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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Bayfield (APA-33)



International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Uniform - Quebec
 NYUQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (5)
Fourth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Taiwan Straits, 5-Quemoy-Matsu, 1 Cuba, 1-Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (3)
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

USS Bayfield (AP-33) was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
Bayfield Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 14 November 1942, as SS Sea Bass a Maritime Commission type (C3-S-A2) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 275) at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA.
  • Assigned to the Navy as Naval Transport (AP-78)
  • Redesignated Attack Transport (APA-33), 1 February 1943
  • Launched, 15 February 1943
  • Acquired by the Navy, 30 June 1943, placed in reduced commission and renamed Bayfield
  • Decommissioned, 29 July 1943, Atlantic Basic Iron Works, Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Placed in full commission, 20 November 1943 as USS Bayfield (APA-33), CAPT. Lyndon Spencer, USCG, in command
  • During World War II USS Bayfield (APA-33) was assigned to both the European and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaigns
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns    Campaign and Dates
    Invasion of Normandy, 6 to 25 June 1944 Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 1 March 1945
    Invasion of southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944 Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 7 April 1945

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

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    20 to 30 September 194521 July 1947 to 2 March 1948
    19 to 23 November 194529 November 1948 to 30 March 1949
    16 to 21 January 1946 

  • During the Korean War USS Bayfield (APA-33) participated the following campaigns:
    Korean War
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    North Korean Aggression, 21 September to 2 November 1950 Second Korean Winter, 19 to 23 April 1952
    Communist China Aggression, 3 to 29 December 1950 Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952, 17 to 18 October 1952
    First UN Counter Offensive, 26 February to 7 March 1951 .

  • During the Vietnam War USS Bayfield (APA-33) participated in the following campaigns:
    Vietnam War
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnam Defense
    4 to 9 July 1965
    18 to 28 August 1965
    31 August to 10 September 1965
    22 to 26 October 1965     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive-Phase II
    2 to 16 February 1967
    28 February to 10 March 1967
    19 April 1967
    25 April to 29 May 1967

  • Decommissioned, 28 June 1968, at Long Beach, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 October 1968
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 September 1969, to Levin Metals, San Pedro, CA.
  • USS Bayfield received four battle stars for World War II service, five battle stars for Korean War service and two campaign stars for Vietnam War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,100 t.(lt), 16,100 t.(fl)
    Length 492'
    Beam 69' 6"
    Draft 23' 3" (lim)
    Speed 18.4 kts (trial)
    Complement
    51 Officers
    524 Enlisted
    Flag Accommodation
    43 Officers
    108 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodation
    80 Officers
    1,146 Enlisted
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Cargo Capacity 4,700 DWT
    non-refrigerated 200,000 Cu. ft.
    Boats
    12 LCVP
    4 LCM (Mk-6)
    3 LCP(L) (MK-IV)
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts, one fore and one aft
    two quad 1.1" gun mounts, aft port and starboard, replaced by two single 40mm AA gun mounts
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 8,510 Bbls
    Diesel 750 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Combustion Engineering D-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 250Kw 240V D.C.
    single propeller, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Bayfield 82k
    Namesake

    Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield was truly a remarkable man. For almost forty years, Admiral Bayfield worked as a Royal Navy Surveyor in Canada. In the 1800s, Canadian charts were still developed under the direction of the British Admiralty. Bayfield's contribution to Canadian hydrography included approximately 114 charts out of the 215 Admiralty Charts which were issued of Canadian waters. The total attributed to Bayfield is some 53% of the charts produced until 1867! He started working on hydrographic surveys at the age of 11. He first saw Canada in 1810 at the age of 15. He began his hydrographic surveying career in 1816. By 1822, at the age of 27, Bayfield had completed the first hydrographic survey of Lake Huron. The next year he continued his work on Lake Superior, which at that time was unknown to everyone except the native Indians. Admiral Bayfield is also known as the hydrographer who started charting the St. Lawrence River in 1827 and continued for many years. In his opinion, "there were no other parts of the world in which more boat accidents occurred." By it's name the city of Bayfield honors Admiral Henry Bayfield who prepared charts of Chequamegon Bay area from 1823-1825. Bayfield had it's start in 1856 when Henry Rice began the Bayfield Land Company. A county in northwestern Wisconsin. Established on 19 February 1845 as LaPointe County, it was renamed on 12 April 1866 to honor Admiral Henry W. Bayfield, an officer of the Royal Navy who came to Canada during the War of 1812 and, following the return of peace, remained in the New World to survey the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and the coast of Labrador.
    Photo courtesy of Bayfield, Wisconsin    		 Bill Gonyo
    Bayfield 60k Stern view of USS Bayfield (APA-33) off New York Navy Yard, 21 November 1943.
    US Navy photo # NH 99241 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 100k USS Bayfield (APA-33) flagship for the "Utah" Beach landings, lowers LCVPs for the assault, 6 June 1944. USS LST-346 is partially visible beyond Bayfield's stern, and USS Nevada (BB-36) is in the far right distance.

