USS Tollberg

	, USS Tollberg in December 1945
History
Name	USS Tollberg
Namesake	Watertender Second Class Maynard W. Tollberg (1904-1943), a U.S. Navy sailor and Navy Cross recipient
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down	30 December 1943
Launched	12 February 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Maynard W. Tollberg
Commissioned	31 January 1945
Decommissioned	20 December 1946
Reclassified	From destroyer escort (DE-593) to high-speed transport (APD-103) 17 July 1944
Stricken	November 1964
Honors and; awards	One battle star for World War II service
Fate	Transferred to Colombia 14 August 1965; in Colombian Navy service as ARC Almirante Padilla (DT-03); stricken and scrapped 1973
Notes	Laid down as Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Tollberg (DE-593)
General characteristics
Class and type	Crosley-class high speed transport
Displacement	2,130 long tons (2,164 t) full
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	12 ft 7 in (3.84 m)
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Troops	162
Complement	204
Armament	list error: <br /> list (help); • 1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun; • 6 × 40 mm guns; • 6 × 20 mm guns; • 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Tollberg (APD-103), ex-DE-593, was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946.

Construction and commissioning

Tollberg was laid down as the Rudderow-class destroyer escort USS Tollberg (DE-593) on 30 December 1943 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., at Hingham, Massachusetts, and was launched on 12 February 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Maynard W. Tollberg. The ship was reclassified as a Crosley-class high-speed transport and redesignated APD-103 on 17 July 1944. After conversion to her new role, she was commissioned on 31 January 1945 with Lieutenant Commander Edward F. Butler, USNR, in command.

Tollberg stood out of Boston, Massachusetts, on 18 February 1945 for shakedown training off Bermuda. She left Bermuda on 9 March 1945 and arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 11 March 1945.

On 25 March 1945, Tollberg got underway to escort attack cargo ship USS Rankin (AKA-103) to the Panama Canal Zone. Tollberg transited the Panama Canal on 31 March 1945 and on 1 April 1945 proceeded independently to California. She reached San Diego, California, on 9 April 1945 and, on 15 April 1945, departed for Hawaii.

Tollberg arrived at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 22 April 1945, but left again on 4 May 1945 and proceeded via Eniwetok to Ulithi Atoll. She got underway on 31 May 1945 with destroyer escort USS Cross (DE-448) to escort the landing craft repair ships USS Poseidon (ARL-12) and USS Minotaur (ARL-15) and tanker USS Moose (IX-124) to Okinawa, where the Okinawa campaign was in progress. She arrived at the Hagushi beach area on 4 June 1945 and was assigned to picket duty in the antiaircraft and antisubmarine screen. Tollberg had only one opportunity to fire her guns at the enemy, at a distant Japanese aircraft.

On 8 August 1945, Tollberg and destroyer escort USS Abercrombie (DE-343) joined battleships USS California (BB-44) and USS Nevada (BB-36) to screen them on a voyage to the Philippine Islands. On 9 August 1945, Tollberg rescued a pilot from California whose float plane had swamped while taxiing in to be picked up. The warships arrived at Leyte in the Philippines on 11 August 1945, and Tollberg remained there until 20 August 1945. World War II ended during her stay at Leyte with the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945.

Tollberg departed the Philippines on 20 August 1945 to escort a convoy to Okinawa and returned to Leyte on 29 August 1945. Between 20 September 1945 and 3 October 1945, she escorted Transport Squadron 14 to Wakayama Bay, Japan, and back to Leyte. On 2 November 1945, she left Manila, Luzon, to carry passengers to Okinawa and, after escorting amphibious force command ship USS Estes (AGC-12) to Shanghai, China, disembarked them at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on 7 November 1945. On 12 November 1945, she was back at Manila. Between 24 November 1945 and 26 November 1945, she embarked 156 passengers at Samar in the Philippines for passage to the United States East Coast.

Departing Samar on 27 November 1945, Tollberg called at Eniwetok, Pearl Harbor, San Diego, and the Panama Canal Zone before arriving at Norfolk, Virginia, on 30 December 1945. She remained at Norfolk until 26 March 1946, when she headed for the West Indies. After two months in the Caribbean, she was at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York, from 20 May 1946 to 24 July 1946. She then entered the Charleston Naval Shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina, for preservation work which continued from 26 July 1946 to 12 November 1946. Tollberg then moved on to Green Cove Springs, Florida, arriving there on 13 November 1946.

Tollberg was decommissioned at Green Cove Springs on 20 December 1946 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet on the St. Johns River there. In September 1959, she was towed from Mayport, Florida, to Sabine Pass, Texas, and laid up with the Texas Reserve Group of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Tollberg was stricken from the Navy List in November 1964

Tollberg was transferred to Colombia under the Military Assistance Program on 14 August 1965. She served in the Colombian Navy as ARC Almirante Padilla (DT-03) until stricken and scrapped in 1973.

Tollberg received one battle star for her World War II service.