USS Enceladus (AK-80), August 1943 in original Navy configuration. Note Whirley crane that was part of the original N3-M-A1 design. (Navy Photo No. 19-N-51234 in U.S. National Archives, RG-19-LCM.) | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Enceladus (AK-80) |
Ordered | as N3-M-A1 hull, MC hull 463 |
Builder | Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Corp. |
Laid down | 14 February 1942, as SS Elias D. Knight |
Launched | 9 October 1942 |
Acquired | 18 August 1943 |
Commissioned | 18 August 1943 |
Decommissioned | 18 December 1945 |
Stricken | date unknown |
Fate | Sold in 1964 for non-transportation use |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 1,677 t.(lt), 5,202 t.(fl) |
Length | 269 ft 10 in (82.25 m) |
Beam | 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m) |
Draught | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) |
Propulsion | Diesel, single shaft, 1,300 shp |
Speed | 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 83 |
Armament | one 3 in (76 mm) dual purpose gun mount |
USS Enceladus (AK-80) (launched 1942) was an Enceladus-class cargo ship [Note 1] commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
Enceladus was built by the Penn Jersey Shipbuilding Co., Camden, New Jersey, in 1942, acquired and commissioned by the Navy on 18 August 1943.
During World War II Enceladus operated entirely in the southwest Pacific Ocean, all the while U.S. Coast Guard manned. She shuttled supplies between supply bases which included Noumea, New Caledonia, Tongatapu, Torokina, Bougainville, Emirau, and Guadalcanal. She was occupied with inter-island freight traffic until 4 August 1945 when she arrived at Pearl Harbor. Enceladus was decommissioned on 18 December 1945 and turned over to the Maritime Commission.
Enceladus’ crew was eligible for the following medals:
USS Situla (AK-140) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the United States Navy in World War II. It was the only ship of the Navy to have borne this name. It is named after the star Situla.
Europa (AK-81) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation.
Nashira (AK-85) was planned as a civilian cargo ship for the United States Maritime Commission, transferred to the Navy for construction then transferred to the U.S. Army and renamed two days after launching. The ship was never commissioned, thus never bore the USS designation, and had no significant naval service. The ship was converted to the U.S. Army Engineer Port Repair ship Richard R. Arnold and served in the Pacific during 1945.
USS Hydra (AK-82), ex MV Eben H. Linnell, was an Enceladus-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for cargo service in World War II. Hydra was in naval service from 1 January through 19 November 1943 before she was transferred to the U.S. Army for conversion to the Engineer Port Repair ship Madison Jordan Manchester.
Media (AK-83) was a World War II US navy ship that was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation.
Mira (AK-84) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation. The ship was transferred to become the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Port Repair ship Robert M. Emery the day after acquisition by Navy.
Norma (AK-86) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation. Norma is the name of constellation.
Sagitta (AK-87) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation.
Tucana (AK-88) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation. She was transferred upon launching on 13 September 1944 to the U.S. Army as the U.S. Army Engineer Port Repair ship Arthur C. Ely.
Vela (AK-89) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation. The ship was transferred to the Army to become the Engineer Port Repair Ship Joe C. Specker shortly after launching. She was one of two such repair ships transferred to Navy in 1952 and served as the civilian crewed, unarmed USNS Vela (T-AK-89).
USS Sterope (AK-96) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
USS Triangulum (AK-102) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Triangulum was named after the constellation Triangulum. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
USS Crux (AK-115) was a Crater-class cargo ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was first named after Peter Stuyvesant, a Dutch politician that served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664. She was renamed and commissioned after Crux, a constellation centered on four stars in the southern sky in a bright portion of the Milky Way. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
USS Matar (AK-119) was a Crater-class cargo ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was first named after Napoleon B. Broward, an American river pilot, captain, and politician; he was elected as the 19th Governor of the US state of Florida. She was renamed and commissioned after Matar, a binary star in the constellation of Pegasus. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
USS Phobos (AK-129) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
USS Muscatine (AK-197) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy under a US Maritime Commission contract during the closing period of World War II. She had a brief career before being decommissioned a year later.
USS Muskingum (AK-198/T-AK-198) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy under a US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract during the closing period of World War II. She supported the end-of-war Navy effort. On 7 March 1946 Muskingum was placed in service under bareboat charter with the US Army under the Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine with a Japanese crew. In 1950, she was reactivated and placed into service with the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Muskingum (T-AK-198) until being struck from the Navy list in 1973. She was ultimately transferred to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) and the Republic of Palau.
USS Pembina (AK-200) – later known as USNS Pembina (T-AK-200) -- was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the U.S. Navy during the closing period of World War II. She supported the end-of-war Navy effort and was subsequently placed in service with the US Army under the Shipping Control Authority for the Japanese Merchant Marine with a Japanese crew in Yokosuka, Japan.
The U.S. Army acquired ten ships during World War II as Engineer Port Repair Ships, also sometimes known as Port Rehabilitation ships, for use by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear war damaged harbors. The need was anticipated by 1942 for the post invasion recovery of ports in Europe and the Transportation Corps was assigned the responsibility to acquire and modify the ships that would be military crewed under the Corps of Engineers.
Type N3-S ships were a Maritime Commission small coastal cargo ship design to meet urgent World War II shipping needs, with the first of the 109 N3, both steam and diesel, type hulls delivered in December 1942.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.