USS Midland (AK-195)

USS Midland (AK-195) 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 being in commission for only a short period of time.

History
United States
Name:
  • Coastal Harbinger (1944–1945)
  • Midland (1945)
Namesake:
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2126[1]
Builder: Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number: 44[1]
Laid down: 29 July 1944
Launched: 23 December 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. William G. Mitsch
Acquired: 17 August 1945
Commissioned: 27 September 1945
Decommissioned: 13 November 1945
Stricken: date unknown
Identification:
Fate: transferred to the Maritime Commission, 13 November 1945
History
United States
Name: Coastal Spartan
Owner: Maritime Commission
Operator:
  • States Marine Corporation (1945)
  • North Atlantic & Gulf SS Company (1946)
  • Dichman, Wright & Pugh (1948)
Acquired: 13 November 1945
In service: 13 November 1945
Out of service: 3 February 1948
Fate: sent to reserve fleet
Status: sold, 1 June 1948
Notes: sold without cost
History
Republic of China
Name: Union Banker
Acquired: 1 June 1948
Fate: scrapped, 1970[1]
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

Midland was laid down under Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2126, by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin, 29 July 1944; launched 23 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William G. Mitsch; converted by the New Orleans Naval Station; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on loan-charter 17 August 1945; placed in service the same day to be ferried from Beaumont, Texas, to Galveston, Texas, and placed out of service upon arrival on 18 August; and commissioned 27 September 1945, Lieutenant Lloyd K. Barry, USNR, in command.[3]

Post-war decommissioning

Because of the reduced need for cargo ships following World War II, Midland decommissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, 13 November 1945 and was returned to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) the same day for service under the Maritime Commission as Coastal Harbinger.[3]

Merchant service

Coastal Harbinger was used by several shipping companies from 1945–1948, when she was placed in the reserve fleet before being sold.[2]

On 1 June 1948, she was sold to The Republic of China for "no cost" and renamed Union Banker. She was scrapped in 1970.[4]

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

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Midland". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 20 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 20 November 2016.
    • "USS Midland (AK-195)". Navsource.org. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    • "Coastal Expounder". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
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