View source for USS Skagit

{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Skagit (AKA-105) underway off the San Diego, California (USA), on 4 September 1968 (K-57334).jpg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1969}}
|Ship name=USS ''Skagit''
|Ship namesake=[[Skagit County, Washington]]
|Ship ordered=July 1944
|Ship builder=[[North Carolina Shipbuilding Company]], [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]
|Ship laid down= 21 September 1944
|Ship launched=18 November 1944
|Ship acquired=28 November 1944
|Ship commissioned=2 May 1945
|Ship decommissioned=30 June 1949
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship recommissioned=26 August 1950
|Ship decommissioned=1 July 1969
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck= 1 July 1969
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=*2 [[battle star]]s (Korea)
*2 battle stars (Vietnam)
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 22 April 1974
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Tolland|attack cargo ship}}
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|8635|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|13910|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length= {{convert|459|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|63|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|26|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=GE geared turbine drive, single propeller, {{convert|6000|hp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=17,000&nbsp;miles
|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats=*14 × [[LCVP (United States)|LCVP]]
*8 × [[Landing Craft Mechanized|LCM]]
|Ship capacity= 380,000&nbsp;ft<sup>3</sup> (11.000 m³), 5,275&nbsp;tons
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=62 officers, 333 men
|Ship armament=*1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun]]
*4 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm guns]]
*16 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm guns]]
|Ship armor=
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'''USS ''Skagit'' (AKA-105/LKA-105)'''  was a {{sclass|Tolland|attack cargo ship}} in service with the [[United States Navy]] from 1945 to 1949 and from 1950 to 1969. She was scrapped in 1974.

==History==
''Skagit'' (AKA-105) was named after [[Skagit County, Washington]]. She laid down as a [[Type C2 ship|Type C2-S-AJ3 ship]] MC hull 1696 on 21 September 1944 by [[North Carolina Shipbuilding Company]], [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]; launched on 18 November 1944; sponsored by Miss Heloise Pike; acquired by the Navy on 28 November 1944; converted by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., into an attack cargo ship; and commissioned on 2 May 1945.

===World War II, 1945=== 
''Skagit'' completed preparations for sea and sailed for [[Norfolk, Virginia]] on 13 May. After completing shakedown, the ship stood out of port on 3 June en route to [[Marseille]], [[France]]. She arrived there on 16 June; loaded cargo and passengers bound for [[Manila]], [[Philippines]]; and sailed again on the 29th.

''Skagit'' arrived at Manila on 15 August, discharged her cargo there and reloaded with supplies for [[Tokyo]]. She was present at the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|surrender ceremony]] in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

===Post-war activities, 1945&ndash;1949=== 
For the remainder of the year, the ship shuttled supplies and troops between American bases in the Far East, calling at [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], [[Guam]], [[Tianjin|Tientsin]], [[Qingdao|Tsingtao]], and [[Shanghai]]. She returned to the West Coast on 16 December 1945 and operated out of [[San Diego]] with Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet until 22 June 1946 when she was deployed to [[Pearl Harbor]] for three months. She then returned to San Diego until 22 February 1947 when she sailed for Okinawa. ''Skagit'' operated between Okinawa, Guam, and China until the following November, broken only by a 19-day cruise back to the West Coast in July.

In early 1948, the cargo ship was fitted out to make a polar expedition. On 26 July, ''Skagit'' departed the United States with the [[Point Barrow, Alaska]], Expedition and remained there until 23 August. She was back in Alaskan waters in January and February 1949. The cargo ship returned to San Francisco on 25 February; was prepared for inactivation; and, on 30 June, was placed out of commission, in reserve, and berthed at the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]].

===Korean War, 1950&ndash;1953=== 
On 25 June 1950, the North Korean People's Army invaded [[South Korea]]. This necessitated a fast increase in American surface shipping to meet the logistical demand placed upon it. Many ships of the [[reserve fleet|mothball fleet]] were reactivated; and, on 26 August 1950, ''Skagit'' was placed in full commission. She moved to San Diego for shakedown training and then trained other crews until 26 March 1951.

