USS Alamosa

USS Alamosa (AK-156); her camouflage is Measure 32 Design 6AO.
History
United States
Name	Alamosa
Namesake	Alamosa County, Colorado
Ordered	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2101
Builder	Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Richmond, California
Yard number	58
Laid down	15 November 1943
Launched	14 April 1944
Commissioned	10 August 1944
Decommissioned	25 August 1944
Recommissioned	25 September 1944
Decommissioned	20 May 1946
Refit	25 August 1944, conversion to an ammunition issue ship
Stricken	14 June 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-156 Code letters: NEFD
Fate	Sold, 1 May 1972, scrapped August 1972
General characteristics
Class and type	Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type	C1-M-AV1
Tonnage	5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Displacement	2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard) 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length	388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power	1 × Nordberg, TSM 6 diesel engine 1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × propeller
Speed	11.5 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	10 Officers 69 Enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual-purpose gun (DP) 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons

USS Alamosa (AK-156) was the lead ship of the Alamosa-class cargo ships, commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

Service history

Alamosa was laid down under a United States Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2101, on 15 November 1943 at Richmond, California, by Kaiser Cargo, Inc.; launched on 14 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. J.J. Mullane; and acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 10 August 1944. Alamosa class cargo ships are named after United States Counties. After a brief fitting out period in the San Francisco Bay area, Alamosa sailed for Portland, Oregon. There the ship entered the Commercial Iron Works yards and was decommissioned on 25 August for conversion to an ammunition issue ship. She was recommissioned on 25 September and got underway on 6 October for shakedown out of San Pedro, Los Angeles. After taking on ammunition at Mare Island, California, Alamosa set sail on November [...] for the Marshall Islands.

Upon arriving at Eniwetok on 7 December, Alamosa was assigned to Service Squadron 8. For the duration of World War II, the vessel carried ammunition and cargo between Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Ulithi, Peleliu, and Leyte. After the end of hostilities, Alamosa entered dry dock at Apra Harbor, Guam, on 1 October 1945. Following the completion of repairs, she got underway again on 7 January 1946, bound for home. She arrived at Seattle, Washington, on 27 January; was decommissioned there on 20 May 1946; and was turned over to the United States Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration for disposal. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 14 June 1946. The ship was sold for $6,227.22, to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., on 19 May 1972, for non-transportation use.

Bibliography

• "Alamosa (AK-156)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• "C1 Cargo Ships". ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
• "USS Alamosa (AK-156)". Navsource.org. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
• "Ship Naming in the United States Navy". Naval History and Heritage Command. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
• "Alamosa". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 11 November 2016.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Alamosa (AK-156) at NavSource Naval History