USS Gwinnett

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USS Gwinnett (AG-92) 14 May 1944.jpg
Launching of Gwinnett (AG-92), 14 May 1944, at Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameGwinnett
Namesake Gwinnett County, Georgia
Orderedas type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2116 [1]
Awarded10 August 1943
Builder Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Cost$1,714,017.46
Yard number34
Laid down21 December 1943
Launched14 May 1944
Sponsored byMrs. Oliva Dionne
Completed6 November 1944
Acquired13 March 1945
Commissioned10 April 1945
Decommissioned11 February 1946
Reclassified
  • Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG), before 14 May 1944
  • Aviation Supply Issue Ship (AVS), 25 May 1945
RefitGwinnett-class Aviation Stores Issue Ship, at Port Houston Iron Works, Houston, Texas, 14 May 1944 to 13 March 1945
Stricken26 February 1946
Identification
Honors &
awards		1 × battle stars
FateLaid up in Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, 11 February 1946, sold, 18 June 1947
Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg Republic of France
NameSainte Helene
Acquired18 June 1947
FateSold
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines
NamePrince K.L.
Fate Grounded, 1968, scrapped, 1970
General characteristics [2]
Class & type
Type C1-M-AV1
Tonnage5,032 LT  DWT
Displacement
  • 2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard)
  • 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 × propeller
Speed11.5  kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity
  • 3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
  • 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated)
  • 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement
  • 15 Officers
  • 70 Enlisted
Armament

USS Gwinnett (AK-185/AG-92/AVS-5) was originally an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy shortly before the end of World War II and converted into a Gwinnett-class aviation stores issue ship. She was found to be excess-to-needs and was placed into reserve in 1946. Gwinnett was named for Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Contents

Constructed

Gwinnett was laid down under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 2116, on 21 December 1943, by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin. She was designated AK-185, a "dry cargo" ship. Before being launched, on 14 May 1944, she was redesignated AG-92, a "miscellaneous auxiliary"; sponsored by Mrs. Oliva Dionne, mother of the Dionne quintuplets. After being taken down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, Louisiana, the ship was outfitted at Port Houston Iron Works, Houston, Texas, and commissioned there 10 April 1945. [3]

Service history

Soon after commissioning, Gwinnett was redesigned AVS-5, "aviation stores issues", on 25 May 1945. After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, she was ordered to the Pacific coast for disposal. [3]

Defense fleet

Gwinnett arrived San Francisco, 25 January 1946. She decommissioned and was simultaneously redelivered to MARCOM, 11 February 1946, [3] and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, in Suisun Bay, California. When she entered the reserve fleet she had an estimated $104,750 of damage. [4]

Merchant service

Gwinnett was sold to the Republic of France, on 18 June 1947. [1] She was reflagged and renamed Sainte Helene. She was later sold and reflagged in the Philippines, and renamed Prince K.L.. In 1968, she was grounded in the Sulu Sea, where she sustained severe damage to her hull. Her cargo was salvaged but the repairs were uneconomical, she was scrapped in Hong Kong, in 1970. [2]

References

Bibliography

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