Bayfield Class Attack Transport :
· Laid down as Sea Needle, under a contract at Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Francisco, CA.
· Launched, 29 December 1942
· Assigned to the Navy as Naval Transport(AP-83)
· Reclassified Attack Transport(AKA-38), 1 February 1943
· Recommissioned USS Chilton (APA-38), 7 December 1943, under Commander A. C. Geisenhoff
· During World War II Chilton was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, and participated in the assault and occupation of Okinawa 26 March to 30 April 1945
· Reclassified an Amphibious Transport(LPA-38), 1 January 1969
· Decommissioned in August 1971
· Struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1972
· Transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
· Final Disposition, sold by MARAD, 15 July 1974, to Ships Incorporated of Camden, N.J., for scrapping
· Chilton earned one battle star for World War II service
Specifications :
Displacement 8,100 t.(lt) 16,100 t.(fl) Length 492' 6" Beam 69' 6" Speed 18 knots
Complement 51 Officers, 524 Enlisted Flag Accommodation 43 Officers, 108 Enlisted
Troop Accommodation 80 Officers, 1,146 Enlisted
Armament: two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts one fore and one aft
two single 40mm Antiaircraft gun mounts
two twin 40mm Antiaircraft gun mounts
eighteen single 20mm Antiaircraft gun mounts