USS Walsh (APD-111)

USS Walsh (APD-111) was a United States Navy Crosley-class high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1968.

History
United States
Name:	USS Walsh
Namesake:	Lieutenant, junior grade, Patrick J. Walsh (1908-1942), a U.S. Navy officer and Silver Star recipient
Builder:	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down:	27 February 1945
Launched:	27 April 1945
Sponsored by:	Mrs. John J. Walsh
Commissioned:	11 July 1945
Decommissioned:	26 April 1946
Reclassified:	From destroyer escort (DE-601) to high-speed transport (APD-111) while under construction
Stricken:	1 May 1966
Fate:	Sold for scrapping July 1968
Notes:	Laid down as Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Walsh (DE-601)
General characteristics
Class and type:	Crosley-class high speed transport
Displacement:	2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length:	306 ft (93 m)
Beam:	37 ft (11 m)
Draft:	12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed:	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops:	162
Complement:	204
Armament:	1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun 6 × 40 mm guns 6 × 20 mm guns 2 × depth charge tracks

Construction and commissioning

Walsh was laid down as the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Walsh (DE-601) on 27 February 1945 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts. She was reclassified as a Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-111 during construction, and was launched on 27 April 1945, sponsored by Mrs. John J. Walsh. Walsh was commissioned on 11 July 1945 with Lieutenant Commander Phillip J. Tiffany, USNR, in command.

Service history

After shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from 1 August 1945 to 29 August 1945, during which World War II ended on 15 August 1945, Walsh visited Norfolk, Virginia, and then took part in smoke screen experiments in the Chesapeake Bay as part of Task Group 23.19. On 4 October 1945, she moved north for training exercises in company with PT boats out of Melville, Rhode Island. She later participated in Navy Day festivities at Portland, Maine, in late October 1945 before departing Portland on 30 October 1945 bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to begin the process of inactivation.

At Philadelphia, Walsh secured her sonar gear at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and received hull repairs. She departed Philadelphia on 13 November 1945 bound for Hampton Roads, Virginia, and arrived at Norfolk on 14 November 1945. She then unloaded all ammunition and turned in registered publications before proceeding on to Jacksonville, Florida.

Decommissioning and disposal

Decommissioned on 26 April 1946 at Green Cove Springs, Florida, Walsh berthed initially with the Florida Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet there. Later, she was moved to the Texas Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained until stricken from the Navy List on 1 May 1966. She was sold for scrapping in July 1968.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive DE-601 / APD-111 Walsh