Attack Transport Sanborn (APA-193)

Sanborn

Country	United States
Ship Class	Haskell-class Attack Transport
Hull Number	APA-193
Builder	Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard
Laid Down	10 Mar 1944
Launched	19 Aug 1944
Commissioned	3 Oct 1944
Decommissioned	14 Aug 1946
Displacement	6,720 tons standard; 14,837 tons full
Length	455 feet
Beam	62 feet
Draft	24 feet
Machinery	1 Allis-Chalmers geared turbine, 2 Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 1 propeller
Power Output	8,500 shaft horsepower
Speed	19 knots
Crew	536
Armament	1x5in DP, 4x40mm (twin), 10x20mm
Troop Capacity	1562
Cargo Capacity	150,000 cubic feet, 2,900 tons
Landing Craft	2 LCM, 12 LCVP, 3 LCPU
Recommissioned	6 Jan 1951
Final Decommission	11 May 1956

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSanborn was commissioned in Oct 1944 with Commander Sidney Hugenin of the United States Naval Reserves in command. She embarked her landing craft at San Francisco, California, and conducted her shakedown and amphibious training off San Pedro, California and San Francisco, respectively. She brought a construction battalion to Pearl Harbor, arriving on 15 Dec 1944, then embarked Army troops and Marines for Saipan for the upcoming Iwo Jima invasion on 19 Feb 1945. During that invasion, she lost ten of her landing craft, one by enemy fire and nine broached in the surf. On 28 Feb 1945, she transferred 232 casualties for the Mariana Islands. In late Mar 1945, she participated in an amphibious operation meant to deceive the Japanese of the real primary objective of Okinawa; she remained in Okinawa area until 11 Apr. Near the end of the war, she transported troops between United States and various Pacific islands. After the war, she first transported troops to Japan for occupation duty, then participated in Operation Magic Carpet to bring troops back to the United States. She was decommissioned from WW2 service in Aug 1946.

ww2dbaseSanborn was recommissioned in Jan 1951 and served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, performing amphibious training and transport duties. In 1955, she was used by Universal International Pictures in the film Away All Boats. Her final decommission took place in May 1956. She was scrapped in 1971.

ww2dbaseSource: United States Navy.

Last Major Revision: Mar 2007

Attack Transport Sanborn (APA-193) Interactive Map

Photographs

See all 34 photographs of Attack Transport Sanborn (APA-193)

Maps

Diagram of Iwo Jima invasion beaches with lines of approach used by boats from APA Sanborn drawn by Lieutenant Commander Howard W. Whalen after WW2

Sanborn Operational Timeline

3 Oct 1944	Sanborn was commissioned into service.
14 Aug 1946	Sanborn was decommissioned from service.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Therese Olsen says:
27 May 2007 09:28:08 PM

Would like to hear from anyone who may have known my father, Orland C. Vangsness, who was the captains secretary. He was from Green Bay, WI.

Thank you.

2. Joel Gurian says:
4 Aug 2009 07:46:16 AM

Would like to hear from anyone who knew my dad, Irving Gurian who served on the USS Sanborn in WWII. He is in very poor health and i am wfriting his story..

3. larry helmsAnonymous says:
29 Nov 2009 01:34:02 PM

I would like to hear from anyone who new my dad JW Helms.He drove one of the LC boats at Iwo Jima.He was from the panhandle of Texas.

4. Steve Rosenstein says:
26 Dec 2009 03:06:57 PM

Joel Gurian - My father knew an Irving Gurian as a teenager at the Bronx YMHA circa 1941 and the Irving my father knew was best man at his wedding.

My email address is steven424 *AT* earthlink.net.

5. CDR Erik Horner says:
17 Feb 2011 01:26:45 PM

To anyone with a connection to the USS SANBORN, I am the current CO of Navy Recruiting District Raleigh (Raleigh, NC) and the ship's bell from the SANBORN is one of the historical items that we have within our command's spaces. We are in the process of establishing some history of the SANBORN to place adjacent to the bell and would love to get any additional photos or testimonials about the ship from previous crewmembers to help bring the bell "to life" and reveal the story behind the bell.

6. Katie Hunter says:
6 Nov 2011 06:54:42 PM

My brother was on the USS Sanborn, he is 87 years old and in good health. He just returned from Washington DC to see the WW2 memorial and was very impressed and thankful for being able to see it. He lives in Arkansas.

7. Anonymous says:
12 Dec 2012 11:54:15 AM

My Great Grandfather was the Co

8. Son of Iwo Vet says:
6 Mar 2016 12:53:08 AM

A website with 15 color photos of the Iwo Jima landings says "...they were taken by an officer from the USS Sanborn, an APA. He had a personal camera, and nice one. The marines were not supposed to have personal cameras...don't know if that rule applied to the USN. The USS Sanborn carried units from the 4th Marine Division."

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=140293

My Dad was in the 4th MarDiv and I have been looking at Iwo Jima pictures for over 70 years. These were new to me and very good quality. He wasn't on the Sanborn though.

9. Suzanne F. Isaacs says:
4 Dec 2016 07:42:09 PM

My dad served on the USS Sanborn asa Gunner's Mate. His name is Victor Vinyard, but he is deceased. He said that he had watched the raising of the flag on Iwo from the ship.

10. Anonymous says:
11 Feb 2017 09:12:01 PM

My Grandfather was Arthur L Spraker from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. He too served on the Sanborn and told me stories of how he witnessed the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima from the boat...

11. Sally Roberts says:
25 Nov 2017 06:04:33 PM

My father John Cummings Jr. served on the Sanborn and also saw the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. It wan't until late in his life that he spoke of it.

12. Anonymous says:
12 Jan 2023 08:31:39 PM

My Father Wayne Ehrhard served on the Sanborn.

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