View source for USS General H. W. Butner

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|Ship image= USS General H. W. Butner APA-113.jpg
|Ship caption= USS ''General H. W. Butner'' (AP-113) underway
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|Ship country= [[United States]]
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name= USS ''General H. W. Butner''
|Ship namesake= General [[Henry W. Butner]] (1874–1937)
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|Ship builder= [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company|Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock]]
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|Ship launched= 19 September 1943
|Ship sponsor= Mrs John J. McCloy
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|Ship acquired= 5 December 1943
|Ship commissioned= 11 January 1944
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|Ship decommissioned= 28 January 1960
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|Ship reclassified= AP-113 to T-AP-113, October 1949
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|Ship identification=*[[United States Maritime Commission|MC]] hull type P2-S2-R2,
*MC hull no. 671
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|Ship honors= Two [[service star]]s for the [[Korean War]]
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|Ship fate= Scrapped in [[Taiwan]], 1977
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|Ship class= {{sclass|General John Pope|transport|2}}
|Ship type= [[troopship]]
|Ship displacement=*11,450 tons (lt)
*20,175 tons fully laden
|Ship length= {{convert|622|ft|7|in}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|75|ft|6|in}}
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|Ship power= 17,000 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shp]]
|Ship propulsion= 2 [[Steam turbine#Marine propulsion|steam turbines]], [[Transmission (mechanics)#Simple|reduction gearing]], twin [[Propeller (marine)|screw]]
|Ship speed= {{convert|19|to|20.6|kn|km/h}} (sources vary)
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|Ship capacity= 5,289
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|Ship complement= 477
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|Ship armament= 4 x single [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38 caliber]] dual purpose guns, 4 x quad [[1.1"/75 caliber gun|1.1" guns]], 20 x single [[Oerlikon 20mm cannon|20mm guns]]
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'''USS ''General H. W. Butner'' (AP-113)''', named for [[Henry W. Butner]], was a [[troopship]] that served with the [[United States Navy]] in [[World War II]] and the [[Korean War]]. She was redesignated '''T-AP-113''' in October 1949.
''General H. W. Butner'' was launched by the [[Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Company]] of [[Kearny, New Jersey]], 19 September 1943 under [[Maritime Commission]] contract for the Army; acquired by the Navy 5 December 1943; placed in ferry commission the same day for transfer to the [[Maryland Drydock Company]] of [[Baltimore]], for conversion to a [[Troopship|troop transport]]; and placed in full commission 11 January 1944.
==World War II==
After shakedown in [[Chesapeake Bay]], ''General H. W. Butner'' sailed 23 February 1944 from [[Norfolk, Virginia]] carrying troops to [[Morocco]]. Arriving [[Casablanca]] 3 March, the ship returned to Norfolk for another load of troops, and sailed again for Casablanca, arriving back at Norfolk 20 April.
After only three days in port ''General H. W. Butner'' sailed again, this time eastward to the [[West coast of the United States|West Coast]]. Her ports of call on this long voyage were [[Durban, South Africa]]; [[Bombay]]; [[Melbourne, Australia]]; and [[San Pedro, Los Angeles]], where she arrived 1 July. The transport then retraced her steps to Melbourne and Bombay, arriving off the [[India]]n coast 26 August. From there she returned to Melbourne with troops and sailed for California via [[Nouméa]] and [[Efate]], [[New Hebrides]]. She arrived in San Pedro 6 October 1944.
Continuing the vital work of ferrying troops to and from the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Theater]], ''General H. W. Butner'' departed San Pedro 21 October 1944, called at Melbourne, Bombay, [[Sydney]], and Nouméa, and returned to San Pedro 7 January 1945. Departing San Francisco 17 February, she brought troops to [[Finschafen]], [[Jayapura|Hollandia]], [[Leyte]], [[Manus Island]], [[Guadalcanal]], and many other islands, as the amphibious advance through the Pacific reached its final phase.
She returned to San Francisco 12 May, departed 20 May for the [[Panama Canal]], and from there steamed to [[Le Havre, France]]. The far-ranging transport departed [[France]] with troops 12 June, and arrived back in Norfolk 20 June. Thus she completed a circuit of the earth, though, in the meantime, she had steamed a distance equal to six times its diameter while supporting wartime operations.
''General H. W. Butner'' made one more voyage before the end of the Pacific war, redeploying troops from the [[European Theater]]. She sailed from [[Marseilles]] 7 July, via the Panama Canal, for [[Ulithi]] and [[Eniwetok]], finally arriving [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] 1 September. She then returned to the United States, arriving [[Seattle]] 24 September.
