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USS Southampton (AKA-66)
Encyclopedia
USS Southampton (AKA-66) was a of the 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...
, named after Southampton County, Virginia
Southampton County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 18,570 people, 6,279 households, and 4,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 7,058 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
. Southampton was designed to carry military cargo and landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies, and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations
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...
. She served as a commissioned ship for 21 months.
Southampton was laid down as a Type C2-S-AJ3 ship
Type C2 ship
Type C2 ships were designed by the United States Maritime Commission in 1937-38. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds, and U.S. shipyards built 173 of them from 1939-1945. Compared to ships built before 1939, the C2s were remarkable for their speed and fuel economy. Their design speed...
on 26 May 1944 under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1390) by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company
North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all, beginning with the Liberty ship SS Zebulon B....
, Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. Launched on 28 July 1944, co-sponsored by Ens. Rama V. Blackwood, USNR(W); Dorothy Lazair, Y1C, USNR(W), and Mary Blackwell, Y2C, USNR(W); and acquired by the Navy on loan-charter and placed in commission
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 16 September 1944, Comdr. Elias M. Doar, Jr., USNR, in command. Southampton proceeded to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where she was decommissioned on 18 September to complete fitting-out. On 8 October, she was recommissioned at Charleston, and Lt. Comdr. Lester V. Cooke, USNR, assumed command.
World War II, 1944–1945
She arrived at NorfolkNaval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
, Virginia, on 22 October and conducted shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
from 24 October to 2 November. The attack cargo ship got underway for the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
on 5 November; transited the canal during the night of 12 and 13 November; and headed for the Hawaiian Islands.
Iwo Jima
Southampton entered Pearl HarborPearl 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...
on 26 November and, for the next two months, participated in amphibious exercises in the islands. She departed Pearl Harbor on 27 January 1945 with members of the 25th Regiment, 4th Marine Division, embarked. The AKA arrived at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on 5 February and, two days later, headed on 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...
. She made Saipan on the 11th, conducted final invasion rehearsals off Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
between the 13th and 15th, and got underway for Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
the following day. Southampton entered her assigned transport area off Iwo Jima on 19 February. She lowered landing craft and dispatched them to other ships of the division to ferry the assault troops to the beach. Southampton sustained her only casualties of the Iwo Jima assault
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
during the initial landings when a mortar shell exploded close aboard one of her LCVP
LCVP
The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, United States, based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes...
's and wounded the coxswain and a seaman. During the last two weeks in February, the attack cargo ship joined in unloading troops and supplies and embarking casualties from the fighting ashore. These operations were frequently interrupted by enemy air activity. On 1 March, Southampton sailed for the Marianas.
Okinawa
Southampton arrived at Saipan on 4 March, disembarked the wounded marines and sailors; and, by the 11th, began loading the combat cargo of the 2nd Marine Division. She conducted more rehearsal landings off Tinian until the 27th, and then she sailed for the RyukyusRyukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
. On 1 April 1945, she and the other ships of her task group arrived off the southeastern coast of Okinawa to feign an attack and retire. At dawn during the approach, a suicide plane crashed into and Southampton dispatched her landing craft to assist in the transfer of Hinsdales troops to other ships. The next day, the task group made another feint at Okinawa. Before retiring to an area 150 miles from Okinawa, Southampton fired her guns at the enemy for the only time during the war. A Japanese plane flew over the formation and, though fired upon by all ships, escaped into the clouds apparently undamaged. The ships cruised around the holding area until 11 April. They encountered mines, underwent air alerts, and escort units made sonar contacts, but the group saw no action save the destruction of mines.
The task group returned 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...
on 14 April, disembarked the marines, and unloaded its cargo. Southampton remained at Saipan until 4 June, when she was ordered to the South Pacific to pick up cargo for the Marianas. Over the following two and one-half months, she made two such voyages to the South Pacific and back to the Marianas. During the Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
to Kwajalein
Kwajalein
Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...
leg of the return voyage of her second run, she received news of the end of hostilities
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
.
Post-war activities, 1945–1946
Southampton departed Kwajalein on 18 August and reached Saipan on the 22nd. She discharged some of her cargo, sailed for GuamGuam
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...
, and arrived there on 3 September. On the 9th, she sailed for the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to embark elements of the 81st Infantry for passage to Japan. She arrived at Leyte
Leyte Island
Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...
on 12 September and, on the 18th, departed for Aomori
Aomori, Aomori
is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 302,068 and a density of 366 persons per km². Its total area was 824.52 km².- History :...
. The attack cargo ship remained in Japan until 30 September, when she sailed for Leyte. En route, she was diverted to 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...
to avoid a typhoon and, on 3 October, her destination was changed to Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
where she arrived on the 14th. Following a return voyage to Tokyo Bay and Yokohama, Southampton embarked 264 servicemen and got underway on 11 November for San Francisco, California. Diverted to Portland, Oregon, while en route, she arrived there on the 23rd and remained almost two months for repairs and alterations.
Southampton stood out of Portland on 11 January 1946 and arrived in San Francisco on the 13th. There she loaded cargo and mail before heading west on the 27th. The attack cargo ship stopped at Eniwetok from 9 to 15 February to discharge cargo and arrived at 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 18th. For almost a month, she discharged and loaded cargo at Guam. On 16 March, she headed back to San Francisco. Ten days later, her destination was changed to Port Hueneme, California
Port Hueneme, California
Port Hueneme is a small beach city in Ventura County, California surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Pacific Ocean. The name derives from the Spanish spelling of the Chumash wene me, meaning "Resting Place". The area was discovered by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in the mid 16th century...
. Southampton was at Port Hueneme for the first ten days of April before putting to sea on her final voyage. On 10 April, she headed south to the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
; transited the canal on the 20th; and arrived in Baltimore on the 27th.
Decommissioning and disposal
Southampton was decommissioned at St. Helena, Virginia, on 21 June 1946, and she was delivered to the War Shipping AdministrationWar Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
for disposal on the 22nd. Her name was struck from the Navy List
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 3 July 1946 and sold into civilian service with American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines
American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines
American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the US east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both Cargo ship services and Passenger ship services, until declaring bankruptcy and was acquired by Farrell Lines, New York.-American...
. Her new owners renamed her SS Flying Cloud.
External links
- 51 Years of AKAs
- Photo of SS Flying Clipper (ex-USS Southampton).
- Additional information about American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines.