USS Southampton ( AKA - 66 ) USS " Southampton " ( AKA - 66 ) was a of the United States Navy , named after Southampton County , Virginia . " Southampton " was designed to carry military cargo and landing craft , and to use the latter to land weapons , supplies , and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations . She served as a commissioned ship for 21 months . " Southampton " was laid down as a Type C2 - S - AJ3 ship on 26 May 1944 under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 1390 ) by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company , Wilmington , North Carolina . Launched on 28 July 1944 , co - sponsored by Ens . Rama V . Blackwood , USNR ( W ) ; Dorothy Lazair , Y1C , USNR ( W ) , and Mary Blackwell , Y2C , USNR ( W ) ; and acquired by the Navy on loan - charter and placed in commission on 16 September 1944 , Comdr . Elias M . Doar , Jr . , USNR , in command . " Southampton " proceeded to Charleston , South Carolina , where she was decommissioned on 18 September to complete fitting - out . On 8 October , she was recommissioned at Charleston , and Lt . Comdr . Lester V . Cooke , USNR , assumed command . Service history . World War II , 1944 – 1945 . She arrived at Norfolk , Virginia , on 22 October and conducted shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay from 24 October to 2 November . The attack cargo ship got underway for the Canal Zone on 5 November ; transited the canal during the night of 12 and 13 November ; and headed for the Hawaiian Islands . Iwo Jima . " Southampton " entered Pearl Harbor on 26 November and , for the next two months , participated in amphibious exercises in the islands . She departed Pearl Harbor on 27 January 1945 with members of the 25th Regiment , 4th Marine Division , embarked . The AKA arrived at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on 5 February and , two days later , headed on to Saipan . She made Saipan on the 11th , conducted final invasion rehearsals off Tinian between the 13th and 15th , and got underway for Iwo Jima the following day . " Southampton " entered her assigned transport area off Iwo Jima on 19 February . She lowered landing craft and dispatched them to other ships of the division to ferry the assault troops to the beach . " Southampton " sustained her only casualties of the Iwo Jima assault during the initial landings when a mortar shell exploded close aboard one of her LCVP ' s and wounded the coxswain and a seaman . During the last two weeks in February , the attack cargo ship joined in unloading troops and supplies and embarking casualties from the fighting ashore . These operations were frequently interrupted by enemy air activity . On 1 March , " Southampton " sailed for the Marianas . Okinawa . " Southampton " arrived at Saipan on 4 March , disembarked the wounded marines and sailors ; and , by the 11th , began loading the combat cargo of the 2nd Marine Division . She conducted more rehearsal landings off Tinian until the 27th , and then she sailed for the Ryukyus . On 1 April 1945 , she and the other ships of her task group arrived off the southeastern coast of Okinawa to feign an attack and retire . At dawn during the approach , a suicide plane crashed into and " Southampton " dispatched her landing craft to assist in the transfer of " Hinsdale " s troops to other ships . The next day , the task group made another feint at Okinawa . Before retiring to an area 150 miles from Okinawa , " Southampton " fired her guns at the enemy for the only time during the war . A Japanese plane flew over the formation and , though fired upon by all ships , escaped into the clouds apparently undamaged . The ships cruised around the holding area until 11 April . They encountered mines , underwent air alerts , and escort units made sonar contacts , but the group saw no action save the destruction of mines . The task group returned to Saipan on 14 April , disembarked the marines , and unloaded its cargo . " Southampton " remained at Saipan until 4 June , when she was ordered to the South Pacific to pick up cargo for the Marianas . Over the following two and one - half months , she made two such voyages to the South Pacific and back to the Marianas . During the Nouméa to Kwajalein leg of the return voyage of her second run , she received news of the end of hostilities . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1946 . " Southampton " departed Kwajalein on 18 August and reached Saipan on the 22nd . She discharged some of her cargo , sailed for Guam , and arrived there on 3 September . On the 9th , she sailed for the Philippines to embark elements of the 81st Infantry for passage to Japan . She arrived at Leyte on 12 September and , on the 18th , departed for Aomori . The attack cargo ship remained in Japan until 30 September , when she sailed for Leyte . En route , she was diverted to Tokyo Bay to avoid a typhoon and , on 3 October , her destination was changed to Manila where she arrived on the 14th . Following a return voyage to Tokyo Bay and Yokohama , " Southampton " embarked 264 servicemen and got underway on 11 November for San Francisco , California . Diverted to Portland , Oregon , while en route , she arrived there on the 23rd and remained almost two months for repairs and alterations . " Southampton " stood out of Portland on 11 January 1946 and arrived in San Francisco on the 13th . There she loaded cargo and mail before heading west on the 27th . The attack cargo ship stopped at Eniwetok from 9 to 15 February to discharge cargo and arrived at Guam on the 18th . For almost a month , she discharged and loaded cargo at Guam . On 16 March , she headed back to San Francisco . Ten days later , her destination was changed to Port Hueneme , California . " Southampton " was at Port Hueneme for the first ten days of April before putting to sea on her final voyage . On 10 April , she headed south to the Canal Zone ; transited the canal on the 20th ; and arrived in Baltimore on the 27th . Decommissioning and disposal . " Southampton " was decommissioned at St . Helena , Virginia , on 21 June 1946 , and she was delivered to the War Shipping Administration for disposal on the 22nd . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 3 July 1946 and sold into civilian service with American Export - Isbrandtsen Lines . Her new owners renamed her SS " Flying Clipper " . Awards . " Southampton " earned two battle star s during World War II .