The USS Brule (APA-66) was a Gilliam-class attack transport ship of the United States Navy, named after Brule County in South Dakota. It was laid down on 22 July 1944 by the Consolidated Steel Corporation in Wilmington, California, launched on 7 October 1944, and commissioned on 23 December 1944.
The ship was designed to transport and land troops during amphibious operations, primarily in the Pacific Theater during World War II. With a displacement of approximately 6,800 tons (full load), a length of 455 feet (139 meters), and a speed of 17 knots, the APA-66 carried landing craft to deploy personnel and equipment directly onto shorelines.
USS Brule participated in operations in the Pacific during the final year of World War II, including supporting the Okinawa campaign. After the war, it served in Operation Magic Carpet, the effort to repatriate American military personnel from overseas.
The USS Brule was decommissioned on 19 June 1946 and placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. It was later sold for scrap on 25 May 1973. Accurate details regarding all of its specific missions and crew deployments are not fully documented in publicly available sources, but its service history aligns with the general operational patterns of the Gilliam-class attack transports.
The ship earned one battle star for its World War II service.