>From the “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” 

(1969) Vol. 4, p.486; (1981) Vol. 8, p.237.





WESTMORELAND 



	Westmoreland:  Counties in Pennsylvania and Virginia.





APA-104



Displacement:  11,760 t. 

Length:  492’0”

Beam:  69’6”

Draft:  23’3”

Speed:  18.4 k.

Complement:  576

Troop Capacity:  1,226

Armament:  2 5”; 8 40mm; 18 20mm

Class:  BAYFIELD

Maritime Commission Standard Type:  C2-S-A2





	Class Statistics



BAYFIELD class (APA 33-48,92,93,95,96,99-102,104,106-116)



Overall Length:  492’

Extreme Beam:  69’6”

Trial Displacement:  11,760 t.

Limiting Draft:  23’3”

Trial Speed:  18.4 k.

Accommodations:  (all ships)

	Ship’s Company:

		Officers:  51

		Enlisted:  524

	Troop Capacity:

		Officer:  80

		Enlisted:  1,146

	Flag Accommodations:

		Officer:  43

		Enlisted:  108

Cargo Capacity:  

	200,000 cu.ft.; 4,700 t. (APA 33-39)

	175,000 cu.ft. (APA 40-48)

	180,500 cu.ft. (APA 92,93,95,96,99-102,104,106-116)

	  4,700 t. (APA 33-48)

	  4,500 t. (APA 92,93,96,106-116)*

	  4,800 t. (APA 95,106-116)*

		* duplicate entry

Armament:  (Aug 1945)

	 1 5”/38:  all ships

	 2 single 40mm mounts:  all ships

	 2 twin 40mm mounts: 

		(APA 33,47,93,96,100-102,106-112,114-115)

	 4 twin 40mm mounts: 

		(APA 35-42,45,46,92,95,104,113,116)

	 3 twin 40mm mounts (APA 44)

	18 single 20mm mounts:  all ships

	 2 quad 1.1” mounts (APA 34,43,48)

Engines:  Geared turbine drive

	General Electric:  

		(APA 33-45,92,93,96,99-102,104,106-116)

	Westinghouse:  (APA 46-48,95)

Boilers:  2 each

	Combustion Engineering D-type:  

		(APA 33-39,92,93)

	Foster-Wheeler D-type:

		(APA 40-48,95,99-102,104,110-116)

	Babcock & Wilcox D-type:

		(APA 96)

Propulsion:

	Propellers:  1

	Designed Shaft Horsepower:  8,500





	WESTMORELAND (APA-104) was laid down under a Maritime 

Commission contract (MC hull 872) on 8 December 1943 at 

Pascagoula, Miss., by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Co.; launched 

on 28 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. V. H. Hoagland and 

placed in commission, for ferrying purposes, on 12 July 

1944.  Shifted to the Todd Shipyards Corp., Hoboken, N.J., 

for conversion to an attack transport, the ship was 

decommissioned on 22 July for the duration of the yard 

period.  Once the task of fitting the ship out as an attack 

transport was completed, WESTMORELAND was placed in 

commission on 18 January 1945, Capt. James M. Hicks in 

command.



	After spending most of February on shakedown in 

Chesapeake Bay, WESTMORELAND sailed for the Pacific on 

22 February and arrived at the eastern entrance to the 

Panama Canal on the 27th.  After transiting the canal, the 

attack transport pushed on for the Hawaiian Islands and 

reached Pearl Harbor on 14 March.



	After training in Hawaiian waters, the ship returned to 

the west coast at the end of May for voyage repairs at San 

Pedro, Calif.  In mid-June, she shifted northward to load 

troops and cargo at Portland, Oreg., for transportation to 

Hawaii.  WESTMORELAND subsequently conducted one round-trip 

voyage between Pearl Harbor and San Francisco in July and 

then spent most of the first half of the month of August on 

exercises and further training in Hawaiian waters.  During 

that time, the Japanese, worn down by ceaseless Allied 

pounding from the air and from the sea, surrendered on 

15 August 1945.



	Although WESTMORELAND had been commissioned too late to 

participate in combat against the Japanese in the Pacific, 

she nevertheless did take part in the massive reverse 

movement of men back to the United States, Operation "Magic 

Carpet."  The attack transport subsequently called at 

Manila, in the Philippines, and Sasebo, Japan, operating 

with Transport Squadron 22, and brought back troops to 

Portland, before she returned to the Philippines once more.  

She carried a draft of troops from Samar to San Francisco 

before heading for the east coast of the United States.



	She transited the Panama Canal on 8 April 1946 and 

arrived at Norfolk five days later.  WESTMORELAND was 

decommissioned there on 5 June 1946 and was struck from the 

Navy list on 19 June.  Acquired by the Isthmian Steamship 

Co. (later called Isthmian Lines) in July 1947, WESTMORELAND 

was renamed STEEL KING.  The former attack transport carried 

general cargo for her company until about 1974, when her 

name disappeared from contemporary shipping registers.





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com