Launched on 22 June 1944, the attack cargo ship Whitley (AKA-91) was commissioned into service on 21 September 1944. She soon sailed with cargo for Hawaii, arriving there on 27 November. She took part in amphibious training exercises for the remainder of the year and then sailed toward the western Pacific. The Whitley refueled and resupplied on 5 February at Eniwetok and then departed for the Marianas, conducting amphibious landing exercises at Saipan and Tinian, fine-tuning her operations in the process.
Arriving off Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, the Whitley disembarked elements of the 5th Marine Division. She stayed near Iwo Jima until 27 February, when she joined a convoy departing for Guadalcanal. She paused along the way at Espiritu Santo, picking up members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. On arrival, she replaced the disembarked New Zealanders with U.S. Marines and returned to Hawaii for repairs and training. After filling her cargo hold with ammunition in Bangor, Washington, she sailed to Pearl Harbor, arriving in July 1945. It was in Hawaii that she received word of the Japanese surrender.
After unloading occupation forces near Nagoya, Japan, her next priority was transporting Americans home from the war. She loaded up homeward-bound men in Guam and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 2 January 1946. Following the conclusion of the war, the Whitley made numerous round-trip voyages to Bremerhaven, Germany, between November 1946 and August 1947. Later she traveled extensively along the U.S. East Coast and in the Caribbean.
NATO operations took the Whitley on more frequent voyages to Europe. Her travels were finally brought to an end in January 1955. Decommissioned at Charleston, South Carolina, on 16 August 1955, she remained in reserve until 1 July 1960. She was loaned to the Italian Navy in 1962 and served there as the Etna (A5328). In 1973, the Whitley was sold to Italy and her name formally struck from the U.S. Navy list.
USS Whitley (AKA-91)
By Eric Wertheim
—Eric Wertheim