War service. The battle stars were for:

• North Korean Aggression 8 September 1950 to 2 November 1950
• Communist China Aggression 4 November 1950 to 23 January 1951
• Inchon Landing 13 September 1950 to 16 September 1950
• United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive 27 November 1951
• Second Korean Winter 28 November 1951 to 5 December 1951, 7 December 1951 to 22 December 1951, 9 January 1952 to 13 January 1952, 20 January 1952 to 25 January 1952, 1 February 1952 to 4 February 1952, 29 February 1952 to 30 March 1952, and 19 April 1952 to 30 April 1952
• Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 1 May 1952 to 5 May 1952, 30 May 1952 to 13 June 1952, and 10 June 1952 to 25 June 1952

Peacetime service 1953-1969

Upon her arrival at Yokosuka on 3 August 1950, Horace A. Bass became flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of an amphibious control squadron, and took part in various training landings in Japan. She also conducted three survey operations and two demolition assignments on the Korean coast, where the armistice

Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...

 was now in effect. She visited other Pacific ports during this period before departing Yokosuka on 5 April 1954.

She operated off the United States West Coast on training cruises and antisubmarine exercises until getting underway for the Far East again on 23 October 1954. She carried on practice landings in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 and took part in fleet exercises until February 1955, when she moved to the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...

 to evacuate Nationalist Chinese

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 troops from the Tachen Islands. With this important Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 operation over, Horace A. Bass steamed to Haiphong

Haiphong

, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...

, French Indochina

French Indochina

French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

, on 26 February 1955 to take part in Operation Passage to Freedom

Operation Passage to Freedom

Operation Passage to Freedom was the term used by the United States Navy to describe its transportation in 1954–55 of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam...

, as thousands of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

ese from the north fled the advance of Communist forces. The transporting of these civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

s to the south was completed on 20 March 1955, and Horace A. Bass was underway from Sasebo

United States Fleet Activities Sasebo

U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy naval base, in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.- History :Sasebo...

, Japan, on 4 April 1955, bound for San Diego.

After her arrival Horace A. Bass was transferred to the United States Atlantic Fleet, transiting the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 between 2 June 1955 and 4 June 1955 and arriving at Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, on 10 June 1955. She was then assigned to the 4th Naval District as a United States Naval Reserve training ship.

During the years that followed, Horace A. Bass made short cruises with naval reservists to Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 ports, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, and Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, helping to maintain the skills of hundreds of reserve officers and men.

Horace A. Bass arrived at Orange

Orange, Texas

Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, on 3 November 1958, and decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 there on 9 February 1959. She entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange.

She was recommissioned at an unrecorded date. She was redesignated as an "amphibious transport, small" and LPR-124 on 1 January 1969.

Decommissioning and disposal

Horace A. Bass was decommissioned on 30 July 1969 and stricken from the Naval Register on 15 September 1974. She was sold for scrapping on 11 August 1975 to J. R. Steel, Inc. of Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, Texas, for $79,002 (USD).