USS Karnes

USS Karnes (APA-175) passing under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, late 1945 or early '46
History
United States
Name	USS Karnes
Namesake	Karnes County, Texas
Ordered	as type VC2-S-AP5
Launched	7 November 1944
Acquired	3 December 1944
Commissioned	3 December 1944
Decommissioned	11 April 1946
Stricken	1946
Fate	Scrapped, 1974
General characteristics
Displacement	12,450 tons (full load)
Length	455 ft 0 in (138.68 m)
Beam	62 ft 0 in (18.90 m)
Draught	24 ft 0 in (7.32 m)
Speed	19 knots
Capacity	150,000 cu. ft, 2,900 tons
Complement	56 Officers 480 Enlisted
Armament	one 5 in (130 mm) gun mount, twelve 40 mm gun mounts, one 20 mm gun mount

USS Karnes (APA-175) was a Haskell-class attack transport acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II for the task of transporting troops to and from combat areas.

Karnes (APA-175) was launched 7 November 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland, Oregon, for the Maritime Commission; sponsored by Miss Nora Clancy; acquired and commissioned by the Navy 3 December 1944.

After shakedown along the California coast Karnes arrived Pearl Harbor 13 February 1945 with passengers and cargo from the U.S. West Coast. Six days later she sailed in convoy to land troops at Saipan and other staging areas in the Pacific Ocean. At Saipan she embarked 406 U.S. Marines wounded in the Iwo Jima campaign and returned Pearl Harbor 17 March.

With the Okinawa invasion well underway, Karnes departed Pearl Harbor 7 April with troops and supplies to reinforce Americans fighting on that bitterly contested island. She arrived Okinawa 3 May and unloaded troops and equipment while under heavy kamikaze attack. She departed the battle zone 8 May with 866 survivors of ships damaged by kamikazes. Karnes discharged some survivors at Saipan and arrived San Francisco, California, 27 May with the remaining group.

She returned to the embattled Pacific islands, arriving Manila 1 July with troop replacements and cargo. Following this mission, the transport returned Pearl Harbor 23 July to begin training for the anticipated invasion of the Japanese home islands and maneuvers.

Upon the cessation of hostilities 14 August Karnes began preparing for the occupation of Japan, arriving at Sasebo 22 September. She was then assigned to Operation Magic Carpet duty returning men eligible for discharge, and arrived San Francisco 11 November with her first group of veterans. Karnes ended a second "Magic Carpet" cruise 12 January 1946, returning American fighting men from China.

On 13 February she departed San Francisco and arrived Norfolk, Virginia, 2 March where she decommissioned 11 April 1946 and was struck from the Navy list. Karnes was returned to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) 24 April 1946. She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet and was berthed in James River, Virginia. In 1974 Karnes was sold for scrapping.

Karnes received one battle star for World War II service at Okinawa.

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

• youtube.com: USS Karnes APA-175 - Film from the Pacific 1945
• NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - APA-175 Karnes