USS Belle Grove (LSD-2) was an of the United States Navy, named in honor of Belle Grove Plantation, the birthplace of President James Madison (1751–1836) in Port Conway, Virginia.
Belle Grove was laid down on 27 October 1942 by the Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California; launched on 17 February 1943, sponsored by Mrs. George M. Lowry; and commissioned at Oakland on 9 August 1943.
World War II
Following her shakedown cruise in the waters off southern California, Belle Grove sailed for Pearl Harbor on 21 October 1943. Upon arrival, the dock landing ship conducted several rehearsals for the upcoming invasion of the Gilbert Islands. In early November, she loaded troops and equipment and set sail for Makin Island. Arriving in the lagoon off Makin on 20 November, she unloaded her embarked troops and LCMs without incident later that morning. In company with Transport Division 20 (TransDiv 20), the ship cleared the island group that evening, returning to Pearl Harbor on 2 December.
1944 Belle Grove underwent repairs and alterations at that base before taking part in amphibious rehearsals at Maalaea Bay, Maui. On 22 January 1944, after embarking troops of the Army's 7th Infantry Division, she sailed for the Marshall Islands. The ship supported the seizure of Kwajalein Atoll, delivering troops and equipment ashore on 31 January, and then served as a floating dry dock and boat pool for the numerous landing craft required in an amphibious operation. These duties lasted until 8 February when she got underway for Pearl Harbor.
With her transport capabilities needed in the Solomons, Belle Grove headed for the Southwestern Pacific on 2 March. After a brief refueling stop at Funafuti in the Ellice Islands, she unloaded troops, vehicles, and other equipment at Guadalcanal. The dock landing ship then took on a cargo of pontoon barges and pilings intended for a motor-torpedo-boat base under construction at Emirau in the Bismarck Archipelago just north of New Ireland. On 25 March, despite heavy seas that wrenched her stern gate from its hinges, the LSD delivered the cargo to that island. After returning to Tulagi for fuel, she proceeded to Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides for repairs. On 22 April, she steamed to Florida Island to deliver a cargo of landing craft. The ship also carried troops and equipment between Manus Island and the Russell Islands before turning north for Oahu.
Reaching Pearl Harbor on 17 May, Belle Grove began preparations for the upcoming invasion of the Marianas. She embarked troops of the 4th Marine Division and vehicles (LVTs and LVTAs) of the Army's 534th Amphibious Tractor Battalion. She also replaced her own boats with these more efficient landing craft. The ship sailed with TransDiv 26 in early June and arrived off Saipan on the morning of the 15th. Belle Grove disembarked the marines and the LVTs, and sent them shoreward without mishap. As intense fighting continued ashore for several weeks, the dock landing ship served as a floating "garage" to service and fuel the numerous landing craft needed to shuttle vital reinforcements and supplies to the beachhead. Shortages of repair force ratings and machine shop equipment, however, did hamper her repair efforts.
Temporarily assigned to TransDiv 32 on 15 July for the planned occupation of nearby Tinian Island, Belle Grove went alongside SS Dominican Victory on 15 July to load 9,500 rounds of 75-millimeter tank ammunition. Two days later, she received 2,215 five-gallon (20 L) cans of water from . And on the 22nd, LCMs brought 18 Sherman tanks out to Belle Grove. Two days later, at dawn on the 24th, the dock landing ship arrived off White Beach 2. The ship ballasted down, flooding her well-deck, and lowered her stern gate to launch the tank-carrying landing craft. The operation passed without incident until one LCM's ramp dropped as it went over the sill and it quickly filled with water. Fast work by Belle Grove'''s deck crew saved both the LCM and its valuable cargo, and the rest of the landing went smoothly.
The dock landing ship returned to Saipan for a second load of LCMs that afternoon and made the trip back to Tinian the following morning. Although mortar fire from shore forced her to retire seaward, Belle Grove resumed unloading cargo late on the 25th. She went to Saipan again in the evening, loaded a third cargo of LCMs, and returned to Tinian the next morning. During the ensuing unloading operation, rough seas caused a water surge in the well deck that slammed several landing craft against the cargo deck. The aftermost LCMs dropped their ramps and filled with water, sinking in the well deck. Salvage work quickly restored the craft to service, however, and the unloading continued without incident. Later that afternoon, DUKWs from the beach came alongside to receive tank ammunition and water, then the ship returned to Saipan. On 28 July, after Belle Grove delivered another cargo of water and ammunition to Tinian, she formed up with TransDiv 7 and began the voyage to Hawaii.
