History USS Zeilin (APA-3)

1 history

1.1 commercial service
1.2 commissioning
1.3 world war ii

1.3.1 pacific service

1.3.1.1 south pacific force , guadalcanal
1.3.1.2 aleutian islands
1.3.1.3 tarawa
1.3.1.4 kwajalein atoll
1.3.1.5 southwest pacific , solomon islands
1.3.1.6 mariana islands
1.3.1.7 southwest pacific
1.3.1.8 philippine islands
1.3.1.9 iwo jima
1.3.1.10 ulithi




1.4 post world war ii service

1.4.1 philippine islands , korea
1.4.2 west coast


1.5 decommissioning
1.6 disposal

history
commercial service

silver state operated between seattle, washington, , far east admiral orient line subsidiary of pacific mail steamship company. on 23 june 1922 ss silver state renamed ss president jackson when ship purchased dollar line owned robert dollar. in 1938 ss president jackson transferred american president lines.

starting in 1937, u.s. navy studied converting dollar line 535-foot (163 m) class ships troop transports.

commissioning

the ss president jackson acquired united states navy in july 1940 , renamed zeilin designation ap-9 after brigadier general jacob zeilin (16 july 1806–18 november 1880) first united states marine corps general.

the todd pacific shipyards in seattle, washington, reconfigured zeilin troop transport. commissioning occurred on 3 january 1942 captain pat buchanan, usnr, in command.

world war ii
pacific service

after shakedown cruise , training along west coast of united states, zeilin left san diego on 13 april 1942 transporting troops samoa garrison duty , returning san diego on 17 june.

south pacific force , guadalcanal

on 8 july 1942, zeilin again departed san diego , traveled via pearl harbor suva in fiji. @ suva, zeilin prepared invasion of solomon islands. zeilin flagship of transport division 2 amphibious force, south pacific force under rear admiral kelly turner designated task force 62, re-designated task group 61.2 under operation order 1—42 of 28 july issued vice admiral frank jack fletcher. zeilin, betelgeuse part of transport division two, ordered sail on or 20 july 1942 south pacific.

early on morning of 7 august 1942 zeilin arrived off guadalcanal task force 62. on 8 august marines 3rd defense battalion landed zeilin on tulagi, gavutu, , tanambogo. after completing disembarkation of marines, zeilin traveled nouméa, new caledonia.

for next 2 months, zeilin traveled route between nouméa; espiritu santo, new hebrides, , wellington, new zealand. on 9 october, zeilin departed nouméa carry troops , supplies solomon islands.

arriving off guadalcanal on 11 october, zeilin began unloading @ lunga point. on 13 october, zeilin attacked japanese shore battery; ship did not receive damage. zeilin returned nouméa on 17 october , proceeded espiritu santo before returning lunga point on 11 november.

at 09:00, task group received report 9 carrier bombers , 12 fighters approaching northwest , reach vicinity @ 09:30. @ 09:20, atlanta (cl-51) led zeilin , 2 other auxiliaries north, in column, destroyers spaced in circle around them. fifteen minutes later, 9 japanese aichi d3a val dive bombers japanese aircraft carrier hiyō emerged clouds on henderson field.

at 09:40 zeilin opened fire. japanese airplanes dove on zeilin , released bombs @ 1,200 feet (370 m). 1 aircraft set on fire zeilin s guns there 3 near misses registered on ship; 2 on port side - 1 amidships, other aft; , 1 on starboard side @ frame 45 opposite no. 8 hatch, depth 15–30 feet. ship suffered severely bomb. number 8 hold flooded third deck; number 7 fourth deck. starboard shaft carried away. zeilin took on approximately 2,000 tons of water. examination diver later disclosed cracked , ruptured hull plating cause of flooding.

a second attack @ 10:55 27 mitsubishi g3m bombers repulsed anti-aircraft fire , fighter aircraft henderson field.

though damaged , listing, zeilin carried casualties espiritu santo , sailed via tutuila, samoa san pedro, california. zeilin arrived @ terminal island naval shipyard (later known long beach naval shipyard) on 22 december 1942 repair. repair work completed in march 1943.

aleutian islands

on 17 april 1943, zeilin left san diego, california, aleutian islands. after six-day stop in san francisco, california, zeilin continued on , arrived @ cold bay, alaska on 1 may. cold bay rendezvous point attu island invasion force. 11 may zeilin located off south coast of attu island, @ massacre bay. after initial landings, zeilin remained off attu island until 16 may. on 17 may, zeilin stopped @ adak, alaska, before leaving on 22 may , arriving @ san diego, california, on 31 may.

on 15 june 1943 zeilin designated relief flagship, battleship pennsylvania being flagship, commander amphibious force, pacific fleet. in june , july 1943, zeilin operated along west coast of united states before returning adak on 5 august participate in invasion of kiska, alaska. zeilin left adak on 26 august, arriving @ san diego, california on 2 september.

