Shadwell (LSD 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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Q. .. Q .1 fl, The keel was laid in NewportNews,Virginia,during February 1944. On May 24, Hull 407 was christen- ed USS SHADWELL, Landing Ship Dock 15, and on June 24, SHADWELL was commissioned in the U. S. Navy in the Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia. Her design was conceived by the British, and SHADWELL was originally contracted for delivery to the United Kingdom, but she has never sailed under any flag but ours. SHADWELL is the first ship to bear the name, which commemorated the birthplace and early home our third president, Thomas Jefferson. The ship's first assignment was to ioin Task Force 78 in the South Pacific. In December 1944, after em- barking units of an Army Engineering Battalion, SHADWELL participated in the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Her guns remained silent during the entire voyage to the obiective area due to the extreme effec- tiveness of the screening units. However,onD-Day,January 9, 1945, after unloading her troops and cargo, SHADWELL bagged a Japanese Zero fighter. Later in January 1945, SHADWELL, in company with Task Group 78.8, was torpedoedby enemy air- craft. The fish tore a gaping, 60 foot hole in her starboard side, lust forward of amidships. The crew, x 'thiI7OUgh'alm'osf miraculous effort, had her steaming under her own power shortly after sunrise the follow- ing morning, with no fatalities and only three iniuries. After brief stops for temporary repairs, SHADWELL returned to Bremerton Navy Yard in Washington for required permanent repairs. She had only been in commission one year, and she had little time at sea, but SHADWELL received much praise from Fleet Ad- miral NIMITZ. After two months in Bremerton, SHADWELL sailed to join Admiral HALSEY's Third Fleet in July 1945. ln August of the same year she was among the first units to enter Tokyo Bay, where she remained until May 1946 to perform occupational duties. SHADWELL ioined the Reserve Fleet in July 1947, but on September 20, 1950, was called upon once again to serve, this time as an active unit of the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force. The decade of the 50's was very eventful for SHADWELL. She took part in full scale exercises off the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean, participated in Arctic operations, had a maior overhaul in 1952 which added the superdeck and flag quarters, was introduced to the Sixth Fleet in the Med in 1956p and finally