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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive


Decal at left contributed by Wolfgang Hechler, Patches center and right 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 - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (2)
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (5) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Taiwan Straits, Quemoy-Matsu, Cuba, Vietnam)
Fourth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation - 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 (APA-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, CDR. Elias M. Doar Jr., USNR (APA Ferry Crew # 3) in command
  • 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 Europe-Africa-Middle East 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

  • While serving in the the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II USS Bayfield was assigned to:
    TransRon Fifteen, (flagship) CAPT. W. S. Popham USN (14);
    TransDiv Forty-Three
  • 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 

  • USS Bayfield (APA-33) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.3.1 Transportation Group (Transportation Division (TRANSDIV 31) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 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:

    Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Vietnam Advisory Campaign
    30 May to 12 June 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
    Vietnam Defense
    4 to 9 July 1965
    18 to 28 August 1965
    31 August to 10 September 1965
    22 to 26 October 1965
     

  • 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 earned four battle stars for World War II service, five battle stars for Korean War service, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with 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 164k SS Sea Bass (USMC hull 275) bow view, 5 December 1942 on the building ways at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA.
    Western Pipe and Steel photo by Stroupe.
    Tommy Trampp
    Bayfield
    100303356
    459k Launching of Bayfield (APA-33) at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA., 15 February 1943
    Western Pipe and Steel Co. photo
    Dale Hargrave
    Bayfield 129k Bow and stern view of SS Sea Bass, at the outfitting dock, Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA., 2 March 1943
    Western Pipe and Steel photos by Stroupe.
    Tommy Trampp
    Bayfield 123k
    Bayfield 85k USS Bayfield (APA-33) off New York Navy Yard, 21 November 1943. The additional command facilities that allowed the ships of this part of her class to serve as Relief AGCs (the two additional deckhouses aft of the stack) were fitted to all of them during their conversion to APAs.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. 19-N-55818 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.
    Robert Hurst
    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 157 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.
    Robert Hurst
    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 History and Heritage Command
    Bayfield
    100303359
    131k USS Bayfield (APA-33) in the transport area off Iwo Jima, 20 february 1945.
    Frames from a short film called "Amphibious Invasion of Iwo Jima, H-Hour Minus One". Dept. of the Navy. National Archives ID 80201, Local ID 428-NPC-15841.
    David Upton
    Bayfield
    100303360
    129k
    Bayfield
    100303361
    147k
    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 under way 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 114k USS Bayfield (APA-33) at anchor off the Iwo Jima beachhead while taking aboard wounded Marines, circa April 1945.
    US Coast Guard photo # 215-10
    Tommy Trampp
    Bayfield 238k USS Bayfield (APA-33) moored pierside at Tsingtao, China, circa July 1947 - March 1948. Kathleen (Kowalski) Bennett
    Bayfield 69k USS Bayfield (APA-33) at anchor on the Whangpoo River at Shanghai, China in 1947.
    Photo by Don Swanson HMS Sussex.
    Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Bayfield 109k USS Bayfield (APA-33) moored pierside late 1940s - early 1950s, location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    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 102k U.S. Marines boarding USS Bayfield (APA-33) at Hungnam, for transportation out of North Korea. Note details of the Marines' packs. Man at left is carrying a Russian Mosin-Nagant carbine in addition to his M1. This photograph was released by Commander, Naval Forces Far East, under date of 20 December 1950.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 97060.
    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, courtesy Shipscribe.com.
    Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 57k USS Bayfield (APA-33) moored pierside at Otaru, Japan in 1952. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    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, 3-7 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, 3-7 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 120k Vietnamese refugee children coax for candy, while en route from Haiphong to Saigon, Indochina, on board USS Bayfield (APA-33), 3-7 September 1954, during Operation "Passage to Freedom", 1954-1955.
    US National Archives. Photo # 80-G-646775, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 93k A young Vietnamese refugee lends a helping hand to a sailor chipping paint on board USS Bayfield (APA-33), while enroute from Haiphong to Saigon, Indochina, 7 September 1954. Note aviators' oxygen bottle at left.
    US National Archives. Photo # 80-G-644528, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 134k USS Bayfield (APA-33) docks at Saigon, Indochina, to offload refugees following a trip from Haiphong, 7 September 1954, during Operation "Passage to Freedom".
    US National Archives. Photo # 80-G-644529, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    Bayfield 120k Each holding a package of rice and fish, Vietnamese refugees leave USS Bayfield (APA-33) at Saigon, Indochina, after a trip from Haiphong, 7 September 1954, during Operation "Passage to Freedom".
    US National Archives. Photo # 80-G-646776, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    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) under way 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 30k USS Bayfield (APA-33) stands by, 26 March 1955, as her boats rescue survivors from a ditched Pan American Airlines plane. At left smoke drifts from a flare set off by one of the rafts. Nineteen of the twenty-three people aboard the Honolulu bound plane were saved.
    US Coast Guard photos.
    Tommy Trampp and
    Ron Reeves
    Bayfield 57k
    Bayfield 91k
    Bayfield 29 USS Bayfield (APA-33) under way, date and location unknown. Ken Laesser
    Bayfield 25k USS Bayfield (APA-33) looking from the Port Services building Naval Station Long Beach, CA., pier 9. She looks to be outboard of an AO by the stack location aft of the Bayfield. Ronald W. Lambe RM1, 1962-69 USS The Sullivan's 1962-63, USS Brownson 1966-67
    Bayfield 80k Relative visit crew members of USS Bayfield (APA-33) before she sailed from Long Beach on 27 April 1964 for an undisclosed location. (AP Wirephoto) Tommy Trampp
    Bayfield 95k USS Bayfield (APA-33) in the Miraflores 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
    Taluga 549k USS Taluga (AO-62) refueling USS Bayfield (APA-33) in WestPac, date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR (Ret)
    Bayfield 57k USS Bayfield (APA-33) moored pierside at Pearl Harbor in 1968. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Bayfield
    100303358
    57k USS Bayfield (APA-33) underway, outbound to sea from San Diego, CA., date unknown.
    ©George Barber
    Nicholas Tiberio
    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
  • MARAD Vessel History Database
  • 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
     CDR. Doar Jr., Elias Martin, USNR30 June 1943 - 29 July 1943
     Decommissioned29 July 1943 - 20 November 1943
    01CAPT. Spencer, Lyndon, USCG :VADM20 November 1943 - 5 September 1944
    02CDR. Littlefield, Gordon Athorn, USCG :RADM5 September 1944 - 27 September 1944
    03CAPT. Richards, Walter Raymond, USCG27 September 1944 - 8 March 1946
    04CAPT. Landstreet, James Collins, USN (USNA 1924)8 March 1946 - 3 July 1947
    05CAPT. Cutler, Shirley Youngs, USN (USNA 1924)3 July 1947 - 22 July 1948
    06CAPT. Crombe Jr., Charles Edward, USN (USNA 1926)22 July 1948 - 10 July 1949
    07CAPT. Goulett, Wilfred Bradley, USN (USNA 1925)10 July 1949 - July 1950
    08CAPT. Ferrall, William Edward :RADMJuly 1950 - May 1951
    09CDR. Granstrom, Donald Martin, USNMay 1951 - July 1952
    10CAPT. Lidstone, Nicholas Adair :RADMJuly 1952 - September 1953
    11CAPT. Benson, Roy Stanley :RADMSeptember 1953 - July 1954
    12CAPT. Quirk, Philip DecaturJuly 1954 - 1955
    13CAPT. Wheland, Karl Raymond, USN (USNA 1931)1955 - 1956
    14CAPT. Nash, David1956 - 3 March 1958
    15CAPT. Thompson Jr., William Calhoun, USN (1935)3 March 1958 - 1959
    16CAPT. Ferrara, Maurice1959 - 1960
    17CAPT. McCrory, Woodrow Wilson :RADM1960 - 10 July 1961
    18CAPT. Kaye, John Brayshaw10 July 1961 - 8 September 1962
    19CAPT. Hitchcock, John Henderson8 September 1962 - 25 November 1963
    20CAPT. Darby, Lowel Edwin25 November 1963 - November 1964
    21CAPT. Iarrobino, John Henry, USNNovember 1964 - 20 December 1965
    22CAPT. Nash, Norman Clarke, USN (USNA 1942)20 December 1965 - 18 March 1967
    23CAPT. Even, Glen Mark, USN18 March 1967 - 21 November 1967
    24LCDR. Reioux, Lewis Edward, USN21 November 1967 - 5 June 1968
    25LT. Makowski, Walter Frank, USN5 June 1968 - 28 June 1968
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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    Last Updated 26 August 2022