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Benewah-class barracks ship

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USS Benewah
Class overview
NameBenewah class
Builders
Operators
Built1943-1946
In commission1944-1971
Planned16
Completed16
Active
  • 2, military service
  • 2, commercial service
Laid up1
Retired13
General characteristics
TypeBarracks ship
Displacement4,000 long tons (4,064 t)
Length328 ft (100 m) oa
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft
  • Full load: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward; 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
  • Landing at 2,160 t: 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward; 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t)
Boats & landing
craft carried
2 or 6 x LCVPs
Capacity2,975 Bbls (diesel)
Troops26 officers, 1200 enlisted men
Complement12 officers, 129 enlisted men
Armament

The Benewah-class barracks ship was a class of barracks ships of the United States Navy after the Second World War, in the late 1940s.[1]

Development

[edit]

Thirteen ships were converted into repair ships throughout the later stages of World War II. The ships were converted from the LST-1 and LST-542 classes. After the war, a few ships were then sold to the Philippines and Indonesia.

The ship's hulls remained nearly the same but with new equipment to carry out their purpose were placed on deck alongside several cranes. The ships' armament was slightly changed and relocated to make way for the ships' equipment. All ships served in the Pacific Theater until the end of the war with no ships lost in combat.

APL-40 (ex-USS Nueces) is still active, serving as a transport and berthing vessel for the United States Navy in Yokosuka. APL-39 (ex-USS Mercer) also now berthed in Sasebo.

Ships of class

[edit]
Benewah-class repair ship[2]
Pennant number Name Callsign Builders Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
APB-35 Benewah NUIX Boston Navy Yard 6 May 1945 9 March 1946 26 February 1971 Sold to Philippines and renamed RPS Tulungan (AH-3), sunk as artificial reef in 1975
APB-36 Colleton NUIN 30 July 1945 28 January 1967 15 December 1969 Scrapped on 6 January 1973
APB-37 Echols NUIZ 30 July 1945 n/a Sold to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS), in active service since mid-2000s
APB-38 Marlboro - 17 November 1944 18 August 1945 5 May 1947 Scrapped
APB-39 Mercer NUIQ 17 November 1944 19 September 1945 7 January 1970 Part of the CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Sasebo, Japan
APB-40 Nueces NUIR 6 May 1945 30 November 1945 13 March 1970 Part of the CincPacFlt Berthing and Messing Program and is berthed at Yokosuka, Japan
APB-41 Wythe NEWW Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. 9 June 1944 30 June 1944 29 May 1947 Scrapped on 10 September 1959
APB-42 Yavapai NFKT American Bridge & Machine Co. 6 June 1944 30 June 1944 3 December 1946 Scrapped on 11 September 1959
APB-43 Yolo NFLE 16 June 1944 3 July 1944 9 August 1946 Scrapped on 6 February 1960
APB-44 Presque Isle NFLK 16 June 1944 19 July 1944 18 April 1947 Sold to Indonesia and renamed KRI Teluk Ratai (LST-509), decommissioned and laid up
APB-45 Blackford NBCK Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. 9 April 1945 9 June 1945 26 April 1947 Sold to merchant service, sunk as artificial reef between 1968 and 1970
APB-46 Dorchester NBCY 12 April 1945 15 June 1945 16 October 1946 Sold to merchant service, in active service since 1 August 1974
APB-47 Kingman NBDB 17 April 1945 17 April 1945 15 January 1947 Scrapped on 19 November 1980
APB-48 Vanderburgh NBFT 20 April 1945 3 July 1945 17 January 1947 Scrapped on 12 November 1972
APB-49 Accomac NFRR Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Co. 28 June 1944 24 July 1944 9 August 1946 Scrapped on 7 December 1959
APB-50 Cameron NKBB Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard 5 July 1944 30 July 1944 13 December 1946 Sold to merchant service, fate unknown
[edit]
  • Photo gallery of Benewah-class barracks ship at NavSource Naval History

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ "Benewah (APB-35) Class". www.shipscribe.com. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. ^ "NavSource Sef-propelled Barracks Ship Photo Archive". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 19 January 2022.