POST WWII
/ PRE KOREA II
JAN
1946 “MAGIC CARPET”
Departing San Francisco, 1 January
1946, CAVALIER steamed direct
to Samara, Philippine Islands, thence to Guam, Marianna
Islands and from there
to Eniwetok and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands. Embarking military passengers at each
of these ports, she then
steamed via Pearl Harbor to debark her "magic carpet"
passengers at San Francisco on
22 February 1946. She remained
for repairs and on 16 April 1946,
Captain Kenneth Earl, USN, relieved Captain
Carl E. Guisness, USCG, and all duties
aboard CAVALIER were
assumed by officers and men of the U. S. Navy,
replacing her Coastguard crew. This same day
CAVALIER steamed for refresher
training at San Diego, California.
On
5 May 1946, CAVALIER departed San Diego for a tour of the Far East, arriving at Shanghai, China on 24
May. Rear Admiral B. J.
Rodgers hoisted his flag on CAVALIER on 28 May and
she became flagship
of Commander Amphibious Group 3, serving for
the remainder of this tour, and at
times as f lagship of Rear Admiral T.
G. W. Settle,Commander Amphibious Force, SEVENTH FLEET and Amphibious Forces, Western
Pacific. She remained on China Station until 7 April 1947 with principal
operations between the
ports of Tsingtao, Shanghai, and Chinwangtao, carrying
troops, supplies and equipment,
intervened by a visit to Jinsen, Korea on
14 September 1946, in conjunction with an
inspection tour of Naval
Bases in Korea and China by Commander Amphibious Group 3.
APR
- JUL 1947 – MAR 1948
Departing Chanwangtao, China on 7 April
1947 with Marine
personnel and cargo for transportation to Guam, she
arrived 14 April.
After loading 557 men of the llth Marines with
their equipment she sailed 17 April to
arrive at San Diego on 30 April
1947. CAVALIER remained at San Diego until 28 May,
then steamed for
overhaul in the Terminal Island Shipyard from 2 June
through 6 September 1947.
While in overhaul status, on 20 June 1947, Commander Arthur R. Johnson, USN, relieved
Captain Kenneth Earl, USN.
On 22 July 1947, Commander Johnson was relieved by Captain C. L. Clement, USN.
Upon completion of overhaul, CAVALIER returned to her base at San Diego and
maintained a schedule of
training operations off Coronado Roads and San
Clemente Island until 25
March 1948, when she departed for another tour of the Far East.
APR 1948 – FEB 1950
Steaming via Pearl Harbor (1-3 April), CAVALIER arrived at Guam, Marinanas Islands on 13 April 1948.
Here she embarked troops of the Ninth Marines and after
amphibious training exercises off
Pago Bay, departed 22 April for Tsingtao, China,
arriving 30 April to serve as a
unit of Amphibious Group 3. Based at Tsingtao
during the entire tour, she twice
transported tons of rice
furnished by the American relief agencies at Shanghai, for use of by thousands of Chinese refugees in
Tsingtao. On 29 July 1948, Captain
E. W. Armentrout, Jr., relieved Captain C. L. Clement, USN. CAVALIER departed Tsingtao
on 14 December and returned to
Long Beach, California on 29 December
1948. She underwent
overhaul in the Long Beach Naval
Shipyard; then continued
operations while based at San Diego. On 16
March 1949, she sailed for
Guam, returning to San Diego on 23 April with 1150 men of the First Provisional Brigade and 57 of
their dependents. On
2 June 1949, she sailed for Hilo, Hawaii and
upon return to
Oakland, 2 July, Captain S. S. Bowling relieved
Captain E. W.
Armentrout, Jr., USN. She continued local
operations at San
Diego until 12 September,
then sailed for Olympia, Washington, arriving 16 September to embark elements
of the Second Army
Division from Fort Lewis, Washington. She then sailed
to take part in
a full-scale assault exercise on the Island of
Oahu (Operation Mike), returning to
debark the troops at Olympia on 16
November 1949. She resumed operations out of San
Diego, making one
voyage to Guam and returning with Marine
passengers (15 January - 11
February 1950). She departed San Diego on 3 April 1950 for another tour of the Far East.