USS Bracken

Bracken at Pearl Harbor, in February 1946
History
United States
Name	USS Bracken (APA-64)
Namesake	Bracken County, Kentucky
Builder	Consolidated Steel
Laid down	13 March 1944
Launched	10 June 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs Benjamin M. LeFebre
Acquired	3 October 1944
Commissioned	4 October 1944
Decommissioned	29 August 1946
Stricken	5 April 1948
Fate	Scuttled off Kwajalein 10 March 1948 after use as a target in Operation Crossroads
General characteristics
Class and type	Gilliam-class attack transport
Displacement	4,247 tons (lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
Length	426 ft (130 m)
Beam	58 ft (18 m)
Draft	16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion	Westinghouse turboelectric drive, 2 boilers, 2 propellers, Design shaft horsepower 6,000
Speed	16.9 knots
Capacity	47 Officers, 802 Enlisted
Crew	27 Officers, 295 Enlisted
Armament	1 x 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun mount, 4 x twin 40mm gun mounts, 10 x single 20mm gun mounts
Notes	MCV Hull No. 1857, hull type S4-SE2-BD1

USS Bracken (APA-64) was a Gilliam-class attack transport that served with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was sunk as a target in 1948.

History

Bracken was named after the county in Kentucky. She was launched 10 June 1944 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation at Wilmington, California, under a Maritime Commission contract; acquired from the Maritime Commission 3 October 1944, and commissioned 4 October 1944.

World War II

Between 28 October 1944 and 31 March 1945 Bracken operated off the coast of southern California as a training ship for the crews of 22 subsequent ships of her class.

During May 1945 Bracken took aboard passengers and cargo and proceeded to Pearl Harbor.

On 3 July 1945, Bracken loaded a full crew of replacement troops and proceeded to sail to the Marshall Islands, the Caroline Islands, and Okinawa.

After hostilities

Departing Pearl Harbor she called at Midway, Hilo, Eniwetok, Ulithi, Okinawa, Saipan, Leyte, Samar, and Cebu taking aboard occupation troops for transportation to Yokohama, Japan, where she arrived 8 September 1945. Bracken then joined Operation Magic Carpet, which was tasked with transporting returning servicemen from the Far East to the United States.

Operation Crossroads

Bracken remained on this duty until February 1946, when she commenced preparation as a target ship for Operation Crossroads, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. She survived the atomic test and was maintained for radiological and structural studies until 10 March 1948 when she was towed to the open sea off Kwajalein and sunk.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• USS Bracken (APA-64), Navsource Online.