USS Hidalgo (AK-189)
USS Hidalgo (AK-189) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the U.S. Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was declared excess-to-needs and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission.
History | |
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Name: | Hidalgo |
Namesake: | |
Ordered: | as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2120[1] |
Builder: | Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin |
Yard number: | 38[1] |
Laid down: | date unknown |
Launched: | 28 July 1944 |
Sponsored by: | Mrs. Claude Pepper |
Commissioned: | 4 August 1945 |
Decommissioned: | 26 April 1946 |
Stricken: | 8 May 1946 |
Identification: |
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Fate: | sold in 25 February 1947[2] |
Name: | Rize |
Namesake: | Rize Province |
Owner: | Deniz Nakliyati T.A.O., Turkey |
Acquired: | 25 February 1947 |
Homeport: | Istanbul, Turkey |
Identification: | IMO number: 5297311 |
Fate: | scrapped in August 1982 at Aliağa, Turkey |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Alamosa-class cargo ship |
Type: | C1-M-AV1 |
Tonnage: | 5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1] |
Displacement: |
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Length: | 388 ft 8 in (118.47 m) |
Beam: | 50 ft (15 m) |
Draft: | 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m) |
Installed power: |
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Propulsion: | 1 × propeller |
Speed: | 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity: |
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Complement: |
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Armament: |
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Construction
Hidalgo was a diesel-powered C1-M-AV1 cargo hull, was launched 28 July 1944 under Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2120, by Walter Butler Shipbuilding, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin, sponsored by Mrs. Claude Pepper, wife of the Senator from Florida; placed in service while being towed to Galveston, Texas, and commissioned 4 August 1945, Lieutenant John W. Thompson in command.[4]
Service history
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
After conducting a brief shakedown cruise off the coast of Texas, Hidalgo sailed to the Panama Canal Zone for routing to the Pacific Ocean 5 September 1945, but the war's end brought orders to proceed to Norfolk, Virginia.[4]
Merchant service
Hidalgo was renamed Rize in 1947. Along with her sister ships, ex-Antrim, renamed Kars, ex-Craighead, renamed Kastamonu, and ex-Bullock, renamed Edirne, she would, for the next 15 years, provide cargo service between Turkey and Northern Europe. She was finally broken up in the Turkish port of Aliağa in August 1982.
Honors and awards
Qualified Hidalgo personnel were eligible for the following:
- American Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
Bibliography
Online resources
- "Hidalgo (AK-189)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 19 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 19 November 2016.
- "USS Hidalgo (AK-189)". Navsource.org. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- "Hidalgo". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 19 November 2016.