USS Pontotoc

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Pontotoc (AVS-7).jpg
USS Pontotoc (AVS-7), probably at anchor in San Francisco Bay, California, in 1945
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NamePontotoc
NamesakePontotoc County in Mississippi and Oklahoma
Orderedas type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2160 [1]
Awarded2 September 1943
Builder Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Cost$1,206,823.53
Yard number326
Laid down15 January 1944
Launched2 July 1944
Completed21 October 1944
Commissioned22 March 1945
Decommissioned26 April 1946
Reclassified
  • Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG), 12 March 1945
  • Aviation Supply Issue Ship (AVS), 25 May 1945
RefitConverted to Gwinnett-class Aviation Stores Issue Ship, before 22 March 1945
Stricken8 May 1946
Identification
FateLaid up in Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California, 26 April 1946, sold to France, 30 June 1947
Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg Republic of France
NameTaurus
OwnerMessageries Maritimes
Acquired14 August 1947
FateSold to Morocco, 1960
Naval Ensign of Morocco.svg Morocco
NameTadjera
Acquired1960
FateScrapped, 1968
General characteristics [2]
Class & type
Type C1-M-AV1
Tonnage5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT) [3]
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
  • 9 Officers
  • 96 Enlisted
Armament

USS Pontotoc (AK-206/AG-94/AVS-7) was originally an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the US Navy shortly before the end of World War II and converted into a Gwinnett-class aviation stores issue ship, to carry aviation parts and spares, and to issue them to the US Pacific Fleet and activities as needed. Pontotoc was named for Pontotoc County, in both Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Contents

Construction

Pontotoc was laid down under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2160, on 15 January 1944, by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She was classified AK-206, "dry cargo", on 25 February 1944; and launched 2 July 1944. [4] Pontotoc was floated down the Mississippi River in an incomplete state to be finished at Gulf area yards. She was completed 21 October 1944. [1] She was acquired from MARCOM on a loan-charter basis, on 28 February 1945, reclassified AG–94, "miscellaneous auxiliary", on 12 March 1945, and commissioned, 22 March 1945. [4]

Service history

After her shakedown cruise, Pontotoc transited the Panama Canal, and arrived at Pearl Harbor, 18 April 1945. She was reclassified as a Gwinnett-class aviation stores issue ship, AVS-7, effective 25 May 1945. Pontotoc steamed for the Philippines, reporting for duty 8 July, at Guiuan, Samar, and the Philippine Islands. She provided aviation stores on station in the Philippines, through the end of hostilities. [4]

Decommissioning

Pontotoc then proceeded to the 12th Naval District. She decommissioned and was delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA), 26 April 1946, at San Francisco, California. She was struck from the Navy List, 8 May 1946, and returned to MARCOM, 26 April 1946, and laid up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, in Suisun Bay, California. [4]

Merchant service

She was sold 30 June 1947, to the French firm of Messageries Maritimes, and renamed Taurus. [2] She was delivered 14 August 1947. [5] In 1960, she was sold to Morocco, and renamed Tadjera. She was scrapped in 1970. [3] [2]

References

Bibliography

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