USAT General Simon B. Buckner
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States of America
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| Name: | USS Admiral E. W. Eberle (AP-123) |
| Namesake: | Admiral Edward Walter Eberle, US Navy |
| Builder: | Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard Inc., Alameda, California |
| Laid down: | 15 February 1943 |
| Launched: | 4 June 1944 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Earl Warren |
| Renamed: | USAT Admiral E. W. Eberle, circa 1946 |
| Renamed: | USAT General Simon B. Buckner, circa 1946 |
| Namesake: | General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., US Army |
| Renamed: | USNS General Simon B. Buckner (T-AP-123), 1 March 1950 |
| Out of service: | 1967 |
| Fate: | dismantled in May 1999 at International Shipbreaking Co., Brownsville, Texas |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Admiral W. S. Benson-class transport |
| Displacement: | 9,676 tons dockside, 20,120 tons fully laden |
| Length: | 608 feet 11 inches (185.60 m) |
| Beam: | 75 feet 6 inches (23.01 m) |
| Draft: | 26 feet 6 inches (8.08 m) |
| Installed power: | 19,000 shp |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 100,000 cubic feet (2,800 m3) of cargo |
| Troops: | 5,200 |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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USS Admiral E. W. Eberle (AP-123) was laid down on 15 February 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 681) by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Alameda, California; launched on 14 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Earl Warren, the wife of the Governor of California who later became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; and acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 24 January 1945, Capt. G. C. Carlstedt, USCG, in command.
The transport was operated by the Naval Transportation Service and manned largely by Coast Guard personnel. On 6 March, she departed San Francisco with troops and supplies bound for New Guinea. She made stops at Finschhafen and Hollandia before dropping anchor at Manus Island on 25 March. While there, a Navy plane crashed into the starboard side of the ship. It was a Sunday morning and the Navy aircraft with only the pilot on board was doing aerobatics for the troop. The aircraft left only to return with another person on board. While doing a loop the pilot realized he was not going to clear the ship so rather than hit the ship at the main deck level where the troops had gathered to watch he nosed the aircraft down and hit the ship in the side. Both occupants of the plane were killed, and casualties on board Admiral E. W. Eberle numbered one dead and five wounded.
On 26 March, the ship sailed in convoy for the Philippines. After loading troops at Leyte, Admiral E. W. Eberle proceeded to Manila. There, she embarked over 2,000 civilians for transportation to the United States. These passengers were mainly American citizens who had been interned in the Philippines since Japanese forces captured the islands in the spring of 1942. Admiral E. W. Eberle returned to Leyte on 13 April to pick up Army personnel; then sailed, via Ulithi, for the west coast of the United States and reached San Pedro, CA, on 2 May.
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Wikipedia