USS Earheart

USS Earheart (APD-113), ex-DE-603, was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946.

History
United States
NameUSS Earheart (DE-603)
NamesakeJames E. Earheart, Jr.
BuilderBethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down20 March 1945
ReclassifiedAPD-113, while under construction
Launched12 May 1945
Sponsored byMrs. James Earheart
Commissioned26 July 1945
Decommissioned29 April 1946
Stricken12 December 1963
FateTransferred to Mexican Navy, 12 December 1963
Mexico
NameARM Papaloapan (H04)
NamesakePapaloapan River
ReclassifiedB04
Fateran aground, 1976
Stricken1976
General characteristics
Class and typeRudderow-class destroyer escort, as ordered
Class and typeCrosley-class high speed transport, as completed
Displacement2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam37 ft (11 m)
Draft12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops162
Complement204
Armament

Namesake

James Edward Earheart Jr. was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 25 April 1913 and was of German descent. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on 7 January 1942. During Operation Torch, the Allied amphibious landings in North Africa, on 8 November 1942, Private First Class Earheart was a member of a naval antisabotage party embarked in a British warship which was damaged during the entry into Oran, Algeria. Heroically, he volunteered, in the face of continuous Vichy French shelling, to swim to a harbor tug whose movements were endangering the men abandoning the warship. He was killed in this effort. Earheart was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions at Oran.

Construction and commissioning

Earheart was laid down as the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Earheart (DE-603) on 20 March 1945 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts. She was reclassified as a Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-113 during construction, and was launched on 12 May 1945, sponsored by Mrs. James Earheart, mother of the ship's namesake, Private First Class James E. Earheart, Jr. Earheart was commissioned on 26 July 1945.

Service history

Earheart conducted shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during which World War II ended with the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945. She then moved to Providence, Rhode Island, to celebrate Navy Day on 27 October 1945. Earheart then moved on to Green Cove Springs, Florida, for inactivation.

Decommissioning and disposal

Earheart was decommissioned at Green Cove Springs on 29 April 1946 and berthed there with the Florida Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in the St. Johns River. She was stricken from the Navy List on 12 December 1963.

Mexican Navy service

Earheart was transferred to Mexico on 12 December 1963. In Mexican Navy service she was named ARM Papaloapan (H04) after the Papaloapan River. She was later assigned the new pennant number of B04. Papaloapan ran aground in 1976 and was discarded by the Mexican Navy and scrapped that year.

References

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