USS Rogers Blood (APD-115)

History
United States of America
Name	Rogers Blood
Namesake	First Lieutenant Rogers Blood (1922-1944), a U.S. Marine Corps officer and Silver Star recipient
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down	12 April 1945
Launched	2 June 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. Robert M. Blood
Commissioned	22 August 1945
Decommissioned	19 March 1946
Reclassified	From destroyer escort DE-605 to fast transport APD-116 17 July 1945
Stricken	1 June 1960
Fate	Sold for scrapping 14 December 1961
General characteristics
Class and type	Crosley-class high-speed transport
Displacement	1,400 tons
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	12 ft 7 in (4 m)
Installed power	12,000 shaft horsepower (16 megawatts)
Propulsion	2 × Foster Wheeler DR boilers; 2 × General Electric turbines, (turbo-electric drive); 2 shafts;
Speed	23.6 knots (27.2 mph; 43.7 km/h) (trial)
Range	6,000 nautical miles (11,112 kilometers) at 12 knots (22.25 kilometers per hour)
Boats & landing ; craft carried	4 LCVPs
Capacity	Six 1/4-ton trucks, two 1-ton trucks, four ammunition carts, four pack howitzers, 6,000 cubic feet (170 m3) ammunition, 3,500 cubic feet (99 m3) cargo, 1,000 cubic feet (28 m3) gasoline (petrol)
Troops	12 officers, 150 enlisted men
Complement	12-15 officers; 189-192 enlisted men;
Armament	1 × 5"/38 dual-purpose gun mount; 3 × twin 40-millimeter gun mounts; 6 × single 20-millimeter gun mounts; 2 × depth charge tracks;

USS Rogers Blood (APD-115), ex-DE-605, was a United States Navy Crosley-class high speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946.

Construction and commissioning

Originally, Rogers Blood was planned to be the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Rogers Blood (DE-605), and was laid down as such on 12 April 1945 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard at Hingham, Massachusetts. She was launched on 2 June 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Robert M. Blood. Rogers Blood was re-classified as a Crosley-class fast transport and redesignated USS Rogers Blood (APD-115) on 17 July 1945. She was commissioned on 22 August 1945 with Commander John W. Higgins, Jr., USNR, in command.

Service history

On 8 September 1945, Rogers Blood departed Boston, Massachusetts, for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where she completed a six-week shakedown cruise, and was then ordered to Chester, Pennsylvania, to participate with the submarine USS Sabalo (SS-302) in Navy Day ceremonies which brought approximately 40,000 persons as visitors. She was in the Norfolk Navy Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, from 31 October 1945 to 15 November 1945, then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. On 18 November 1945 she arrived at the St. Johns River in Florida for lay-up.

Decommissioning and disposal

Rogers Blood was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 19 March 1946 and berthed at Green Cove Springs, Florida, where she remained until stricken from the Navy List on 1 June 1960. She was sold on 14 December 1961 to the Southern Scrap Material Company of Louisiana for scrapping.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive USS Rogers Blood (APD-115)