USS Bottineau (APA-235)

USS Bottineau (APA-235) was a Haskell-class attack transport that saw service with the US Navy in World War II.

USS Bottineau (APA-235) underway, date and place unknown
History
United States
Name: USS Bottineau (APA-235)
Namesake: Bottineau County, North Dakota
Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding
Laid down: 11 October 1944
Launched: 22 November 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs Paul Durand
Acquired: 30 December 1944
Commissioned: 30 December 1944
Decommissioned: 31 August 1955
Reclassified: LPA-235, 1 January 1969
Stricken: 1 July 1961
Honours and
awards:		 One battle star for World War II
Fate: Disposed of between July '83 and January '84; probably sold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type: Haskell-class attack transport
Tonnage: 150,000 cu. ft, 2,900 tons
Displacement: 6,720 tons (lt), 14,837 t. (fl)
Length: 455 ft
Beam: 62 ft
Draft: 24 ft
Propulsion: 1 x Joshua Hendy geared turbine, 2 x Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 1 x propeller, designed shaft horsepower 8,500
Speed: 17.5 knots
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2 x LCM, 12 x LCVP, 3 x LCPU
Capacity: 86 Officers 1,475 Enlisted
Crew: 56 Officers, 480 enlisted
Armament: 1 x 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mount, 1 x quad 40mm gun mount, 4 x twin 40mm gun mounts, 10 x single 20mm gun mounts
Notes: MCV Hull No. 681, hull type VC2-S-AP5

Bottineau was named after Bottineau County, North Dakota. She was launched on 22 November 1944 by Kaiser Shipbuilding of Vancouver, Washington, under a Maritime Commission contract; transferred to the Navy 30 December, and commissioned the same day, Captain H. B. Edgar in command.

Operational history

Reporting to the Pacific Fleet, Bottineau carried a cargo of ammunition to Pearl Harbor during March 1945. Departing Pearl Harbor 9 April she carried replacement troops to Saipan, Marianas Islands, and evacuated casualties from Okinawa before returning to the United States on 10 June 1945. She then carried replacement troops to the Philippines and returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for the invasion of Japan.

After hostilities

Following the Japanese surrender she landed elements of the 98th Division at Wakayama, Honshū, Japan, 1 October 1945. Bottineau departed 6 October for Guam and returned to the United States with Pacific veterans, arriving at Seattle, Washington, 26 January 1946.

Atomic bomb tests

Between February and May 1946 Bottineau operated between San Francisco and San Diego. Departing San Pedro, California, 25 May 1946, she arrived at Bikini Atoll 6 June for Operation Crossroads, designed to test the effectiveness of atomic bombs on warships. Over 200 warships participated in the operation, 75 of them as targets.

Bottineau's role in the tests was to act as a transport for the target vessel boarding teams. Following the tests she returned to San Francisco, arriving 21 August. She was placed out of commission in reserve there 8 March 1947.

Second commission

Recommissioned 24 March 1951, Bottineau served with Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, until August when she steamed to Norfolk, Virginia, arriving 4 September. Bottineau served with the Atlantic Fleet, taking part in amphibious training exercises and other routine peacetime duties, until going out of commission at Philadelphia 31 August 1955.

She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1961 and returned to the Maritime Administration, who transferred her to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, Virginia. On 1 January 1969, while still in the Reserve Fleet, she was redesignated an amphibious transport, LPA-235. She was disposed of between July 1983 and January 1984, probably being sold for scrap.

Decorations

For her World War II service Bottineau received one battle star.

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References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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