The USS Cambria (APA-36) was a Bayfield-class attack transport built for the U.S. Navy during World War II, originally launched as SS Sea Swallow on 10 November 1942 by the Western Pipe and Steel Company in San Francisco under a Maritime Commission contract. She was acquired by the Navy on 4 May 1943, initially placed in partial commission, and then decommissioned for conversion into an attack transport. Fully recommissioned on 10 November 1943, she served until 1970. Constructed as a sizable and capable vessel, the USS Cambria was designed to carry troops, equipment, and landing craft for amphibious assaults. Her service record includes participation in critical Pacific campaigns: she departed Norfolk in December 1943, arriving at Pearl Harbor on New Year’s Day, and quickly moved into action. She served as the flagship for the Majuro Attack Group during the Marshall Islands invasion in early 1944. After overhaul and training, she took part in the Marianas campaign, notably the assaults on Saipan and Tinian, where she served as flagship and evacuated casualties—embarking over 1,300 during these operations. In October 1944, Cambria was involved in the Leyte invasion, landing troops and evacuating wounded, and supported the Lingayen Gulf landings in January 1945. She prepared for the Okinawa campaign, staging at Ulithi before landing troops at Okinawa on 1 April 1945, completing her unloading two days later. Post-war, she participated in the redeployment of forces in the Far East and was part of Operation Magic Carpet, bringing U.S. troops back home from Japan, China, and the Philippines. After the war, the vessel operated out of Norfolk with the Atlantic Fleet, and was recommissioned during the Korean War period in 1950. She engaged in various operations, including landings during the Suez Crisis in 1956, Mediterranean deployments, and support during the Lebanon crisis in 1958. She was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Decommissioned on 14 September 1970, the USS Cambria was transferred to MARAD, struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1971, and subsequently scrapped. Throughout her service, she earned six battle stars for World War II and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for her role in the Cuban Missile Crisis, marking her as a significant vessel in U.S. naval amphibious operations across three decades.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.