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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Arthur Middleton (APA-25)
ex
USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55) (1942 - 1943)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Alpha - Victor
NFAV

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)

USS Arthur Middleton was manned the US Coast Guard during World War II

Arthur Middleton Class Transport:

Laid down, 1 July 1940, as African Comet, a Maritime Commission type (C3-P&C) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 106) at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, MS.

Launched, 28 June 1941

Acquired by the Navy, 6 January 1942

Converted for Naval service at Union Iron Works, San Francisco, CA.

Commissioned USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55), 7 September 1942, CDR. P. K. Perry, USCG, in command

Redesignated Attack Transport (APA-25), 1 February 1943

During World War II USS Arthur Middleton was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns;

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Gilbert Islands operation Tarawa landing, 20 to 29 November 1943	Leyte operation Leyte Gulf landings, 20 to 24 October and 14 to 15 November 1944
Marshall Islands operation Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to 8 February 1944 Occupation of Eniwetok Atoll, 17 to 23 February 1943	Luzon operation Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 23 June 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 5 April 1945

Coast Guard crew turned Arthur Middleton over to the Naval Transportation Service (NTS), 1 February 1946

Decommissioned, 21 October 1946, at Norfolk VA.

Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 October 1958

Transferred to the Maritime Administration, 3 March 1959, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet James River, Lee Hall, VA..

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 9 May 1973, to Consolidated Steel Corp., Brownsville, TX.

USS Arthur Middleton earned six battle stars for World War II service

Specifications:
Displacement 10,812 t.(lt), 16,480 t.(fl)
Length 489'
Beam 69' 9"
Draft 27' 4"
Speed 18.4 kts.
Complement 528
Troop Accommodations 1,304
Armament

one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount

four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts

eight single 20mm AA gun mounts

four .50 cal AA machine guns
Propulsion steam turbine, single shaft, 8,500shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
USS Arthur Middleton (APA-25)
	30k	*Namesake* Arthur Middleton was born on 26 June 1742 on his family's estate, Middleton Place, near Charleston, S.C. He was educated in England and, upon returning to South Carolina, became active in local politics. Middleton was elected to the colonial House of Assembly in 1764; served until 1768; and, after a four-year absence, was reelected to the House in 1772. He sat in the first provincial congress and served on the secret committee of five people that arranged and directed the seizure of powder and weapons from the public storehouses in Charleston on the night of 21 April 1776. On 14 June, he became a member of the first Council of Safety, which assumed the executive power of the colony. On 11 February 1776, Middleton was appointed to a committee of 11 to draft a constitution for South Carolina. A few days later, he was elected to the Continental Congress and, still later, signed the Declaration of Independence on behalf of South Carolina. He continued serving in the Congress until October 1777. While he was reelected three more times between 1778 and 1780, Middleton did not actually serve in Congress during these years. During the siege of Charleston in 1780, Middleton was a member of the militia. He was taken prisoner when the British captured the city and was sent to St. Augustine, Fla., as a prisoner of war. He was exchanged in July 1781 and sat in the session of Congress of 1782. After the war ended, Middleton devoted himself to managing his plantation. He died at Goose Creek, S.C., on 1 January 1787. Photo: junior.britannica.com	Bill Gonyo
	22k	*USS Arthur Middleton* (APA-25)** underway, date and location unknown. USNI photo	Russ Padden
	124k	*USS Arthur Middleton* (APA-25)** overhead view, date and location unknown. USNI photo	Dan Carey
	197k	*USS Arthur Middleton* (APA-25)** returning veterans to San Francisco from the Pacific after the war during "Operation Magic Carpet," circa 1946.	Dan Carey
	71k	LT. Robert E. Burke USCGR on board *USS Arthur Middleton* (APA-25)**during World War II.	Dan Carey
	70k	LT. Robert E. Burke USCGR and two fellow USS Middleton officers with Jack Dempsey.	Dan Carey
	112k	*USS Arthur Middleton* (APA-25)** underway, 30 August 1945, location unknown. US Navy photo # USN 339869 from the collections of the Office of the US Coast Guard Historian.	Mike Green
Commercial Service
	34k	Ex-*USS Arthur Middleton* (APA-25)** in service with American South African Lines, Inc, as SS African Comet	Dan Carey