The USS Storm King (AP-171) was a Storm King class auxiliary transport built during World War II, primarily designed as a troop carrier. Constructed under a U.S. Maritime Commission contract, she was laid down on July 20, 1943, by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in Wilmington, North Carolina. The vessel was launched on September 17, 1943, and delivered to the Navy on December 3, 1943, officially commissioning the following day. Following her commissioning, Storm King was moved to Staten Island for conversion into a troop transport. She departed New York on March 3, 1944, for shakedown training out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and was assigned to the Naval Transportation Service on April 6. Her initial operational deployment saw her transporting troops and cargo to Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on May 1, 1944. She participated in rehearsals and subsequent amphibious assaults in the Mariana Islands, notably supporting the invasion of Saipan beginning on June 15, 1944, and later the Peleliu and Angaur campaigns in the Palau Islands. Throughout 1944 and early 1945, Storm King was actively involved in various Pacific operations, including troop landings at Leyte, Mindoro, and Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines. She also participated in the Iwo Jima campaign, offloading Marines of the 5th Marine Division during March 1945. Her service included transporting troops, equipment, and cargo across various strategic locations, supporting major amphibious assaults. In her later service, Storm King continued shuttling troops and supplies between the Philippines, Hawaii, and the U.S. West Coast. Notably, she was involved in an incident off Manila on September 26, 1945, when she collided with a small banca, capsizing the vessel but rescuing all but one of the 19 persons aboard. Decommissioned shortly after the war, on August 15, 1946, Storm King was struck from the Navy List and returned to the Maritime Administration. She earned four battle stars for her World War II service, marking her as a significant vessel in the maritime logistics and amphibious campaigns of the Pacific Theater.

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