Notes
Note N21
Index
USS Mifflin (APA-207) was a Haskell-class attack transport of the US Navy. She was named after Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
Construction
Mifflin (APA-207) was laid down 15 May 1944 by Permanente Metals Corp. Shipyard No. 2, Richmond, California; launched 7 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Alma De Brettville Sprecies; accepted by the Navy on a loan basis; and commissioned 11 October 1944, Comdr. L. J. Modave in command.
World War II
After shakedown, Mifflin embarked 1,100 troops and sailed to Pearl Harbor. Exchanging her initial passengers for 4th Division Marines, she continued amphibious exercises off Maui, until ordered to Saipan 27 January 1945. On 19 February, her boats landed 4th Marines on the shore of Iwo Jima. She remained almost a week to offload priority, then request cargo, and to take on board battle casualties. This included her own, for the ship's beach party was hard hit the first day suffering 14 wounded and three missing.
Mifflin also sustained a shell hit on her 40mm gun director before retiring with the wounded to Saipan on the 28th.
Having replaced lost equipment and boats, she sailed 16 March to nearby Tinian to practice for the invasion of Okinawa. In position for this last great assault, on 1 and 2 April her boats feinted a landing of 2d Division Marines on the southeastern shore to lessen opposition to the main effort on the western beaches. Again returning her Marines to Saipan, she remained until early June. Steaming to the New Hebrides, Mifflin loaded stores which she discharged 30 June at Guam. Independence Day, she weighed anchor for San Francisco with a small passenger list and a need for repairs.
Two months later, when she returned to the western Pacific to disembark 1,600 Army replacement troops at Manila, Philippines, the war had ceased. Mifflin reloaded with men of the 33d Infantry Division assigned to occupation duty and arrived Wakayama, Japan, 25 September. The next month, over 1,000 troops of the 24th Infantry Division were transported from Mindanao, Philippines, to Okajama, Japan. Sailing to Okinawa 30 October, she engaged in "Magic Carpet" duty from November to March 1946, returning additional thousands of veterans to San Francisco. Inactivation soon began with Mifflin placed out of service in reserve 5 July 1946, assigned to the 19th Fleet, Stockton, California. Struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1958, she was returned to the Maritime Commission the same date. Assigned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, she was berthed as Suisun Bay, California, into 1969.
Notes
Note N22
Index
USS Orion (AS-18) was a Fulton-class submarine tender of the United States Navy. She was laid down 31 July 1941 at the Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California; launched 24 June 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Robert A. White; and commissioned 30 September 1943, Capt. C. S. Isgrig in command.
Post-war, 1945-1993
As the formal surrender documents were being signed in Tokyo Bay, Orion was en route to the United States. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, she operated off the east coast for four months, then sailed south to Balboa, C. Z. Taking up duties with SubRon 6, 24 January 1946, she remained in the Panama Canal Zone, with one interruption for overhaul, until 11 May 1949. Then, with SubRon 6, she steamed to Norfolk, her new homeport.
After that change of homeport, Orion continued to service SubRon 6 at Norfolk and, during fleet exercises, in the Caribbean Sea. A FRAM II overhaul and conversion to nuclear support, 6 September 1960 - 25 February 1961, was followed by refresher training off Cuba. In June; her first nuclear submarine job came alongside in the form of Shark (SSN-591). Three years later she added foreign nuclear submarines to her long list of services performed after completing work on HMS Dreadnought. Support of SubRon 6, however, continued to be Orion’s primary mission. Into 1970 she serviced the conventional and nuclear-powered ships of that squadron from the Destroyer/Submarine Piers at Norfolk.
Orion again changed homeport to La Maddalena, Italy, servicing ships of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea until 1993, when she was relieved by the Simon Lake. Orion returned to the United States and was decommissioned 3 September 1993. Ex-Orion was transferred to the Maritime Administration for storage 1 May 1999 and sold to North American Ship Recycling, Baltimore, Maryland to be dismantled on 27 July 2006.
At the time of her decommissioning in 1993, Orion was the oldest active ship in the US Navy's fleet. Accordingly, she flew the "Don't Tread On Me" flag toward the end of her service.
Notes
Note N23
Index
USS Dobbin (AD-3) is the name of a United States Navy destroyer tender of World War II, named after James Cochrane Dobbin, the Secretary of the Navy from 1853 to 1857.
Dobbin was launched on 5 May 1921 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was commissioned on 23 July 1924, and served for 22 years before being decommissioned on 27 September 1946, and transferred to the United States Maritime Commission for disposal.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Dobbin was present during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. At the time of the attack she was moored northeast of Ford Island with five destroyers, USS Phelps (DD-360), USS Macdonough (DD-351), USS Worden (DD-352), USS Dewey (DD-349) and USS Hull (DD-350).[1]
Dobbin's watched helplessly as Japanese planes targeted Battleship Row, but as the battleships each took heavy damage the Japanese pilots looked for other targets. The aircraft seeing that the ship had admiral flags[1] tried to bomb Dobbin but the ship only took shrapnel damage.
Dobbin's small craft spent the morning picking up survivors and taking the wounded to shore. The ship picked up hundreds of sailors from other ships and when she left the harbor in search of the Japanese fleet had 200 men from USS Raleigh (CL-7) alone aboard.[1]
World War II
After the attack, Dobbin served in the Hawaiian area until May 1942 and then she was sent to Sydney, Australia. Dobbin was one of several Allied vessels located in Sydney Harbor during the Japanese midget submarine attack of 31 May 1942.[2] On 25 June 1943 she was sent to Brisbane, Mackay, Townsville, and Cleveland Bay, Australia, before arriving at Milne Bay, New Guinea, 30 September 1943. She stayed near New Guinea until 14 February 1945 at which point she returned to America and decommissioned 27 September 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal 24 December 1946.
Dobbin received one battle star for World War II service.