USS Etamin

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USS Etamin (AK-93), broadside view.jpg
USS Etamin (AK-93), broadside view, underway off San Francisco, 25 May 1943.
History
Flag of the United States Coast Guard.svgUnited States
Name
  • Isaac Babbitt
  • Etamin
Namesake
Orderedas a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 1106 [1]
Builder Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Cost$959,509 [2]
Yard number1106 [1]
Way number1 [1]
Laid down28 March 1943
Launched25 April 1943
Acquired8 May 1943
Commissioned25 May 1943
Decommissioned26 June 1944
In service12 August 1944
Out of service9 July 1946
Reclassifiednon-self propelled storage hulk, 12 August 1944
Stricken31 July 1946
Identification
Honors &
awards		2 × battle stars
FateSold, 2 February 1948
General characteristics [4]
Class & type Crater-class cargo ship
Tonnage
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)
Depth
  • 37 ft 4 in (11.38 m) [3]
  • 34 ft 8 in (10.57 m) [5]
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)
Complement198
Armament

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.

Contents

Construction

Etamin was launched 25 April 1943, as Isaac Babbitt, MCE hull 1106, by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract; acquired by the Navy 8 May 1943; and commissioned 25 May 1943. [6] [4]

Service history

She was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), 12th Naval District with operational control given to Commander, 7th Fleet Service Force. [6]

The ship was one of five Navy manned Liberties assigned 8 December 1943 to the Southwest Pacific Area for service to meet Army requirements. [7] She was active in the southwest Pacific Ocean issuing stores to the fleet and making minor repairs. [6]

On 27 April 1944,Etamin was disabled by a torpedo hit in Milne Bay and towed to Cairns, Australia, where she decommissioned on 26 June 1944. The ship, no longer self-propelled because of the torpedo damage, was designated as an unclassified miscellaneous auxiliary (IX) and placed in service as Etamin (IX-173) on 12 August 1944 continuing to issue stores to the fleet while under tow. She was placed out of service on 9 July 1946 and stricken from the Navy List on 31 July. [6]

Sale and scrapping

Returned to the MARCOM for disposal, the ship was laid up at Subic Bay, Philippines, 9 July 1946. She was one of fifteen vessels sold for scrap to Asia Development Corporation, Shanghai, for a total of $271,000. [8] She was sold 29 January 1948, [3] and delivered 3 March 1948. [8]

Awards

Etamin received two battle stars for World War II service. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kaiser No. 2 2010.
  2. ↑ MARCOM.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 MARAD Etamin.
  4. 1 2 Navsource 2014.
  5. ↑ Lloyd's.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 DANFS.
  7. ↑ Masterson 1949, pp. 359, 390 (fn 61).
  8. 1 2 MARAD Isaac Babbitt.

Bibliography

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