Carpellotti, originally designated
DE-720, a , was re-designated as
APD-136, a fast transport, on 17 July 1944, even before being laid down on 31 October 1944 at the
Defoe Shipbuilding Company, in
Bay City, Michigan. She was launched on 10 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. S. Carpellotti. Builders trials before her pre-commissioning cruise were done in
Lake Huron. After completion,
Carpellotti sailed from the builder's yard at Bay City to
Chicago, Illinois. From there, she went through the
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and down the
Chicago River to
Joliet, Illinois, where pontoons were attached to the ship so it could be pushed down the
Des Plaines River,
Illinois River, and
Mississippi River as part of a barge train. After arriving at the
Todd Johnson Shipyard in
Algiers, Louisiana, on the west bank of the Mississippi at
New Orleans, the rest of the crew reported aboard, and
Carpellotti was commissioned at New Orleans on 30 July 1945.
Service history As it was completed too late for active participation in
World War II,
Carpellotti remained on active duty with the
Atlantic Fleet, based in
Norfolk,
Virginia. Following a
midshipman's cruise to
English and
French ports from 24 June through 2 August 1947, she was immobilized with a skeleton crew at
Yorktown, Virginia, until 3 February 1948. Resuming active service,
Carpellotti operated from Norfolk on amphibious assault exercises along the United States East Coast and in the
Caribbean. In the summer, she made midshipman cruises to
European ports, and in 1948 made a good-will tour to the
Persian Gulf. She also took part in
North Atlantic Treaty Organization exercises: in 1952 in the first NATO amphibious "
Operation Mainbrace"; and in 1955 and 1957 during her tours with the
6th Fleet in the
Mediterranean.
Decommissioning and fate Carpellotti was placed out of commission in reserve at Norfolk on 21 April 1958, and laid up in the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet.
Carpellotti was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Registry on 1 December 1959. She was sold 20 June 1960, for $141,474 to
Diamond Manufacturing Company of
Savannah, Georgia, and used in the construction of the
Norfolk-
Portsmouth, Virginia bridge and tunnel project. In 1966, she was sold by Diamond Manufacturing to
Boston Metals Company,
Baltimore, Maryland, for scrapping. ==Awards==