Dawson APA-79

Dawson

Counties in Georgia, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas.

(APA-79: dp. 4,247, 1. 426', b. 58'; dr. 16'; s. 17 k.;
cpl. 377, a. 1 5", cl. Gilliam)

Dawson (APA-79) was launched 27 November 1944 by Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd., Wilmington, Calif., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. P. Hotehkis, transferred to the Navy 3 February 1945, and commissioned the next day, Lieutenant Commander R. S. Cass, USNR, in command.

Clearing San Francisco 3 April 1945, Dawson carried passengers and cargo to Espiritu Santo, Tulagi, and Noumea before arriving at Brisbane, Australia, 6 May to reload. On 14 May she got underway for the Philippines and until the end of the war, carried men and equipment of construction battalions from Manus and New Guinea.

Dawson embarked occupation troops at Pearl Harbor from 18 August to 1 September 1945, landing them at Sasebo 22 September. Four days later she was en route to transport additional troops to Japan, returning to Sasebo 14 October. Assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty carrying veterans eligible for discharge home to the west coast she departed Sasebo 22 October and embarked Army Air Corps personnel at Saipan, arriving at San Francisco 14 November. Following another voyage to the Western Pacific between 30 November 1945 and 17 January 1946, carrying sailors to Guam, she was assigned as a test target to Operation "Crossroads," the atomic weapons tests in the Marshalls and was towed to Kwajalein where she was decommissioned 20 September 1946. She was retained there for radiological study until sunk 19 April 1948.