USS Anne Arundel ( AP - 76 ) USS " Anne Arundel ( AP - 76 ) " was an American transport ship that was built in 1940 and scrapped in 1970 . Originally laid down as the Mormacyork , she was later named after Anne Arundel County , Maryland . Annapolis is the county seat there , the state capital , and also the home of the Naval Academy . " Anne Arundel " earned five battle stars for her World War II service . Operational history . Pre - World War II . " Mormacyork " was a type C3 ship laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 43 ) on 18 July 1940 at Kearny , New Jersey , by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company . Launched on 16 November 1940 ; sponsored by Mrs . William T . Moore , she was owned and operated by Moore - McCormack Lines , and ran voyages from the east coast of the United States to South American and Mediterranean ports . World War II . She was acquired by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration on 13 September 1942 and converted for naval service as a transport at Brooklyn , by the Robbins Shipbuilding & Drydock Co . ; and commissioned on 17 September 1942 , under Commander Lunsford Y . Mason , Jr . Operation " Torch . The new transport was renamed " Anne Arundel " and designated AP - 76 . On 22 September , she proceeded to Norfolk , Virginia , to load cargo and ammunition and then held shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay . On 23 October , she left the east coast to rendezvous with Task Group ( TG ) 34 . 8 , which had been formed to invade French Morocco in Operation " Torch " . " Anne Arundel " arrived in the transport area off the Moroccan coast on 8 November and began discharging Army troops and supplies . This process continued until the 15th , when the ship moored at Casablanca . Unloading continued at dockside through the 17th , when she got underway in a convoy returning to the United States . Upon arriving back at Norfolk on 2 December , the vessel was temporarily assigned to the Naval Transportation Service . The next day , she sailed to Brooklyn , N . Y . , to undergo extensive alterations and repairs at the Atlantic Basin Iron Works . The yard work was completed in early January 1943 , and the transport began taking on cargo and troops . On 14 January , she sailed with a convoy on the first of a series of three voyages to Oran , Algeria . In April , while engaged in this service , the ship reported for duty to Amphibious Forces , Atlantic Fleet . Operation " Husky " . Instead of returning home from the last eastward transatlantic crossing which ended at Oran on 22 June , " Anne Arundel " got underway on 5 July to take part in Operation " Husky " - the Allied invasion of Sicily . On the 9th , the vessel anchored off Scoglitti , Sicily , with Transport Division 5 and , the next day , began debarkation operations . She completed unloading on the 13th and reversed her course back to Oran . She paused there to take on personnel for transportation to the United States and then sailed on the 22nd . The ship reached New York City on 3 August . Following voyage repairs , the transport left the east coast on 21 August and headed back toward Algeria . She arrived at Oran on 2 September , unloaded her cargo , and returned to New York . " Anne Arundel " got underway again in early October and touched at Belfast , Northern Ireland , on the 17th before proceeding on to Gourock , Scotland , to discharge cargo . The vessel sailed on 27 October , shaped a course for Algeria , and remained in port at Algiers for one week before sailing for the United States . She reached New York on 11 December . The transport began the year 1944 with a voyage to England . She touched at Liverpool on 9 January , debarked some troops , and moved on to Belfast the next day . The ship sent more troops and supplies ashore there before returning to the United States . She continued her supply runs between New York City and Great Britain through early June . Among her ports of call were Newport , Wales ; Portland and Plymouth , England ; and Loch Long , Firth of Clyde , Scotland . In mid - April , " Anne Arundel " arrived at Plymouth to begin rehearsals for the upcoming invasion of the European continent at Normandy . Operations " Neptune " and " Dragoon " . On 5 June 1944 , the ship left Portland with Task Force 124 and headed for the transport area off Omaha Beach in northern France as part of Operation " Neptune " . She began debarking troops at 0646 on " D - Day " , 6 June , and completed the process later that day . The vessel then reversed her course , steamed to England , and moored at Portland on the 7th . " Anne Arundel " took on cargo at Avonmouth , England , later that month and got underway for Algeria on 3 July . She paused at Oran before sailing on to Naples , Italy . At that port , she took troops and supplies on board in preparation for the invasion of southern France , Operation " Dragoon " . On 15 August , " Anne Arundel " arrived in the Baie de Pampelonne off the coast of Provence in France and began discharging troops ashore that same day . The transport left the area on the 16th and set a course for Oran . She returned to the French coast on 30 August and moored in the Baie de Cavalaire to unload vehicles and troops to reinforce Allied positions . During the next one and one - half months , the vessel made several resupply runs from Naples and Oran to Marseille , France . She completed her last trip to France on 15 October and set a course for the United States . Pacific . " Anne Arundel " touched back at New York City on 8 November and entered a shipyard for repair work before resuming cargo loading operations . She left the east coast on 18 December , bound for the Pacific . The transport transited the Panama Canal on Christmas Day ; joined the Pacific Fleet ; and continued on to San Francisco , California , where she embarked several hundred marines . She then made another stop at San Diego , California , to take on supplies and naval passengers . The ship left the west coast on 14 January 1945 and reached Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , six days later . The vessel got underway again on the 22 to carry supplies and troops to Guam and Ulithi . At Guam , she took on marine and naval casualties for transportation to Hawaii . After making a brief call at Eniwetok , " Anne Arundel " arrived back at Pearl Harbor on 22 March . The vessel was in upkeep for approximately one week before once more beginning cargo loading operations . She left Hawaii on 7 April with troops for the Ryukyu campaign embarked ; made stops en route at Eniwetok and Ulithi before arriving in the transport area off Hagushi beach on Okinawa on 3 May . For the next five days , the ship debarked troops , provisioned various landing craft , and received casualties on board . She paused at Saipan on 12 May to send wounded troops to hospitals on the island and then continued sailing eastward to the United States . The transport reached San Francisco on 28 May . After a period of upkeep , " Anne Arundel " began taking on equipment and supplies for transportation to forward areas in the Pacific . She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 18 June ; then shaped a course for the Philippines . On 9 July , the ship reached Leyte , where she was assigned to duty as a receiving ship . She remained at Leyte until 8 August , the day she got underway for the Admiralty Islands . The ship was in port at Manus when the Japanese surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945 . " Anne Arundel " returned to Leyte on the 23rd . After taking on personnel and supplies , she left Philippine waters and headed for the Japanese home islands . She moored at Yokohama , Japan , on 13 September and reported for duty with Transport Squadron 24 to support occupation forces ashore . After unloading her holds , the ship left Japan on 19 September and sailed for Apra Harbor , Guam . Post World War II . Having taken on another load of troops and cargo , " Anne Arundel " sailed to Tsingtao , China . After discharging her passengers there , the ship proceeded to the Philippines . From Manila , she got underway on 30 October with TG 78 . 6 , bound for French Indochina . " Anne Arundel " reached Hai Phong on 2 November and began embarking elements of the Chinese 52nd Army and their equipment for transportation back to China . She arrived at Chinwang ' tao on the 12th . Having disembarked her passengers , the vessel left Chinese waters two days later and proceeded to Nagoya , Japan . There , the transport embarked several hundred military personnel and sailed for the United States on 5 December . She arrived at Tacoma , Washington , on the 18th ; remained in availability at Tacoma through late January 1946 ; and then got underway to sail to the east coast . The vessel retransited the Panama Canal on 14 February and joined the Atlantic Fleet . " Anne Arundel " arrived at New York City on 21 February and began preparations for deactivation . She was decommissioned at Brooklyn on 21 March 1946 and turned over the War Shipping Administration for disposal . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 12 April 1946 . Returned to her prewar owners and refurbished for merchant service , the ship operated as " Mormacyork " until laid up around 1962 . She remained on contemporary merchant vessel registers , inactive , until she was sold to the Lotti S . p . A , of Italy , on 1 July 1970 , and broken up for scrap .