USS Fortune (IX-146)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Fortune.

City Of Elwood on 18 September 1943, at New York, United States Coast Guard photo
History
United States
Name	City of Elwood
Owner	United States Shipping Board (USSB)
Operator	American Pioneer Line
Ordered	as USSB Design 1037 ship freighter
Builder	Doullet & Williams, New Orleans, Louisiana
Yard number	1910
Laid down	1921
Launched	18 March 1921
In service	April 1921
Out of service	4 December 1941
Identification	O.N. 220962
Fate	Transferred to United States Lines, 5 December 1941
United States
Name	City of Elwood
Owner	United States Lines
In service	5 December 1941
Out of service	16 February 1944
Fate	Transferred to US Navy, 16 February 1944
USS Fortune (AVS-2), at anchor, photographed after the ship was reclassified as "AVS-2", in May 1945
United States
Name	Fortune
Acquired	16 February 1944
Commissioned	19 February 1944
Decommissioned	18 October 1945
Reclassified	Aviation Stores Issue (AVS), 25 May 1945
Identification	Hull symbol: IX-146 Hull symbol: AVS-2 Callsign: NJTS
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 3 August 1946
General characteristics [1]
Class & type	Design 1037 ship
Displacement	13,250 long tons (13,460  t)
Length	411 ft 9 in (125.50 m)
Beam	55 ft (17 m)
Draft	27 ft 2 in (8.28 m)
Installed power	3 × Scotch boilers 1 × Busch-Sulzer Single-acting diesel (converted, 11 June 1929) 3,500 shp (2,600 kW) (steam) 3,950 bhp (2,950 kW) (diesel)
Propulsion	1 × George A. Fuller Company triple-expansion steam engine 2 × 340 kW (460 hp) turbo-electric drives (converted to diesel 11 June 1929) 1 × 35 kW (47 hp) turbo-electric drive 1 × screw
Speed	11.8  kn (21.9 km/h; 13.6 mph)
Complement	13 officers 150 enlisted
Armament	4 in (100 mm)/50 caliber gun 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber gun

USS Fortune (IX-146/AVS-2) was a US Navy aviation stores issue ship of World War II. Originally built as City of Elwood, a United States Shipping Board (USSB), Design 1037 freighter, she acquired by the Navy 16 February 1944, and commissioned 19 February 1944. She was reclassified AVS-2, on 25 May 1945.

Construction

City of Elwood was laid down in 1921, by Doullet & Williams, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Shipping Board (USSB) hull #1910. She was launched on 18 March 1921, and delivered in April, to the USSB. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Civilian history

City of Elwood was owned by the USSB between the wars and allocated to the American Pioneer Line for service between New York and Baltimore and Oriental ports. In 1929, her boilers were replace with diesel engines. On 5 December 1941, she was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission and operated by the United States Lines. ^[3]

Service history

Commissioned at Pearl Harbor, Fortune (IX-146) sailed 16 May 1944, for Kwajalein, her base for cargo operations to Eniwetok, Manus, and Ulithi, until 10 January 1945, when she became "aviation supply issue ship" "AVS-2", at Ulithi. She sailed from Ulithi 24 April, with passengers for Alameda, California, arriving 20 May, and lay in various California shipyards until decommissioned 18 October 1945, and transferred to the War Shipping Administration the same day. ^[4]

Fate

Fortune was laid up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, in Suisun Bay, on 18 October 1945. She was sold for $5,954, to the American Iron and Steel Company, for scrapping on 30 August 1946. ^[5]

References

1. Priolo 2019.
2. Colton 2021.
3. McKellar 1963.
4. DANFS 2015.
5. MARAD.

Bibliography

• Priolo, Gary P. (5 April 2019). "USS Fortune (AVS-2)". NavSource. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
• Colton, Tim (24 August 2021). "DOULLUT & WILLIAMS, New Orleans LA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
• McKellar, N.L. (1963). "Steel Shipbuilding Under the U.S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921" (PDF). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
• Maritime Administration. "City of Elwood". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
• "Fortune II (IX-146)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.