USS Cassiopeia

Last updated

USS Cassiopeia (AK-75).jpg
Broadside view of USS Cassiopeia (AK-75) off San Francisco, 19 December 1942.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
Name
  • Melville W. Fuller
  • Cassiopeia
Namesake
Orderedas a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 504 [1]
Builder Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Cost$1,124,481 [2]
Yard number504 [1]
Way number2 [1]
Laid down13 October 1942 [1]
Launched15 November 1942
Sponsored byMrs. C. F. Calhoun
Acquired27 November 1942
Commissioned8 December 1942
Decommissioned21 November 1945
Stricken5 December 1945
Identification
Honours and
awards		1 × battle star
FateExpended as a target 28 June 1961
General characteristics [3]
Class and type Crater-class cargo ship
Type Type EC2-S-C1
Displacement
  • 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard)
  • 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power
  • 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) ,  (manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox)
  • 2,500  shp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion
Speed12.5  kn (23.2  km/h; 14.4  mph)
Capacity
  • 7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT
  • 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement195
Armament

USS Cassiopeia (AK-75) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. She was the only ship of to bear this name. She is named after the Northern Hemisphere constellation Cassiopeia.

Contents

Construction

Cassiopeia was launched 15 November 1942 as liberty ship SS Melville W. Fuller by Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 504; sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Calhoun; acquired by the Navy 27 November 1942; and commissioned 8 December 1942. [4]

Service history

Cassiopeia sailed from San Francisco 21 December 1942 with cargo for Nouméa, where she arrived 12 January 1943. From this base, she offered essential support to the operations in the consolidation of the northern Solomons, carrying the varied necessities of war throughout the South Pacific. Between 19 June and 11 July, the cargo ship voyaged to Auckland, New Zealand, to reload, then returned with voyages from Nouméa to Guadalcanal until 9 August. Another resupply mission and a brief repair period in New Zealand preceded her resumption of South Pacific operations in November. [4]

This pattern of ferrying vital supplies in the South Pacific alternating with voyages to New Zealand to reload continued until 6 June 1945, when Cassiopeia cleared Auckland for San Francisco, the Panama Canal Zone, and Norfolk, where she arrived 25 October. [4]

Decommissioning

The cargo ship was decommissioned 21 November 1945, and transferred to MARCOM for disposal the same day. [4]

Final disposition

Cassiopeia was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Virginia, on 21 November 1945. [3]

On 21 June 1961, the Navy requested her for testing purposes, on 27 June 1961, she was transferred back to the Navy [5] to be used as a target by Cutlass, in the VACAPES area. [3]

Awards

Cassiopeia received one battle star for World War II service. [4]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Arided</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Arided (AK-73), a Crater-class cargo ship, is the only ship of the US Navy to have this name. She was named after Arided, the other name of Deneb, the alpha star of constellation Cygnus.

USS Hyperion (AK-107) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named after Saturn's moon Hyperion, she is the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Murzim</i> US Navy Crater-class cargo ship in service 1943–1947

USS Murzim (AK-95) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was named after Murzim, the star in constellation Canis Major. Murzim was manned by United States Coast Guard personnel and was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

USS <i>Carina</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Carina (AK-74) was a Crater-class cargo ship, and the only ship of the US Navy to have this name. She was named for the southern constellation Carina, with most of her sister ships being named for constellations or stars.

USS Leonis (AK-128) was a Crater-class cargo ship in service with the US Navy in World War II. It was the only ship of the Navy to have borne this name, Latin for "of a lion", presumably referring to the northern constellation Leo.

USS <i>Deimos</i> (AK-78) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Deimos (AK-78) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of US Navy in World War II. It was the first ship of the Navy to have borne the name Deimos, after one of the moons of Mars.

USS <i>Cheleb</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Cheleb (AK-138) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. It was the only ship of the Navy to have borne this name. It is named after Cheleb, a star in the northern hemisphere constellation of Ophiuchus.

USS <i>Lyra</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Lyra (AK-101) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. It was the only ship of the Navy to have borne this name. It is named after the constellation Lyra.

USS <i>Crater</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Crater (AK-70) was the lead ship of her class of converted liberty ship cargo ships in the service of the US Navy in World War II. She was first named after John James Audubon, an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. She was renamed and commissioned after the constellation Crater, she was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Adhara</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Adhara (AK-71) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in the Pacific theater in World War II. Named after the star Adhara in the constellation Canis Major, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS Prince Georges (AP-165/AK-224) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named after the Prince George's County, Maryland, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Aludra</i> (AK-72) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Aludra (AK-72) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named after the star Aludra in the constellation Canis Major, it was the first ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Celeno</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Celeno (AK-76) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named with a variant spelling of the star Celaeno in the constellation Pleiades, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Cetus</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Cetus (AK-77) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named after the equatorial constellation Cetus, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Alnitah</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

The USS Alnitah (AK-127) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named a spelling variation of the star Alnitak in the constellation Orion, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

USS <i>Etamin</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Etamin (AK-93) was the Liberty ship (EC2) Isaac Babbitt constructed for the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in 1943, for World War II service at a cost of $959,509. After acquisition by the US Navy, the ship was named Etamin, after the brightest star in the constellation Draco and manned by a US Coast Guard crew. As a Crater-class cargo ship, she served the military in the Pacific Ocean by providing food and material until she was torpedoed and put out of service. After repairs, she served as a non-self-propelled floating warehouse for the rest of the war. The ship ended the war in the Philippines and was among fifteen hulls sold for scrap for a lump sum of $271,000.

USS <i>Draco</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Draco (AK-79) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Named after the constellation Draco. She was responsible for delivering goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

USS <i>Cor Caroli</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Cor Caroli (AK-91) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II and manned by a US Coast Guard crew. She was named after Cor Caroli, the brightest star in constellation Canes Venatici. She was responsible for delivering goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

USS <i>Rotanin</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Rotanin (AK-108) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. Rotanin, which is a misspelling of the name "Rotanen", was named after the star Beta Delphini, a star located in the constellation Delphinus. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

USS <i>Azimech</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Azimech (AK-124) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II, named after the Azimech, the other name of Spica, the brightest star in constellation Virgo. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kaiser No. 1 2010.
  2. ↑ MARCOM.
  3. 1 2 3 Navsource 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 DANFS.
  5. ↑ MARAD.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.