USS Montour

History
United States
Namesake	Montour County, Pennsylvania
Builder	Ingalls Shipbuilding
Laid down	20 October 1943
Launched	10 March 1944
Christened	USS Montour
Commissioned	9 December 1944
Decommissioned	19 April 1946
Fate	Scrapped, 1971.
Notes	MC Hull No. 868; Type C3-S-A2
General characteristics
Class and type	Bayfield-class attack transport
Displacement	8,100 tons, 16,100 tons fully loaded
Length	492 ft (150 m)
Beam	69 ft 6 in (21.18 m)
Draft	26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Propulsion	General Electric geared turbine, 2 × Foster Wheeler D-type boilers, single propeller, designed shaft horsepower 8,500
Speed	18 knots
Boats & landing ; craft carried	12 × LCVP, 4 × LCM (Mk-6), 3 × LCP(L) (MK-IV)
Capacity	4,500 tons (180,500 cu. ft).
Complement	Crew: 51 officers, 524 enlisted; Flag: 43 officers, 108 enlisted.; Troops: 80 officers, 1,146 enlisted;
Armament	2 × single 5-inch/38 cal. dual-purpose gun mounts, one fore and one aft.; 2 × twin 40 mm AA gun mounts.; 2 × single 40 mm AA gun mounts.; 18 × single 20 mm AA gun mounts;

USS Montour (APA-101) was a Bayfield-class attack transport which served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. In 1947, she was sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1971.

History

Montour was laid down under Maritime Commission Contract 20 October 1943 by Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Mississippi; launched 10 March 1944; acquired by the Navy on a load charter basis and placed in partial commission 9 June 1944 to steam to Brooklyn, New York, for conversion by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation; and commissioned at New York 9 December 1944.

Pacific War

Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Montour sailed for Hawaii, arriving Pearl Harbor 1 February 1945. Three days later, she proceeded to San Pedro, California, where she reported for yard work. Between 26 March and 1 August, she made two voyages to the Marianas. She embarked troops at San Francisco 11 August, and sailed for the Philippines, arriving San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on 5 September.

Assigned to transport troops destined for occupation duty in Japan, Montour departed Lingayen Gulf, arriving at Wakayama Ko, Honshū, 7 October. Montour debarked soldiers at Ise Wan, Honshū 27 October, and then reported for duty with the Operation Magic Carpet fleet for the next four months. She made two voyages from Okinawa to the West Coast, disembarking troops at Portland and San Francisco.

Decommissioning and fate

Returning to the East Coast, she decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, 19 April 1946. Delivered to the War Shipping Administration 23 April, Montour was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 8 May. Montour was sold to the Isthmian Steamship Company on 5 March 1948 and was renamed SS Steel Rover. She was scrapped in 1971.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
APA-101 Montour, Navsource Online