On that date, the cargo ship sailed for [[Pusan]], South Korea, with troops and combat supplies. After unloading, she proceeded to [[United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka|Yokosuka]] and conducted landing exercises for elements of the Army's [[40th Infantry Division (United States)|40th Division]]. This training period was interrupted for a month in May when ''Skagit'' was ordered to sail to [[Inchon]] at flank speed to evacuate personnel and equipment if the situation there became more critical. However, Inchon was secured, and the ship resumed normal overseas operations until returning to San Diego on 15 October 1951.

''Skagit'' was deployed to the Far East again from May to December 1952. The Army was setting up new prisoner of war camps at Yongcho Do and Pongnam Do as a result of the riots at [[Geojedo|Koje Do]]. ''Skagit'' transported construction material to the new sites from Pusan and then assisted in the transfer of prisoners.

===Pacific operations, 1954&ndash;1964=== 
During her deployment in 1954, ''Skagit'' was ordered to [[Da Nang|Tourane]], [[French Indochina]], to participate in "[[Operation Passage to Freedom]]". The ship transported 4,089 refugees from [[Hai Phong]] in the north to [[Saigon]] and [[Vũng Tàu|Cape St. Jacques]] in the south. The refugees were fleeing from the communists then closing in on [[Hanoi]] and Hai Phong. She returned to San Diego on 21 November 1954.<ref>Associated Press, “Parade of Navy Ships to Bring Thousands Home From Pacific,” ''San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Friday 19 November 1954, Volume LXI, Number 69, page 4.</ref>

For the next ten years, the cargo ship divided her time between the western Pacific and operations along the West Coast, south to [[Acapulco, Mexico]], and north to [[Alaska]].

===Vietnam, 1965&ndash;1967=== 
On 23 August 1965, ''Skagit'' deployed to the Far East and remained there until 14 May 1966. This was not to be a peacetime cruise as during the past decade. The United States was committed to the defense of [[South Vietnam]], and the services of ''Skagit'' were required for combat operations. On her way west, she carried cargo and Marines to [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]]. Between 13 November and 8 December 1965, she delivered two loads of cargo from Okinawa to [[Da Nang]]. In January 1966, ''Skagit'' embarked combat cargo and combat-loaded marines at Okinawa in preparation for an amphibious landing. On 28 January, ''Skagit'', as a unit of Task Group 76.6 made an assault landing near Thach Tru in southern [[Quảng Ngãi Province]], in [[Operation Double Eagle]]. Twelve amphibious force ships landed 5,000 United States Marines against the [[Viet Cong]] and North Vietnamese there. On 16 February, the ship proceeded to [[Chu Lai]] to unload her remaining cargo. In early March, she returned to Okinawa for another load of cargo and, upon her return to Vietnam, spent the remainder of the month shuttling supplies between Da Nang, [[Phu Bai Combat Base|Phu Bai]], and Chu Lai.

''Skagit'' entered the Todd Shipyard, San Pedro, California, on 25 October 1966 for an overhaul and remained there until 7 March 1967. On 31 May, the ship deployed to the western Pacific for a seven-month tour. She offloaded her cargo at Da Nang on 29 June and sailed to [[United States Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]] for voyage repairs. ''Skagit'' returned to Vietnam and during the period from 15 September to 1 November, she used her LCMs to transport more than 6,700 tons of combat supplies from Da Nang up the [[Perfume River]] to [[Huế]].

===Decommissioning and fate=== 
''Skagit'' returned to San Diego on 10 December 1967, and operated along the West Coast until 4 April 1969 when she was notified to prepare for inactivation. Her designation had been changed from AKA-105, attack cargo ship, to LKA-105, amphibious cargo ship on 1 January 1969. ''Skagit'' was decommissioned and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 1 July 1969. On that date, she was also transferred to the [[Maritime Administration]] for disposal. She was sold for scrap in 1974.

==Awards== 
''Skagit'' received two [[battle star]]s for Korean service and two for service in Vietnam.

==References==
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/skagit.html}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Skagit (AKA-105)}}
* {{navsource|10/02/02105|USS Skagit}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060620071629/http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]

{{Tolland class attack cargo ship}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skagit (AKA-105)}}
[[Category:Tolland-class attack cargo ships]]
[[Category:Skagit County, Washington]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Vietnam War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]