USS Hoptree

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USS Hoptree (AN-62).jpg
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Hoptree
NamesakeA small American tree having two seeded winged fruits which have been used in place of hops
BuilderSnow Shipyards Inc., Rockland, Maine
Laid downdate unknown
Launched14 October 1943 at Rockland, Maine as YN-83
Sponsored byLt. Ann Jameson
Commissioned18 May 1944
Decommissioned1 March 1946
ReclassifiedAN-62, on 20 January 1944
Stricken20 March 1946
Fatesold, delivered 23 April 1947 to new owner; scrapped in 1954
General characteristics
Class and type Ailanthus-class net laying ship
Displacement1,100
Length194 ft 6 in (59.28 m)
Beam37 ft (11 m)
Draft13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion diesel electric, 2,500hp
Speed12 knots
Complement56 officers and enlisted
Armamentone single 3 in (76 mm) dual purpose gun mount; four twin 20 mm AA gun mounts
Armorwooden-hulled

USS Hoptree (AN-62/YN-83) was a Ailanthus-class net laying ship that served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Hoptree performed her tour of duty in the Pacific Ocean and, post-war, she was decommissioned and sold.

Contents

Built in Maine

Hoptree (AN-62), a wooden-hulled net layer, was launched on 14 October 1943 by Snow Shipyards Inc., Rockland, Maine, as YN-83; sponsored by Lt. Ann Jameson; reclassified AN-62, on 20 January 1944; and commissioned on 18 May 1944.

World War II service

Pacific Ocean operations

Arriving at the Melville Net Depot for shakedown on 31 May 1944, Hoptree performed training and readiness operations until 27 June, when she joined the Net Layer Pre-commissioning and Training Group at Melville, Rhode Island. She then departed on 2 December for the U.S. West Coast and sailed on 3 February 1945 from the Naval Net Depot, Tiburon, California, for duty in the Pacific Ocean.

Hoptree arrived Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 13 February 1945 and was routed on to Eniwetok Atoll, where she arrived the 28th. From March through the end of the war the ship was engaged in the vital work of maintaining and repairing net defenses in the harbor, and after August she was occupied in dismantling them.

She sailed back to the United States in November 1945, arriving at San Francisco, California, on 8 November.

Post-war decommissioning

Decommissioned on 1 March 1946, deemed surplus to Navy needs, and made available for disposal, Hoptree was stricken from the List of Naval Vessels on 20 March 1946.

Subsequent maritime career

She was delivered to her purchaser, Van Camp Sea Food Company, San Pedro, California, on 23 April 1947. She operated on mercantile service until scrapped in 1954.

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