USS Randall (APA-224)
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|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Permanente Metals Corp. |
| Laid down: | 15 September 1944 |
| Launched: | 15 November 1944 |
| Struck: | 1 July 1960 |
| Fate: | Laid up at Mobile, AL until sold in 1971 for scrap at Wilmington, DE |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 6,873 tons |
| Length: | 455 feet (139 m) |
| Beam: | 62 feet (19 m) |
| Draft: | 24 feet (7.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Oil Fired Steam Turbine 1 Shaft |
| Speed: | 17 knots |
| Boats and landing craft carried: |
26 |
| Complement: | 56 Officers, 480 Enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 5"/38 gun 1 40 mm quad mount 4 40 mm twin mounts 10 20 mm single mounts |
- For other ships of a similar name see USS Randall (disambiguation).
The USS Randall was a Haskell-class attack transport in the service of the US Navy. The ship was named after Randall County, Texas. She was commissioned December 12, 1944, under the command of Captain Harold Stevens. After training, the ship left for Pearl Harbor February 9, 1945. After that, the ship went to the Volcano Islands. She arrived at Iwo Jima on the fifth of March, unloaded Army personnel and supplies and uploaded some Marines on their way to Guam. Later, the ship returned the Pearl Harbor on the 20th of April. Then she carried some petroleum products to Kwajalein and also took up some Navy and Marine personnel for return to the US. After arriving in San Francisco on the June 18, she proceeded to go to Ulithi, picked up some Army units and then continued on to Okinawa and arrived on the 12th of August. When World War II was finally over, the USS Randall was used to return U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops from various points in the Pacific Theatre of Operations to CONUS, from where they would move on to either discharge from the U.S. Army or Marine Corps, or be re-assigned to other units that would form the backbone of the post-WWII U.S. Army and Marine Corps.. [1]During her service, she was used in recording Away All Boats. From 1952 till its decommisoning the Randall sailed in and out of Hampton Roads and Little Creek, often berthing at NOB Pier 2. From '52 to '55, she made a 6 month Med cruise (')54 and numerous trips to the Caribbean for training purposes. During this period she had three Captains: Nicholas Frank, Henry Sturr and Robert Theobald, all Naval Academy graduates. "Away All Boats" was largely filmed in and around St. Thomas VI and Vieques PR. She had a wardroom of approximately 32 officers and a crew of about 400. In 1954 she received the "E" award for her class.
[edit] References
- ^ John Anthony (2004). Mike Papa: Tet Offensive Of 1968. Xlibris Corporation, 25. ISBN 1401063136.