    US National Archives photo # 80-G-252377 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center and Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Bayfield 77k USS Bayfield (APA-33) flagship for the "Utah" Beach landings, loading landing craft on "D-Day", 6 June 1944.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-252391 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    LSM-59 58k USS Bayfield (APA-33) at anchor off the invasion beaches at Iwo Jima, circa February 1945. USS LSM-59, with bow doors open, is underway crossing the bow of Bayfield. At the time of the invasion of Iwo Jima Bayfield was painted camouflage Measure 32 Design 3D. John M. Cason for his father Ens. Charles E. Cason, USNR USS LSM-59, 1945.
    Bayfield 101k USS Bayfield (APA-33) at Charleston, S.C., 4 January 1950. Bayfield is proceeding to Pier D-5 at the Charleston Naval Shipyard to embark troops of the Third Division, from Fort Benning, GA., to participate in Operation "Protrex".
    US Navy photo # NH 99242 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Bill Gonyo and
    Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 84k USS Bayfield (APA-33) at anchor, location unknown, 6 February 1952.
    US Navy photo # NH 99242 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 166k USS Bayfield (APA-33) at anchor while offloading a jeep into a LCM in 1952. The original picture caption, released by the Public Information Office of Commander Naval Forces, Far East under date of 27 October 1952, reads: "Operation decoy's Preparation ---- A jeep is lowered into an awaiting LCM during pre-operation Decoy exercises. In the Operation UN forces sailed to the beaches of Kojo, North Korea, and brought out enemy troops so that the Naval surface artillery, combined with Marine, Air Force and Navy air units could smash them".
    US Navy photo # NH 99244 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command    		 Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 94k During Operation "Passage to Freedom" four crewmen display a welcoming banner for Vietnamese refugees coming on board USS Bayfield (APA-33) for passage to Saigon, Indochina, from Haiphong, 3 September 1954.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-709239, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Bayfield 132k Vietnamese refugees receive food on board USS Bayfield (APA-33) while en route to Saigon, Indochina, from Haiphong, September 1954.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-652318, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Bayfield 132k A USS Bayfield (APA-33) crewmen rations out water for Vietnamese refugees during their journey to Saigon, Indochina, from Haiphong, September 1954.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-709244, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Bayfield 590k Loading family automobiles aboard USS Bayfield (APA-33) during a change of homeport from Pearl Harbor to Long Beach in 1954.
    US Navy photo.    		 Rick Connole for his step-father RADM Roy S. Benson USN Ret. CO 1953-54 USS Bayfield
    Bayfield 549k USS Bayfield (APA-33) officers wives gather in the wardroom for a group photo during passage to Long Beach from Pearl Harbor 1954.
    US Navy photo.    		 Rick Connole for his step-father RADM Roy S. Benson USN Ret. CO 1953-54 USS Bayfield
    Bayfield 755k CAPT Roy S. Benson CO of USS Bayfield (APA-33) with his wife Vida and step-son Rick Connole in 1954.
    US Navy photo.    		 Rick Connole for his step-father RADM Roy S. Benson USN Ret. CO 1953-54 USS Bayfield
    Bayfield 900k Newspaper photos of USS Bayfield (APA-33)'s families aboard for their homeport change from Pearl Harbor to Long Beach in 1954. The trip also included members of Marine Fight Squadron VMF-235 and their families.
    US Navy photo.    		 Rick Connole for his step-father RADM Roy S. Benson USN Ret. CO 1953-54 USS Bayfield
    Bayfield 715k USS Bayfield (APA-33) underway off San Diego, CA. in 1954. Rick Connole for his step-father RADM Roy S. Benson USN Ret. CO 1953-54 USS Bayfield
    Bayfield 354k
    Bayfield 716k CAPT. P.D. Quick relieves CAPT Roy S. Benson of command of USS Bayfield (APA-33) 1954.
    US Navy photo.    		 Rick Connole for his step-father RADM Roy S. Benson USN Ret. CO 1953-54 USS Bayfield
    Bayfield 29 USS Bayfield (APA-33) underway, date and location unknown. Ken Laesser
    Bayfield 25k USS Bayfield (APA-33) moored outboard, November 1961, location unknown. Ronald W. Lambe RM1, 1962-69 USS The Sullivan's 1962-63, USS Brownson 1966-67
    Bayfield 95k USS Bayfield (APA-33) in the Miroflores Locks, Panama Canal, 5 December 1962.
    US Navy photo # NH 99156 by Joyl O. Fox from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    Talladega 69k USS Bayfield (APA-33), third ship in line, about 100 miles away from Hawaii, while en route to Oahu with other amphibious ships to participate in exercise "Dull Knife" in July 1963. In the foreground is USS Talladega (APA-208) and next is USS Renville (APA-227).
    US Navy photo # NH 96820 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 180k USS Bayfield (APA-33) list of service Steve Dietrich, USS Roark and USS Virginia, Plank-owner

    For more photos and information about USS Bayfield, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • USS Bayfield Association
  • Navy Yard New York Bayfield Class APA Conversion Model
  • 1954 Welcome Aboard pamphlet
  • USNI "Reminiscences of RADM Roy S Benson, Vol II", pages 479 - 502, CO USS Bayfield 1953-54
  • Commanding Officers
    • 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 10 May 2013