USS Harry L. Corl (APD-108)


USS Harry L. Corl at Attu, sometime between September and November 1945
Career
Name: USS Harry L. Corl
Namesake: Ensign Harry L. Corl (1914-1942), a U.S. Navy officer and Navy Cross recipient
Builder: Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down: 19 January 1944
Launched: 1 March 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. Marie Mohr
Commissioned: 5 June 1945
Decommissioned: 21 June 1946
Reclassified: From destroyer escort (DE-598) to high-speed transport (APD-108) 17 July 1944
Struck: 15 January 1966
Fate: Transferred to South Korea May 1966; served as ROKS Ah San (PG-82), later APD-82, later APD-823, later DE-823; deleted 1984 and scrapped
Notes: Laid down as Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Harry L. Corl (DE-598)
General characteristics
Class and type: Crosley-class high speed transport
Displacement: 2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length: 306 ft (93 m)
Beam: 37 ft (11 m)
Draft: 12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops: 162
Complement: 204
Armament: • 1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun
• 6 × 40 mm guns
• 6 × 20 mm guns
• 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Harry L. Corl (APD-108), ex-DE-598, was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946.

Contents

Construction and commissioning

Harry L. Corl was laid down as the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Harry L. Corl (DE-598) on 19 January 1944 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts, and was launched on 1 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Marie Mohr, the sister of the ship's namesake, Ensign Harry L. Corl. The ship was reclassified as a Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-108 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, she was commissioned on 5 June 1945 with Lieutenant W. G. Jenckes in command.

Service history

Following her shakedown training in the Caribbean, Harry L. Corl departed Norfolk, Virginia, for the United States West Coast on 4 August 1945. She arrived at San Diego, California, on 19 August 1945, four days after the end of World War II.

Harry L. Corl was assigned the duty of carrying supplies and men to northern Pacific ports. Arriving at Seattle, Washington, on 26 August 1945, she took on passengers and equipment for northern weather stations. She arrived at Dutch Harbor, Territory of Alaska, on 1 September 1945 and at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Soviet Union on 6 September 1945. There she unloaded cargo and helped to establish a weather station.

Harry L. Corl made three more supply voyages from Attu in the Aleutian Islands to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and then steamed to Seattle on 21 November 1945. After a voyage to Alaskan ports with passengers she returned to Seattle on 11 January 1946.

Scheduled for inactivation, Harry L. Corl then set course for San Francisco, California. She departed San Francisco on 26 February 1946 bound for the United States East Coast. She arrived at New York City on 20 March 1946 and at Green Cove Springs, Florida, on 12 April 1946.

Decommissioning and disposal

Harry L. Corl was decommissioned at Green Cove Springs on 21 June 1946 and subsequently was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, where she remained, inactive, for more than 20 years. Her name was stricken from the Navy List on 15 January 1966.

Republic of Korea Navy service

Harry L. Corl was delivered to South Korea in May 1966. In the Republic of Korea Navy, she served as ROKS Ah San (PG-82). Over her years of service, Ah San's designation was changed from PG-82 to APD-82, then to APD-823, and finally to DE-823.

The Republic of Korea Navy deleted Ah San in 1984. She subsequently was scrapped.

References