| − | '''Bamberg County''' LST 209 was laid down on 7 September 1942 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co.; launched on 29 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. C. A. Dalton; placed in reduced commission at her builder's yard on 4 June 1943; placed in full commission at New Orleans on 10 June 1943, Lt. Frank J. Oberg, USNR, in command. | + | USS '''Bamberg County''' LST 209 was laid down on 7 September 1942 at Seneca, Ill., by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co.; launched on 29 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. C. A. Dalton; placed in reduced commission at her builder's yard on 4 June 1943; placed in full commission at New Orleans on 10 June 1943, Lt. Frank J. Oberg, USNR, in command. |
| | After shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay, LST 209 departed American waters on 4 August 1943, and steamed via the strait of Gibraltar, for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. On her arrival at Oran, Algeria, the ship received orders to proceed to Bizerte, Tunisia, where she exchanged ships' companies with LST 378 on 25 August. Originally slated to sail for Algiers to load LST spare parts for shipment to the Far East, LST 209 instead received orders to Sicily, due to the critical need for LSTs to carry equipment to the Italian front. In the months that followed, the tank landing ship conducted four trips between Catania, Sicily, and Taranto, Italy, before she returned to Algiers for further assignment. | | After shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay, LST 209 departed American waters on 4 August 1943, and steamed via the strait of Gibraltar, for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. On her arrival at Oran, Algeria, the ship received orders to proceed to Bizerte, Tunisia, where she exchanged ships' companies with LST 378 on 25 August. Originally slated to sail for Algiers to load LST spare parts for shipment to the Far East, LST 209 instead received orders to Sicily, due to the critical need for LSTs to carry equipment to the Italian front. In the months that followed, the tank landing ship conducted four trips between Catania, Sicily, and Taranto, Italy, before she returned to Algiers for further assignment. |
| | For the next half decade, the ship operated with the mine force, based at Charleston, S.C. Her tank deck was altered in 1953 to allow the ship to function as a support vessel for MSC(0) type minesweepers. During this period, LST-209 was named Bamberg County on 10 July 1955. Decommissioned again at Green Cove Springs, Fla., on 10 December 1956, Bamberg County never again saw active service with the Navy. Deemed "unfit for further naval service" on 28 October 1958, her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1958. Sold to Tolchester Lines, Inc., of Arlington, Va., soon thereafter, she was acquired by the Dravo Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pa., on 23 February 1961 for use at that firm's Baton Rouge, La., facility. | | For the next half decade, the ship operated with the mine force, based at Charleston, S.C. Her tank deck was altered in 1953 to allow the ship to function as a support vessel for MSC(0) type minesweepers. During this period, LST-209 was named Bamberg County on 10 July 1955. Decommissioned again at Green Cove Springs, Fla., on 10 December 1956, Bamberg County never again saw active service with the Navy. Deemed "unfit for further naval service" on 28 October 1958, her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 November 1958. Sold to Tolchester Lines, Inc., of Arlington, Va., soon thereafter, she was acquired by the Dravo Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pa., on 23 February 1961 for use at that firm's Baton Rouge, La., facility. |