History
United States
Name	USS Sappho
Namesake	The asteroid Sappho
Builder	Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down	12 December 1944
Launched	3 March 1945
Commissioned	24 April 1945
Decommissioned	23 May 1946
Stricken	15 October 1946
Fate	Sold for scrap in 1965
General characteristics
Class and type	Artemis-class attack cargo ship
Type	S4–SE2–BE1
Displacement	4,087 long tons (4,153 t) light 7,080 long tons (7,194 t) full
Length	426 ft (130 m)
Beam	58 ft (18 m)
Draft	16 ft (4.9 m)
Speed	16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph)
Complement	303 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber gun mount 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts 10 × 20 mm gun mounts

USS Sappho (AKA-38) was an Artemis-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1965.

History

Sappho (AKA-38) was named for the minor planet 80 Sappho, which in turn was named for the Greek poet Sappho. She was laid down on 12 December 1944 under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1899) by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I.; launched on 3 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. J. G. Stone; and commissioned on 24 April 1945.

After shakedown, Sappho sailed on 28 May 1945 from Norfolk, with cargo and personnel for Honolulu, where she arrived on 18 June. On 29 June, she got underway for Palmyra Atoll and Fanning Island, returning to Honolulu on 11 July. The ship began amphibious training off Maui Island on 4 August but terminated the exercises shortly after the Japanese capitulation in mid-August. On 1 September, she departed Pearl Harbor with occupation troops for Japan, arriving at Sasebo on 22 September. She then made a trip to Manila, returning to Sasebo on 20 October where she reported for "Magic Carpet" duty. Sappho made two voyages carrying troops home; one from Sasebo, Japan, and one from Shanghai, China, before she was released from "Magic Carpet" duty at Seattle on 10 January 1946.

Sappho was decommissioned on 23 May 1946 at Seattle, struck from the Navy list on 15 October 1946, and delivered to the Maritime Commission's reserve fleet at Olympia, Washington, on 13 January 1947. She was sold by the Maritime Administration on 7 September 1965 to Zidell Explorations, Inc., for scrapping.