The second Navy ship to be named
Fuller was laid down in 1918 as
War Wave at the
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Alameda Works Shipyard yard as hull # 169 for the
British Shipping Controller, London, requisitioned during construction and completed 1919 by the
United States Shipping Board (USSB) as
Archer assigned official number 217596. Renamed
City of Newport News on acquisition by the
Baltimore Mail S.S. Co. in 1930. Transferred to the Navy 12 November 1940; and commissioned in ordinary for conversion the same day; and commissioned in full 9 April 1941. She was reclassified from AP-14 to APA-7 on 1 February 1943. The conversion added in length to allow more cargo and marines to be carried.
Pre–World War II North Atlantic operations After training her crew in the operation of
landing craft,
Fuller arrived at
Charleston, South Carolina, for duty in the
Atlantic Fleet 15 June 1941. She sailed from Charleston 22 June in the
convoy carrying the first marine troops to the occupation of
Iceland, from which she returned to
Norfolk, Virginia, 22 July. Training operations with marines on the
North Carolina coast, and with her division in the Norfolk area, continued until her departure from
Hampton Roads 5 December 1941 to transport marines to
Cuba, the
Canal Zone, and
Puerto Rico. She returned north for exercises with soldiers in
Lynnhaven Roads, then between 19 February 1942 and 25 March, carried troops and cargo to
Northern Ireland.
Pacific War Fuller sailed from Norfolk 10 April 1942 for
Wellington, New Zealand, arriving 22 May.
Solomon Islands Campaign She landed
U.S. Marines and their equipment in the initial assault on
Guadalcanal 7 August, and through the next months continued to sail out of Wellington to bring reinforcements and supplies to Guadalcanal and South Pacific bases, often coming under Japanese air attack. As
U.S. Army troops relieved the battle-weary marines on Guadalcanal,
Fuller carried soldiers from
Noumea and
Suva to Guadalcanal. In May 1943 she sailed to
Pearl Harbor to load marines for transportation to
Australia, then returned to her transport duties from
New Zealand and Australia to South Pacific bases. On 28 October 1943,
Fuller sailed from
Efate,
New Hebrides, for the initial landings on
Bougainville, where she landed
Marine raiders on
Cape Torokina 1 November. Laden with casualties, she cleared the assault beaches the same day for
Tulagi and
Purvis Bay. Returning to Bougainville's
Empress Augusta Bay anchorage with reinforcements 8 November,
Fuller came under enemy air attack, receiving a direct hit on her port side which set her afire and killed five of her crew and two soldiers embarked. She returned to
Purvis Bay 2 days later to repair battle damage, and twice more during the following month and a half carried reinforcements to
Bougainville.
Marianas and Peleliu After a
U.S. West Coast overhaul between 18 January 1944 and 20 March,
Fuller trained at
San Diego, California, and in the
Hawaiian Islands for the
Marianas assault. She sailed from
Pearl Harbor 29 May for
Saipan, where on the morning of 15 June she staged in a feint landing before putting her troops ashore in the actual assault. Ordered away from the island for safety during the
Battle of the Philippine Sea,
Fuller completed unloading her cargo 24 June, and sailed for
Eniwetok with
prisoners of war on board. For the invasion of
Tinian, 24 July 1944,
Fuller again staged a diversionary feint at landings, then landed her marines next day as reinforcements. She returned to
Espiritu Santo 9 August with casualties, then loaded troops and cargo in the
Russells for landing exercises on Guadalcanal.
Fuller carried the same men to the
assault on Peleliu on 15 September, and after offloading all her cargo and receiving casualties, sailed for
Hollandia, arriving 25 September for drills in anticipation of the
Leyte assault. She landed troops successfully in
San Pedro Bay,
Leyte, in the initial assault of 20 October, then sailed at once for
Humboldt Bay to load reinforcements and supplies, with which she returned to San Pedro Bay 14 November.
Philippine Island After preparations at
Manus and
New Guinea,
Fuller once again launched her landing craft for the assault in
Lingayen Gulf,
Luzon, 9 January 1945, putting out the next day for
Leyte to load reinforcements. These she landed at
Lingayen, then sailed back to Leyte and on to
Ulithi to load marines for exercises at
Guadalcanal. Returning to Ulithi 21 March,
Fuller sailed 6 days later for the invasion of
Okinawa, off which she arrived during the initial landings of 1 April. However, she did not land her men until the 7th, and 2 days later she sailed for the west coast, and an overhaul completed in July. Arriving at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 2 days after hostilities ceased,
Fuller carried out occupation transport assignments until returning to
Seattle, Washington, 3 December 1945.
Decommissioning and fate There she was decommissioned 20 March 1946, and transferred to the
Maritime Commission 1 July 1946. She was sold for scrapping, 22 April 1957, to Dulien Steel Products Co., Seattle, Washington (USA). ==Military awards and honors==