NEVILLE APA 9
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
- Heywood Class Transport
- USS INDEPENDENCE ID-3676 Commissioned November 18 1918
- INDEPENDENCE (Commercial Service) Returned to USSB for merchant service
- CITY OF NORFOLK (Commercial Service) Acquired in 1930 by The Baltimore Mail Steamship Co., rebuilt and renamed
- USS NEVILLE AP-16 Commissioned Transport (AP) May 14 1941
- USS NEVILLE APA-9 Reclassified Amphibious Attack Transport (APA) February 1 1943
Keel Laid 1918 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Alameda, CA
Ordered as Three Masted Screw Steamer WAR HARBOUR by the British Shipping Controller, London
Requisitioned by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) and completed as INDEPENDENCE on 16 November 1918
Acquired by U.S. Navy 1918
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS)
Decommissioned March 20 1919
Official Number: 217172
Reacquired by U.S. Navy December 14 1940
Decommissioned April 30 1946
Returned to Maritime Commission July 16 1946
Towed to the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, VA., berthed, 19 July 1946
Struck from Naval Register August 15 1946
Scrapped 1957
This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Neville Covers Page 1 (1941-45)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
|
Postmark Type |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
Post Office Established May 15 1941 - Disestablished April 30 1946
|
Locy Type |
1941-05-14 |
 |
 |
First Day in Commission
Unlisted in USCS Postmark Catalog
|
Locy Type |
1944-03-13 |
 |
 |
Note:
|
Locy Type |
1945-12-22 |
 |
 |
As APA-9
|
Locy Type |
1941-08-06 |
 |
 |
As AP-16
Sender's address on back with ship's name.
|
Locy Type |
1941-11-24 |
 |
 |
AS AP-16
Registered, Air Mail letter. Stamps are neatly struck with a bulls-eye killer.
|
Locy Type |
1941-11-24 |
 |
|
Back of the Nov 24 1941 Registered letter showing 2 more strikes of the T-9v postmark, 1 strike of the "Embarkation Station", Brooklyn NY postmark dated Nov 24 1941, and 2 strikes of the 'Registered' Bremerton Washington postmark dated Nov 26 1941.
|
Locy Type |
1941-06-17
|
 |
 |
Note:
|
Locy Type |
1941-06-17
|
 |
|
Note:
|
Locy Type Fz |
1941-05-23 |
 |
 |
As AP-16
Cachet by Dr. S. E. Hutnick
|
Locy Type Fz |
1941-05-27 |
 |
 |
As AP-16
|
Locy Type |
1941-05-27 |
 |
|
Note:
Other Information
INDEPENDENCE - Earned the World War I Victory Medal
NEVILLE earned the following awards during her Naval career: American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal
NAMESAKE - Wendell Cushing Neville, born at Portsmouth, Va., May 12 1870, entered the U.S. Naval Academy September 12 1886 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps July 1 1893. In February 1914, Neville, a veteran of the Spanish-American War and the Boxer Rebellion, was promoted to Lt. Colonel and ordered to sail for Vera Cruz, Mexico. There he led his regiment in the landing operations which resulted in the capture of that city, April 21-22. For his conspicuous courage, coolness and skill during those operations he received a commendatory letter from the Secretary of the Navy and was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Promoted to Colonel, August 1916, he was transferred overseas, December 1917, to command the 5th Regiment. In Europe, he put that organization through its final training and then led it into battle, commanding at Verdun and at Belleau Wood. Promoted to Brigadier General, he commanded the brigade which led in the Battle of Soissons (Marbache sector), the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge (Champagne sector), the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the march to the Rhine, and, finally, the occupation of a sub-sector in the Coblenz Bridgehead. Continuing his service after occupation duty, he was appointed Major General, December 10 1923, and became the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, March 5 1929. Maj. General Neville died July 8 1930 and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. {DANFS}
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