tarawa

the zeilin traveled pearl harbor, hawaii, in mid-september 1943. after five-day stay @ pearl harbor zeilin continued wellington, new zealand, via funafuti , espiritu santo arriving on 17 october. ship remained @ wellington before departing on 1 november , proceeding efate in vanuatu attack force concentrated , practiced invasion of tarawa.

on 13 november, zeilin departed efate , arrived off betio on 19 november. following morning, marines 2nd battalion 2nd marines offloaded landing craft zeilin assault. during unloading operation zeilin under fire japanese shore guns. ship did not sustain damage attack. during operation, commander thomas benjamin fitzpatrick in command of ship.

kwajalein atoll

zeilin returned pearl harbor @ beginning of december 1943 reload marshall islands operation leaving on 22 january 1944 southern attack force. zeilin arrived @ kwajalein atoll on 31 january. unloading elements of army s 7th infantry division, zeilin departed on 2 february arriving @ funafuti, on 8 february.

southwest pacific , solomon islands

for next 3 months, zeilin carried troops , supplies units operating in solomon islands , in new guinea. during time period zeilin visited guadalcanal , bougainville in solomon islands, espiritu santo, milne bay , cape sudest on new guinea, , newly conquered admiralty islands. on 10 may 1944, zeilin returned guadalcanal prepare invasion of mariana islands.

mariana islands

task force 53, including zeilin, departed solomon islands on 4 june carrying marines of 1st provisional marine brigade. zeilin waited east of guam during battle of philippine sea. later marines on zeilin functioned floating reserve. leaving marianas islands on 30 june, zeilin arrived @ eniwetok atoll in marshall islands on 3 july. after 15 days, zeilin left eniwetok , joined other transports carrying troops hawaii. zeilin arrived off guam on 22 july , unloaded marines on 4 days departing on 26 july.

zeilin stopped overnight @ eniwetok again on 29 july before arriving @ pearl harbor on 7 august. after 3 days, zeilin departed west coast of united states arriving @ san francisco, california three-month overhaul.

southwest pacific

on 21 october 1944, zeilin departed san francisco arriving @ finschhafen on west coast of new guinea on 6 november. zeilin visited langemak bay , hollandia (now known jayapura) before arriving @ nouméa on 22 november.

philippine islands

zeilin loaded elements of army s 25th infantry division @ nouméa , departed guadalcanal in solomon islands in december 1944. @ guadalcanal, task group including zeilin conducted training exercises. task group left guadalcanal on 25 december arriving @ manus in admiralty islands on 29 december.

on 2 january 1945, zeilin left manus , arrived off san fabian, luzon, in philippine islands on 11 january. after offloading zeilin departed on 12 january in convoy. next morning, single japanese kamikaze aircraft attacked convoy missing amphibious command ship mount olympus (agc-8) , striking zeilin. right wing of japanese aircraft struck cargo loading equipment next number 6 cargo hatch. fuselage crashed starboard side of housetop. incendiary weapons carried aircraft exploded , started several fires on ship. topside damage zeilin extensive. superstructure deck destroyed, deck framing damaged, , several staterooms destroyed. aircraft s engine pierced deck, outboard bulkhead , landed in landing craft carried zeilin. 7 crew members killed, 3 crew members declared missing, , 30 crew members injured. after attack zeilin continued convoy , arrived @ leyte island in philippines. after receiving temporary repairs @ leyte, zeilin departed on 16 february arriving @ ulithi atoll in caroline islands on 18 february.

iwo jima

zeilin traveled iwo jima island arriving on 9 march reinforcements. on 16 march zeilin departed iwo jima arriving @ pearl harbor on 12 april. zeilin left pearl on 17 april , arrived in san francisco, california, on 23 april.

ulithi

following 2 months of repairs in san francisco, zeilin departed on 30 june 1945 arriving @ san diego, california on 1 july. on 8 july, zeilin departed san diego seattle, washington. departing seattle on 23 july, zeilin arrived @ eniwetok atoll on 4 august. zeilin stayed until 7 august before moving on ulithi atoll.

post world war ii service
philippine islands , korea

after hostilities ceased on 15 august 1945 zeilin departed ulithi atoll on 17 august arriving @ okinawa island on 21 august. zeilin left okinawa on 29 august bound leyte. during september, zeilin transported cargo , passengers within philippine islands. in october, zeilin tasked carry army s 106th regimental combat team occupation duty @ jinsen, korea.

west coast

departing jinsen, zeilin made stops @ ulithi , guam before arriving @ san francisco on 14 november. remainder of 1945 , through january 1946, zeilin traveled between san diego, san francisco, san pedro, bremerton, washington, , seattle.

decommissioning

on 4 february 1946, zeilin departed san pedro , transited panama canal on 14 february before arriving on 21 february @ hampton roads, virginia. zeilin decommissioned @ portsmouth, virginia, on 19 april 1946.

disposal

zeilin struck navy list on 5 june 1946. zeilin transferred united states maritime commission on 3 july 1946 disposal. on 4 may 1948 delivered american shipbreaker, inc., scrapping.

cite error: there <ref group=note> tags on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=note}} template (see page).