USS Fond du Lac (APA-166)
USS Fond du Lac (APA-166) was a Haskell-class attack transport acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas.
 USS Fond du Lac (APA-166) in San Francisco Bay, late 1945 or early '46 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name | USS Fond du Lac |
| Namesake | Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin |
| Ordered |
|
| Laid down | 25 July 1944 |
| Launched | 5 October 1944 |
| Acquired | 6 November 1944 |
| Commissioned | 6 November 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 11 April 1946 |
| Fate | Scrapped, date unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 12,450 tons (full load) |
| Length | 455 ft 0 in (138.68 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft 0 in (18.90 m) |
| Draught | 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) |
| Speed | 19 knots |
| Complement | 536 |
| Armament |
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World War II service
Fond du Lac (APA-166) was launched 5 October 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon; sponsored by Mrs. Giles French; acquired and commissioned 6 November 1944.
Landing troops and supplies at Okinawa
Fond du Lac sailed from San Francisco, California, 11 January 1945, laden with troops and cargo for Leyte Gulf, where she landed them as reinforcements 17 February. After training for the initial assault on Okinawa Gunto, Fond du Lac stood out of Leyte Gulf 27 March, landed troops and equipment on the assault beaches 1 to 5 April, and sailed with casualties for Guam. She continued to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco to reload, and brought her troops to the Philippines 10 June.
End-of-war operations
The attack transport transferred men from New Guinea to the Philippines before sailing 14 July 1945 for San Francisco. She returned to the Far East 22 September at Sasebo with U.S. Marine occupation troops, and after one voyage to the Philippines to bring additional occupation forces to Japan, sailed home from Guam with servicemen eligible for discharge. Fond du Lac voyaged to the Far East on transport duty again in December, then made her last voyage to Pearl Harbor the next month, sailing from San Francisco 8 February for Panama. Arrived at Panama Canal at 0800, 17 February 1946. 19 February 1946 shoved off at 0800 for Norfolk, Virginia. There she was decommissioned 11 April 1946.
Post-war decommissioning
There she was decommissioned 11 April 1946, and returned to her owner two days later.
Military awards and honors
Fond du Lac received one battle star for World War II service.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