After arriving at Pearl Harbor in mid-August, the dock landing ship received a badly needed hull cleaning and other voyage repairs. Following amphibious exercises off Maui in the first week of September, Belle Grove embarked 20 LCMs, heavy equipment, and Army troops, before sailing on 15 September with TransDiv 28. She paused at Eniwetok from 25 to 28 September to replenish stores and fuel before getting underway for the Admiralties. Arriving at Seeadler Harbor on 3 October, the ship again replenished stores and fuel while both crew and troops went ashore for exercise and recreation. Underway again on the 14th, she set a course for the Philippines.Belle Grove joined the massive amphibious force off Leyte on 20 October, ballasted down early that morning, and discharged her tank-loaded LCMs as part of the eighth assault wave. She then dispatched her boats to assist other ships in unloading cargo. The ship remained in Leyte Gulf until 22 October when, partly owing to the threat from Japanese surface forces, she departed the area. The dock landing ship reached Hollandia on the 27th and loaded supplies for a return trip to Leyte. Over the next month, she made four more supply runs shuttling from New Guinea to Leyte, before loading three tank landing craft at Sansapor for the invasion of Luzon. Underway 30 December, she joined Task Group 38.5 (TG 78.5) for the journey to Lingayen Gulf.
1945 En route, Belle Grove observed Japanese air attacks on nearby ships, witnessing suicide planes crashing LST-912 and attack transport on 8 January 1945. The tank landing ship fired at the latter's attackers and claimed hits "though not sufficient to divert the plane and prevent its crash-dive on Callaway. Belle Grove herself escaped the attention of the kamikazes and arrived in Lingayen Gulf early on the 9th. She then anchored and began discharging her LCTs and DUKWs in the rendezvous area. Despite considerable air activity, the dock landing ship remained unscathed and, after a week of operations at Abuyo and San Pedro Bay, proceeded to Ulithi where she arrived on the 23rd.
Assigned to Operation Detachment, the planned invasion of Iwo Jima, the ship steamed to Guam on 7 February, loaded equipment, and shifted to Saipan the following day. She loaded LCMs laden with Marine Corps tanks before sailing for Iwo Jima on the 16th. After unloading her cargo on 19 and 20 February, Belle Grove served as a small craft control and "drydock" vessel in the transport area. She repaired landing craft damaged by both Japanese gunfire and the heavy surf of Iwo Jima's beaches. The ship remained off the island for a month, repairing 199 small craft of all types, before steaming for the Marianas on 20 March. Touching at Guam and Eniwetok, she reached Pearl Harbor on 8 April.
She remained there until 3 June, undergoing repairs and alterations, while a large proportion of her crew were discharged or reassigned. After taking on their replacements, Belle Grove received orders to transport landing craft from the Marshalls and the Marianas to the Philippines. She made two runs to Samar in June and July before turning toward the New Hebrides on 9 August. She reached Espiritu Santo on the 14th and began loading more landing craft. The next day, however, the end of hostilities with Japan interrupted this task. Instead, after departing Espirito Santo on 27 August, the dock landing ship carried passengers and cargo to Hollandia, then to Biak, and on to the Philippines. On 27 September, she departed Leyte for Okinawa, reaching her destination on the 30th.
Although Belle Grove avoided injury in Typhoon Louise, which struck Okinawa in early October, many other ships and small craft suffered severe damage from that storm. The dock landing ship remained in Buckner Bay for almost two months, using her machine shop and well-deck to dock and repair 163 landing craft of all types. Finally released for other duty, the ship embarked replacements for veteran troops in China and steamed for Shanghai on 23 November. Lingering in that port for only three days, Belle Grove sailed down the coast to Hong Kong for rest and recreation before streaming the "Homeward Bound" pennant on 6 December. After refueling stops at Samar and Eniwetok, the LSD reached San Diego on New Year's Day 1946. The ship then underwent a preservation overhaul before being decommissioned on 30 August 1946. She was berthed with the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego.
1950 – 1952
The outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950 prompted the dock landing ship's return to service. Ordered activated on 7 August 1950, Belle Grove was recommissioned at San Diego on 27 December 1950. Upon completion of her shakedown training, she departed San Diego on 16 April 1951, transited the Panama Canal two weeks later, and reached Norfolk on 4 May. The LSD participated in several amphibious exercises that summer before proceeding to Baltimore, Maryland, where she remained in overhaul from 28 June and 29 September. Following those repairs, Belle Grove returned to Norfolk on 1 October. She sailed for the West Indies on the 11th, visiting Bermuda and Puerto Rico and then conducting training operations off Vieques Island until 5 November. After additional training off Onslow Beach, N.C., the ship returned to Norfolk on 18 November and remained in port through the end of the year.
On 7 January 1952, Belle Grove departed Norfolk for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. During the course of her deployment, as part of TransDiv 33, the ship visited Italy, Crete, and Sardinia and participated in NATO Exercise "Grand Slam." She wound up her deployment with visits to Beirut, Lebanon, late in April and to Cannes, France, early in May. Departing southern France on the 8th, the ship returned across the Atlantic, arriving at Morehead City, N.C., to drop off marines on 22 May. She then resumed operations with 2d Fleet, carrying out amphibious training off Virginia and the Carolinas into September. Ranging farther afield, Belle Grove also shuttled troops and equipment between Norfolk, Morehead City, and Vieques. She stopped at Trujillo, Dominican Republic, between 2 and 5 November, and at Newport, Rhode Island, on 1 and 2 December, before returning to her home port for the holidays on the 4th.
1953 – 1955