USS Gadsden (AK-182)

USS Gadsden (AK-182) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II. She served the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations for a short period of time before being decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

History
United States
Name: Gadsden
Namesake: Gadsden County, Florida
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2113[1]
Builder: Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number: 31[1]
Laid down: 1943–1944
Launched: 8 April 1944
Acquired: 26 December 1944
Commissioned: 28 February 1945
Decommissioned: 31 January 1946
Stricken: 25 February 1946
Identification:
Fate: sold, 16 August 1946
United States
Name: Gadsden
Owner: American Eastern Corp., New York, New York[2]
Acquired: 16 August 1946
Fate: repurchased by the Maritime Administration, 23 May 1955
Status: sold, 2 June 1955
South Korea
Name: Yosu
Namesake: City of Yeosu
Owner: Korean Shipping Corp.
Acquired: 2 June 1955
Identification: IMO number: 5396399
Status: fate unknown
General characteristics [3]
Class and type: Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type: C1-M-AV1
Tonnage: 5,010 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
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:
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:
  • 15 Officers
  • 70 Enlisted
Armament:

Construction

Gadsden was launched 8 April 1944, under Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2113, by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin; sponsored by Mrs. Morgan Murphy of Superior; acquired by the Navy on loan-charter basis 26 December 1944; and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, 28 February 1945, Lieutenant W. J. Sattel in command.[4]

Service history

World War II service

After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Gadsden departed New Orleans 31 March 1945, with a cargo of frozen meat and ammunition for Ulithi, Western Caroline Islands, where she arrived on 11 May after 34 days at sea. From there she proceeded to Kossol Roads, Palau Islands for a 3-day stay marked by alerts for enemy suicide swimmers.[4]

She was convoyed by way of Leyte to Morotai Island, Netherlands East Indies, where she spent 3 months as ammunition ship for units of the U.S. 7th Fleet. At times, she serviced six to eight ships a day as she handled much of the ammunition used by fleet units for the Brunei Bay-Balikpapan invasions of Borneo.[4]

Gadsden arrived at Leyte 31 July 1945, with about one-third of her cargo. She served as ammunition ship there until announcement of the Japanese capitulation. On 21 August 1945, she departed Leyte on a shuttle cargo run to Subic Bay, Philippine Islands, and Hollandia, New Guinea; thence back to Leyte and was routed onward to Manila, Philippine Islands.[4]

Post-war decommissioning

Gadsden put to sea from Manila 26 November 1945; transited the Panama Canal 8 January 1946; and reached Norfolk, Virginia, on the 19th for inactivation. She decommissioned 31 January 1946 and was redelivered to the Maritime Commission on 1 February 1946 for layup in the Maritime James River fleet.[4]

Merchant service

On 16 August 1946, the Maritime Commission sold Gadsden to American Eastern Corp., of New York, New York, for $693,862. She wasn't reflagged and she retained her name.[3][2]

The Maritime Administration, which the Maritime Commission had been renamed in 1950, purchased Gadsden back on 23 May 1955, at Seattle, Washington.[3] She was subsequently sold to the Korean Shipping Corp., and renamed Yosu.[4] Her current disposition is not known.[3]

Honors and awards

Qualified Gadsden personnel were eligible for the following:[3]


Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. MARAD.
    3. Navsource 2013.
    4. DANFS 2016.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Gadsden (AK-182)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
    • "Gadsden (AK-182)". Navsource.org. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
    • "Gadsden (AK-182)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
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