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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS La Salle (AP-102)
ex
 USS Hotspur (AP-102) (1943)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Kilo - Delta
 NKKD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, -19 Nov. 43 and 11-16 Apr. 45) - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (8) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
La Salle Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 29 April 1942, as SS Hotspur, a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-B1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 284) at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, CA.
  • Launched, 2 August 1942
  • Acquired from the Maritime Commission, 18 March 1943
  • Commissioned USS Hotspur (AP-102), 31 March 1943, CDR. Fred C. Fluegel in command
  • Renamed USS La Salle (AP-102), 6 April 1943
  • During World War II USS La Salle was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation
    Assault and occupation of Tarawa, 20 November to 2 December 1943    		 Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 13 to 21 October and 19 to 29 November 1944
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to 8 February 1944    		 Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 5 January 1945
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 24 June 1944     		Manila Bay-Bicol operation
    Zambales-Subic Bay, 29 to 30 January 1945
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, Angaur, 6 September to 14 October 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 10 to 15 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS La Salle was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    24 to 27 September 1945 
    10 to 13 November 1945 
    26 February to 26 March 194626 February to 13 March 1946
    17 to 28 May 1946 

  • Decommissioned, 24 July 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 25 July 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA. Group
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 20 August 1946
  • USS La Salle earned eight battle stars for WW II service
  • Merchant Service
    Leased to Waterman SS Corp., under a GAA agreement, 6 February 1948
    Sold by the Maritime Commission, 18 August 1948, to Waterman SS Corp., named changed to SS Stonewall Jackson
    Resold in June 1953 to Atlantic Carriers, Inc., renamed SS John C.
    Final Disposition, wrecked, sold for scrapping, 11 December 1968, Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp., Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,556 t.(lt) 13,910 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 25' 9"
    Speed 16.5 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 28
    Enlisted 268
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 60
    Enlisted 1,250
    Cargo Capacity 1,875 DWT
    non-refrigerated), 189,444 Cu. ft..
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 call dual purpose gun mounts
    twelve single 20mm gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 10,950 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric steam turbine
    two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    Ship's Service Generators
    two turbo-drive 250Kw 240V D.C.
    one Diesel-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    La Salle 133k USS La Salle (AP-102) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Navy Memorial.    		 Stan Svec
    La Salle 403k USS La Salle (AP-102) in Lingayen Gulf, 9 January 1945, with the evacuation transport USS Rixey (APH-3) in the left background, as seen from USS West Virginia (BB-48).
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-301859, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Mike Green
    LA Salle 90k USS La Salle (AP-102) underway in San Francisco Bay between sometime in 1946 while making Magic Carpet voyage. This was the only ship of the class with a pole instead of a lattice radar mast forward of the stack.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 77394, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    LA Salle
    092210204    		 23k USS La Salle (AP-102) at anchor, 5 March 1946, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    USS Hotspur / USS La Salle (AP-102)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Fluegel, Fred Charles, USNR31 March 1943 - 20 May 1945
    02CDR. Doar Jr., Elias M., USNR20 May 1945 - 10 March 1946
    03CAPT. Hoffheins Jr., William Lennart, USN (USNA 1923)10 March 1946 - 28 June 1946
    04CAPT. Bolton, Cliff Leonard, USNR28 June 1946 - 3 July 1946
    05CDR. Sapp, Clyde Cecil, USN3 July 1946 - 24 July 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 7 April 2023