USS Appalachian, a 13,910-ton amphibious force flagship, was built under Maritime Commission contract at Kearny, New Jersey. She was acquired by the Navy in February 1943, about a month after launching. After conversion at Brooklyn, New York, Appalachian was placed in commission in October 1943. Transferred to the Pacific soon after her shakedown cruise, she served as a command ship for the invasion of Kwajalein in January-February 1944. Subsequently, Appalachian supported amphibious assaults at Guam in July, Leyte in October 1944 and Lingayen Gulf in January 1945.

Following a west coast overhaul, Appalachian returned to the combat zone just as the Pacific War was approaching its end. In September-November 1945, she participated in the occupation of Japan, then returned to the United States. During Operation "Crossroads", the atomic bomb tests at Bikini in May-July 1946, she was employed as press headquarters ship. Later in the year, she served as a fleet flagship while based in San Diego, California. USS Appalachian was decommissioned in May 1947. Following almost a dozen years in the Reserve Fleet, she was stricken from the Navy list in March 1959 and sold for scrapping.