USS Niagara (APA-87)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Class: | Gilliam Class Attack Transport |
| Laid down: | 20 November 1944 |
| Launched: | 10 February 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 29 March 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 December 1946 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap 5 February 1950 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4,247 tons (empty) 7,080 tons (loaded) |
| Length: | 426 ft (130 m) maximum |
| Beam: | 58 ft (18 m) extreme |
| Draft: | 15 ft (4.5 m) extreme |
| Power plant: | two Westinghouse steam turbine electrics |
| Propulsion: | two screws; 6,000 shp |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Armament: | 1 × 5 in (127 mm) gun 8 × 40 mm AA guns (4 × 2) 10 × 20 mm AA guns (10 × 1) |
| Complement: | 47 officers, 802 enlisted men |
| Cargo capacity: | 85,000 cubic feet (2400 m³) 600 tons |
USS Niagara (APA-87) was a Gilliam-class attack transport of the United States Navy. The Niagara was laid down on 20 November 1944 in Wilmington, California. She was launched on 10 February 1945 and commissioned at San Pedro, California, on 29 March 1945.
Contents |
[edit] Service record
Niagara was used to ferry Marines and army troops in the Pacific Theater during the final days of World War II. After her active service in the war, she transported returning servicemen home as part of the Operation Magic Carpet fleet.
She was used as a target ship in the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests, also known as Operation Crossroads, on 1 July and 25 July 1946 and survived both blasts. She was decommissioned on 12 December 1946 and sold for scrap on 5 February 1950 to the Northern Metals Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[edit] Awards
- China Service Medal (extended)
- American Campaign Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
- Philippines Liberation Medal
See USS Niagara for other ships of this name.
[edit] References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
