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m Llammakey moved page USS Wharton (AP-7) to USS Wharton without leaving a redirect: per WP:NC-SHIPS, only ship of name, no need for disambiguation |
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{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
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{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1947}}
|Ship name=*''Sea Girt''
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|Ship builder=
|Ship laid down=8 October 1918
|Ship launched=20 July 1919{{sfn|Priolo|2020}}
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
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|Ship honors=3 [[battle star]]s (World War II)
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 21 March 1952
|Ship notes=U.S. [[Official Number]]: 221574{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship complement=666 officers and enlisted
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[5"/38 caliber gun]]s
*8 × [[M2 Browning|{{convert|0.5|in|mm|abbr=on|1}}]]
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Wharton'' (AP-7)''' was a [[Troopship|troop transport]] in the service of the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. The ship was originally an [[Emergency Fleet Corporation]] Design 1029 type built for the [[United States Shipping Board]]. The ship was laid down as '''''
''Southern Cross'' was acquired by the Navy from the
==Commercial service==
''Southern Cross'' was allocated by the USSB to its agent, Munson Steamship Line for its South American service, operating as the Pan America Line.{{sfn|United States Shipping Board|1926|p=89}} Munson operated the ship on the New York to Rio de Janeiro, [[Montevideo]] and [[Buenos Aires]] route with [[Santos, São Paulo|Santos]], added during return voyages along with sister "535's" {{SS|American Legion|1919|2}}, {{SS|Pan America||2}} and [[USS Leonard Wood (APA-12)|''Western World'']].{{sfn|Larsson: Maritime Timetable Images}}
As the USSB sold off its vessels the Munson Steamship Line bought the four vessels operating for its Pan America Line service in February 1926.{{sfn|United States Shipping Board|1926|p=89}} Each ship, including ''Southern Cross'', was purchased for a price of $1,026,000.{{sfn|United States Shipping Board|1926|p=92}}
==World War II Pacific Theatre operations==
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When the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] struck Pearl Harbor, [[Hawaii]], on 7 December 1941, ''Wharton'' was undergoing overhaul at the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]], [[Vallejo, California]]. On 6 January 1942, the transport sailed from the [[U.S. West Coast|west coast]] for her first wartime voyage to the [[Hawaiian Islands]]. A series of runs followed in which ''Wharton'' transported service families and dependents home to the west coast on her eastbound passages and troops and cargo to Hawaii on her westbound trips.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}
From June through September, ''Wharton'' made three voyages to the Southwest Pacific theater
==Invasion of the Marshall Islands==
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==Running aground at Manus==
On 29 February 1944, ''Wharton'' got underway for the [[Ellice Islands]] to embark the 11th Naval [[Construction Battalion]]
''Wharton'' later transported 1,782 men of the Royal [[New Zealand Army]] from [[Green Island, Papua New Guinea|Green Island]] to Nouméa before sailing for Espiritu Santo and Guadalcanal. At the latter island
She got underway for [[Guam]] on 12 June and spent 17 days at sea before returning to Kwajalein, because fierce Japanese resistance on [[Saipan]] had forced [[Chester W. Nimitz|Admiral Nimitz]] to postpone American landings on Guam. Underway again on 17 July, the transport made landfall off Guam four days later and soon disembarked her assault troops. That night, she retired to sea until midnight, when she reversed course to return to the beachhead for her role as casualty evacuation ship.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}
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On the day that followed, she continued this pattern of operations. Although not designed for such work, ''Wharton'' performed yeoman service off the beaches. Two of the ship's [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboats]] were kept ready in their [[davit]]s for instant deployment, and [[Litter (rescue basket)|litters]] containing casualties were brought alongside in [[landing craft]] and transferred to these boats which were then hoisted up to the [[promenade deck]] level to be rushed to emergency dressing stations in the passenger officers' [[wardroom]] spaces. During the landing operations, some 723 patients were logged into ''Wharton's'' [[sick bay]], most of them coming on board by way of this improvised "lifeboat elevator."{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}
Operating in company with {{USS|Rixey|APH-3}}, ''Wharton'' returned to the transport area each morning for eight successive days to receive casualties and send an occasional beach party ashore. These latter groups worked on the off-shore [[reef]], unloading supplies and [[ammunition]] from [[Landing Craft Mechanized|LCM]]'s