===After hostilities===
The ship also served as a troopship in the occupation of [[Japan]], leaving San Francisco 5 January 1946 she made four voyages carrying troops to the Pacific stopping at [[Yokohama]], [[Shanghai]], [[Qingdao]], and other ports in support of [[United States|US]] efforts to stabilize the [[China]] situation and to occupy Japan.
==Postwar service==
She sailed for [[Boston]] from [[California]] early in 1947 for conversion to a combination dependent and troop transport, emerging 28 June and returning to San Francisco. In the next two years she operated in the Pacific between [[Guam]] and San Francisco, carrying dependents and servicemen to stations in the [[Far East]]. Transferred to the [[Military Sea Transportation Service]] (MSTS) under Navy captain and crew in October 1949, she departed for Norfolk via the Panama Canal and [[Bermuda]], arriving 10 January 1950. She then operated in the [[Caribbean]] until 11 April, when she departed for [[San Diego, California]]. ''General H. W. Butner'' arrived San Diego 24 April, and on 10 May made another Pacific cruise which lasted until her return to the West Coast 12 June.
==Korean War==
Before the month ended, the [[Korean War]] broke out, and ''General H. W. Butner'' was one of the handful of ships immediately available. She promptly returned to Guam with vitally needed troops; returned to the West Coast for more troops; and headed for Japan, arriving Yokohama 31 August to prepare for the [[Inchon]] landing. This daring amphibious operation took the [[communist]] troops by surprise and forced them to abandon the ground they had taken in South Korea and to retreat north across the [[38th parallel north|38th Parallel]]. Arriving off the beach 16 September, troopship ''General H. W. Butner'' landed her troops in this important action, and then departed for Japan. The last day of the year saw her depart from Okinawa for San Francisco.
In 1951 the ship continued to sail from California to Yokohama and Guam in support of the [[United Nations|UN]] war effort in [[Korea]] until she left San Francisco for [[Galveston, Texas]], 29 June.
==Later service==
From there the ship continued to [[Bremerhaven, Germany]], and thence to [[New York City|New York]], mooring 5 September 1951. In the following months she carried troops and dependents to the [[Mediterranean]] and back, then departed for the Pacific again 19 February 1952. Transiting the Panama Canal from New York, she arrived at Yokohama 19 March, and 3 days later began the long trip back to Panama. From the [[Panama Canal Zone|Canal Zone]], ''General H. W. Butner'' sailed to [[La Pallice]], France, and to Bremerhaven, where she embarked passengers for New York.
''General H. W. Butner'' began a regular schedule from [[Brooklyn, New York]], to [[Southampton]] and Bremerhaven soon afterward, supporting American military commitments in Europe. Except for occasional visits to the Mediterranean (June 1953 and September–October 1959) and to the Caribbean (November 1956 and November 1958) she continued this run until decommissioning.
Delivered transport from Bremerhaven Germany, arriving at port of New York, NY 6 March 1953.<ref>Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897. Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. Microfilm Publication T715, 8892 rolls. NAI: 300346. Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives at Washington, D.C. Supplemental Manifests of Alien Passengers and Crew Members Who Arrived on Vessels at New York, New York, Who Were Inspected for Admission, and Related Index, compiled 1887-1952. Microfilm Publication A3461, 21 rolls. NAI: 3887372. RG 85, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; National Archives, Washington, D.C.</ref>
==Decommission==
''General H. W. Butner'' was decommissioned 28 January 1960 at [[Bayonne, New Jersey|Bayonne]]. She was turned over to the [[Maritime Administration]] (MARAD), and in March 1960 entered the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]], berthed in the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], Virginia.
She was sold for scrap for $604,050 to Luria Brother and Co. on 17 November 1976, and scrapped in [[Taiwan]] the next year.
==Awards==
''General H. W. Butner'' received two [[service star]]s for [[Korean War]] service.
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==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/ap113.htm ''General H. W. Butner'' AP-113] - DANFS Online.
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22113.htm USS ''General H. W. Butner'' (AP-113)], Navsource Online.
{{DANFS}}
{{General John Pope class transport}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:General H. W. Butner (AP-113)}}
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:General John Pope-class transports|H. W. Butner (AP-113)]]<!-- different sortkey since all begin with "General…" -->
[[Category:Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]