USS Lehigh (AK-192)

USS Lehigh (AK-192) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed by the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was declared excess-to-needs and returned to the US Maritime Commission shortly after commissioning.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Lehigh.
History
United States
Name:
  • Coastal Expounder (1944–1945)
  • Lehigh (1945)
Namesake: Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2123[1]
Builder: Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number: 41[1]
Laid down: 8 June 1944
Launched: 25 November 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. Stanley Butler
Acquired: 30 July 1945
Commissioned: 13 September 1945
Decommissioned: 6 November 1945
Stricken: date unknown
Identification:
Fate: returned to Maritime Commission, 6 November 1945
History
United States
Name: Coastal Archer
Owner: Maritime Commission
Operator:
  • T.J. Stevenson & Company (1945)
  • New York and Cuba Mail (1946)
  • Agwilines Inc. (1946)
Acquired: 6 November 1945
In service: 6 November 1945
Out of service: 15 February 1948
Fate: sold, 7 March 1947
History
Brazil
Name: Rio Solimões
Namesake: Solimões River
Operator: Lloyd Brasileiro, Patrimonio Nicional
Acquired: 15 February 1947
In service: 7 March 1947
Status: fate unknown
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type: C1-M-AV1
Tonnage: 5,032 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

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Lehigh was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2123, by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin, 8 June 1944; launched 25 November 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Stanley Butler; acquired by the Navy 30 July 1945; placed in service the same day for ferrying from Beaumont, Texas, to Galveston, Texas; placed out of service on the 31st; and commissioned at New Orleans 13 September 1945, Lieutenant George Kotnick in command.[3]

Post-war decommissioning

Because of the reduced need for cargo ships following World War II, Lehigh decommissioned 6 November 1945 and was turned over to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) the same day,[3] and her name was reverted to Coastal Expounder.[2]

Merchant service

Coastal Expounder was used by several shipping companies from 1945–1947, when she was placed in the reserve fleet before being transferred then sold to Lloyd Brasileiro, Patrimonio Nicional, of Brazil.[2]

On 7 March 1947, she was sold for $693,862 and renamed Rio Solimões.[4] Her final disposition is unknown.[2]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2013.
    3. DANFS 2015.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Lehigh II (AK-192)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 18 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 18 November 2016.
    • "USS Lehigh (AK-192)". Navsource.org. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
    • "Coastal Expounder". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
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