Following the Marianas operation, ''Wharton'' returned to the [[United States]], reaching San Francisco on 25 August. After two months of repairs, the ship resumed her transport duties and made a voyage to Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo, and Nouméa before returning to the United States late in the year.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}
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''Wharton'' next participated in the operations against [[Okinawa]], arriving offshore on 19 May. The transport soon disembarked 2,118 troops (including 30 Army [[nurse]]s) in LCM's sent from shore, as ''Wharton'' ordinarily carried no landing craft of her own. Several times, the ship went to [[general quarters]] and was screened by smoke, but she emerged from the campaign unscathed by [[kamikazes]] that had taken such a dreadful toll from American ships. On 22 May, the transport departed for the [[Caroline Islands]], with 273 troops and 29 casualties embarked, and arrived at Ulithi on the 28th.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}
''Wharton'' took part in no further combat operations and returned home
==End-of-War activities==
Hostilities had then ended, but the gigantic job of returning troops from the far-flung bases and islands nonetheless remained. ''Wharton'' conducted three voyages to the western Pacific
==Bikini Atoll A-Bomb testing==
In the spring of 1946, ''Wharton'' participated in "[[Operation Crossroads]]"
''Wharton'' was awarded three battle stars for her World War II service.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}▼
==Post-War deactivation and decommissioning==
The transport returned to the United States on 28 January, when she made port at San Francisco prior to heading north to Seattle, Washington, and arrived there on 9 February 1947. On 11 March, the [[Secretary of the Navy]] declared ''Wharton'' "surplus to Navy needs" and accordingly authorized her disposal. Decommissioned on 26 March 1947, ''Wharton'' was stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 4 April 1947.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}} In a report dated 28 March 1947 the Navy formally declared the ship surplus to the U.S. Maritime Commission as disposal agency.{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
The ship, evaluated as in very poor condition with one engine having a broken reduction gear and reported leaks in the forepeak, entered U.S. Maritime Commission custody on 27 March 1947 at Olympia, Washington. The hull was sold for $368,426 to Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corporation in bids opened 1 February 1952 and withdrawn from the reserve fleet for scrapping on 21 March 1952.{{sfn|Maritime Administration}}
▲''Wharton'' was awarded three battle stars for her World War II service.{{sfn|Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: ''Wharton''}}
==References==
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==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/munson.htm |title=Munson Line |last=Larsson |first=Björn |date=
*{{cite web |url=https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/4611 |title=Southern Cross |author=Maritime Administration |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration |access-date=12 February 2021}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/wharton.html |title=''Wharton'' |author=Naval History And Heritage Command
*{{cite book |last=United States Shipping Board |year=1926 |title=Tenth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board |series= |volume= |location=Washington |publisher= |isbn= |lccn= |page= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izEwAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA4-PA89#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=19 August 2015 |ref=harv}}▼
*{{cite web |last=Priolo |first=Gary P. |title=USS Wharton (AP-7) |publisher=NavSource Online |date= 27 March 2020 |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22007.htm |access-date=12 February 2021}}
*{{cite journal |last=Villard |first=Harold G. (Ed.) |year=1921 |title=U. S. Passenger Liners Are Given New Names |journal=The Nautical Gazette |volume=100 |issue=June 4, 1921 |page=732 |location=New York |publisher=The Nautical Gazette, Inc. |doi= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XYk9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA732#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=10 August 2015 |ref={{sfnref|Villard: The Nautical Gazette, June 4, 1921}}}}▼
▲*{{cite book |last=United States Shipping Board |year=1926 |title=Tenth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board
▲*{{cite journal |editor-last=Villard |editor-first=Harold G.
{{refend}}
==External links==
* {{navsource|09/22/22007|USS Wharton}}
* [https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/cards/51a317e7-71b8-4336-b9b0-446bf4e81241.jpg "Declaration of Surplus Personal Property to Disposal Agency" (1947 Navy declaration to USMC with ship particulars)]
* [https://archive.org/stream/literarydigest72newy#page/n588/mode/1up Rio de Janeiro is Now Only 11 Days Away] (United States Shipping Board advertisement/Munson Steamship Line's advertisement with ship description)
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