USS Catron, a 4,247-ton Gilliam-class attack transport, was built at Wilmington, California, and was commissioned in November 1944. She departed San Pedro, California, in January 1945 and, after conducting training, arrived at Ulithi in March to load troops and supplies for the assult on Okinawa. She participated in the initial assault on the island and then remained offshore for the next week, landing cargo as required to support the troops. She then returned to San Francisco, carried cargo to Guam, transported Japanese prisoners of war back to San Francisco, and carried cargo to Okinawa, where she learned of the Japanese surrender.
Moving to the Philippines, Catron embarked occupation troops which she delivered to Japan in September. In October she brought over 500 former prisoners of war back to San Francisco. She then made two voyages from San Francisco to carry troops to the Philippines. In February 1946 she reported to Pearl Harbor to be stripped for use as a target ship in the Bikini atomic bomb tests. Afloat after the tests but contaminated by radioactivity, she was decommissioned in August 1946 and sunk as a target by USS Atlanta (CL-104) in May 1948.
This page features all our views of USS Catron (APA-71).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 98709 USS Catron (APA-71) In San Francisco Bay, California, in late 1945 or early 1946. Donation of Boatswain's Mate First Class Robert G. Tippins, USN (Retired), 2003. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 550 pixels |
![]() |
Photo #: 80-G-702126 Operation Crossroads, 1946 Prospective target ships and support ships at Pearl Harbor in a photo released on 27 February 1946. Ships present from front to rear include USS Crittenden (APA-77), Catron (APA-71), Bracken (APA-64), Burleson (APA-67), Gilliam (APA-57), Fallon (APA-81), one unidentified ship, USS Fillmore (APA-83), Kochab (AKS-6), Luna (AKS-7) and an unidentified tanker and liberty ship. Identifiable on the right are LSM-203 and LSM-465. Further in the background are a floating drydock and a merchant ship hulk with unidentified fittings forward of the bridge. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 121KB; 740 x 620 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
![]() |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 30 August 2003