Vanderburgh APB-48

Vanderburgh

(APB-48: dp. 4,080 (lim.); 1. 328'0"; b. 50'0"; dr. 11'2" (lim.); s. 10 k. (tl.); cpl. 137; trp. 302; a.8 40mm.; cl. Benewah)

Vanderburgh (APB-48)—a tank landing ship converted during construction to a self-propelled barracks ship-was laid down on 12 January 1945 at Evansville, Ind., by the Missouri Valley Bridge ~ Iron Co.; launched on 20 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. C. A. Bailey; and commissioned at New Orleans on 3 July 1945.

The ship conducted brief shakedown training late in July and, in mid-August, headed via the Panama Canal Zone for Hawaii. Vanderburgh arrived at Pearl Harbor on 2 September where she stopped for six days before continuing on to the Far East for duty supporting American occupation forces there. After stops at Eniwetok and Guam, she arrived in Sasebo, Japan, on 2 October. Vanderburgh remained briefly at Sasebo before moving to Hiro Wan, a bay on Japan's Inland Sea near Hiroshima and Kure. She remained there, providing living quarters for occupation personnel until early 1946. At that time, the ship headed eastward, stopped at Pearl Harbor, and arrived at San Francisco on 8 April 1946.

There, she began temporary duty as accommodation ship and simultaneously began preparations for inactivation. On 30 January 1947, she was placed out of commission and was berthed in Stockton, Calif., in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She remained in reserve until 1 April 1972 when her name was struck from the Navy list. On 15 November 1972, the former Vanderburgh was sold to Mr. Ronald M. Fraser, of Portland, Oreg., for scrapping.