World War II Pacific Theatre operations USS Auriga (AK-98)

1 world war ii pacific theatre operations

1.1 serving south pacific bases
1.2 ship repairs @ pearl harbor
1.3 saipan invasion operations
1.4 invasion of philippines operations
1.5 damaged japanese plane attack
1.6 delivering cargo @ leyte gulf
1.7 lingayen gulf operations
1.8 luzon invasion operations
1.9 okinawa invasion operations
1.10 final wartime operations
1.11 end-of-war activity

world war ii pacific theatre operations

upon commissioning, cargo ship assigned naval transportation service. when conversion work had been completed, got underway on 6 june port hueneme, california, load cargo , departed u.s. west coast on 14 april, bound fiji islands. vessel reached viti levu, fiji islands, on 3 may , began discharging cargo. unloading completed on 28th, , reversed course , proceeded west coast of united states. upon arrival in san francisco, ship entered shipyard repair work completed july when auriga moved alameda, california, load equipment , supplies transportation new caledonia.

serving south pacific bases

the vessel put out sea on 19 july and, upon arrival @ nouméa on 7 august, unloaded cargo. completed task on 21 august , sailed once more fijis. ship touched @ suva on 24th; discharged equipment , supplies; and, 3 days later, began voyage united states. arrived @ san francisco on 13 september, reloaded holds, , moved san diego, california. on 1 october stood out sea, bound ellice islands.

auriga reached funafuti on 16th but, next day, moved on wallis island, samoa, , remained in port there through 12 november. returned funafuti, carried out cargo operations january 1944. on 17th, vessel got underway tarawa, gilbert islands, , spent next week unloading cargo despite frequent enemy bombing attacks. departed gilberts on 24th , headed hawaii.

ship repairs @ pearl harbor

the ship moored @ pearl harbor on 1 february , unloaded cargo before entering navy yard there repairs , alterations. on 22d, auriga moved honolulu loading operations , got underway on 29th eniwetok. reached destination on 11 march , began sending cargo , fresh water various small craft. ship took on army equipment , got underway kwajalein on 8 april. ship anchored off kwajalein on 10th , sailed 2 days later hawaii.

saipan invasion operations

shortly after returning pearl harbor, auriga slated take part in invasion of saipan in marianas. vessel began taking on army combat vehicles, ammunition, heavy artillery, , other supplies , embarked troops. on morning of 1 june, ship sortied task group (tg) 51.18. after pause @ kwajalein refuel, tg 58.18 arrived off saipan on 16th; , auriga began debarking troops , equipment. next day, ship retired saipan and, during next 8 days, steamed various task groups while awaiting orders return waters off embattled island.

on 25 june, auriga touched @ saipan , began unloading operations. despite enemy air harassment, completed process on 28th , left area. anchored @ eniwetok , remained there 1 month. ship weighed anchor on 27th , set course pearl harbor. after arrival there on 3 august, ship entered navy yard repairs , alterations.

invasion of philippines operations

on 31st, auriga sailed hilo, hawaii, embarked marines, combat equipment, , ammunition. ship headed toward pearl harbor on 6 september , got underway again on 15th, bound eniwetok. after briefly touching there, cargo ship routed on manus island, admiralties, staging point invasion of philippine islands. left manus on 14 october and, 6 days later, anchored in leyte gulf , commenced discharging cargo ashore.

damaged japanese plane attack

still off beachhead on 25 october, auriga underwent japanese air attack during commanding officer , 4 other crew members wounded. next day, set course peleliu in palaus. after one-day stop there, vessel proceeded hollandia, new guinea.

delivering cargo @ leyte gulf

following brief period in port, auriga assigned reinforcement group bound biak, schouten islands. upon arrival there, began loading cargo of vehicles , army air corps equipment. got underway on 14 november return leyte. vessel arrived in leyte gulf 4 days later , began sending cargo ashore. in spite of heavy enemy air activity, auriga completed task on 19th , left evening return hollandia.

lingayen gulf operations

the attack cargo ship remained there week before being ordered aitape, new guinea, take on equipment, ammunition, , army troops. got underway on 28 december , set course philippine islands , invasion of luzon. auriga assigned tg 78.5 ships reached lingayen gulf on 9 january 1945 , began unloading operations shortly after arrival. 3 days later, holds empty, , sailed leyte.

luzon invasion operations

while @ leyte, cargo vessel ordered begin preparations assault on luzon in san felipe-san narcisco area. auriga got underway operation on 26 january , arrived off west coast of luzon on 29th. unopposed landing completed on 31st, , ship returned leyte remained in upkeep march.

okinawa invasion operations

on 13 march, auriga began taking on cargo, , got underway on 27th. entered ulithi lagoon 3 days later, awaited further orders, , set sail on 7 april okinawa. vessel anchored off hagushi beach on 11th , encountered stiff enemy air opposition, managed discharge of passengers , cargo morning of 17th. 2 days later, left okinawa , returned ulithi.

final wartime operations

the ship paused there refuel , embark passengers transportation united states. got underway home on 25 april, sailed san francisco bay on 12 may, , shortly thereafter entered shipyard alterations , repairs. repairs , shakedown completed on 26 june, , resumed cargo operations. ship got underway on 8 july, shaped course marshalls, , during next month delivered cargo both eniwetok , kwajalein. auriga routed espiritu santo pick more cargo.

end-of-war activity

upon reaching espiritu santo on 15 august, ship received word of japanese capitulation. loaded supplies , equipment, got underway guam on 23d, , entered apra harbor on 1 september. there, took on cargo support occupation forces in japan. after brief stop @ iwo jima, auriga sailed japan.

the vessel reached yokosuka on 12 october , began discharging supplies ashore. later embarked army , navy personnel transportation united states. ship left japan on 27 november , proceeded pearl harbor. sailed on panama canal zone, transited canal on 27 december, , continued on east coast of united states. auriga reached new york city on 3 january 1946; discharged passengers, cargo, , ammunition; , began preparations deactivation.