USS Hunter Marshall

USS Hunter Marshall (APD-112), ex-DE-602, was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946.

History
United States
Name	USS Hunter Marshall
Namesake	Ensign Hunter Marshall III (1917-1942), a U.S. Navy officer and Silver Star recipient
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Launched	5 May 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. Hunter Marshall
Commissioned	17 July 1945
Decommissioned	30 May 1946
Reclassified	From destroyer escort (DE-602) to high-speed transport (APD-112) while under construction
Stricken	1 June 1960
Fate	Sold to Ecuador July 1961 for use as floating power plant
Notes	Laid down as Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Hunter Marshall (DE-602)
General characteristics
Class & type	Crosley-class high speed transport
Displacement	2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops	162
Complement	204
Armament	1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun 6 × 40 mm guns 6 × 20 mm guns 2 × depth charge tracks

Namesake

Hunter Marshall III was born on 6 October 1917 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve on 12 July 1941. Called to active duty in September 1941, Marshall was appointed midshipman and attended Midshipman's School at New York City. He later attended Naval Armed Guard School and in April 1942 reported to United States Army Transport USAT Merrimack and took command of her Naval Armed Guard detachment.

Carrying military supplies to the Panama Canal Zone, Merrimack was torpedoed by the German submarine U-68 in the Caribbean south of the Yucatán Channel on 9 June 1942. Despite the danger of further attacks, Ensign Marshall led his Armed Guard gun crews in resistance to the submarine until the forward part of the sinking Merrimack was actually awash. Marshall was one of the last to leave the ship and was lost. He was listed as presumed dead on 10 June 1943. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

Construction and commissioning

Hunter Marshall was laid down as the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Hunter Marshall (DE-602) by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts. She was reclassified as a Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-112 during construction, and was launched on 5 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Hunter Marshall, mother of the ship's namesake, Ensign Hunter Marshall III. Hunter Marshall was commissioned on 17 July 1945.

Service history

Hunter Marshall got underway from Boston, Massachusetts, on 3 August 1945 to conduct shakedown training in Caribbean waters. Before she could complete this training, the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945 ended World War II.

Hunter Marshall arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 5 September 1945 and remained there until 10 October 1945, when she joined other fleet units at Boston for a triumphant Navy Day Presidential Review.

After calling at Norfolk, Hunter Marshall arrived at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 25 November 1945 for inactivation.

Decommissioning and disposal

Hunter Marshall was decommissioned at Green Cove Springs on 30 May 1946 and berthed there with the Florida Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She was stricken from the Navy List on 1 June 1960 and sold to the government of Ecuador in July 1961 for use as a floating power plant.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Photo gallery of USS Hunter Marshall at NavSource Naval History