USS Schuyler (AK-209)

USS Schuyler (AK-209) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She served with distinction in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and returned home in 1946 to be placed into the reserve "mothball" fleet where she silently remained until she was scrapped in 1971.

History
United States
Name: Schuyler
Namesake:
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2163[1]
Builder: Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Yard number: 329[1]
Laid down: 27 May 1944
Sponsored by: Miss Marilyn Hughes
Acquired: 20 June 1945
Commissioned: 13 July 1945
Decommissioned: 27 March 1946
Stricken: 5 June 1946
Identification:
Fate: returned to the Maritime Commission, 10 December 1954, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Washington
Status: sold to Zidell Corp. for scrapping, 5 February 1971
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

Schuyler was laid down under US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2163, on 27 May 1944, by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; sponsored by Miss Marilyn Hughes; acquired by the Navy on 20 June 1945; and commissioned on 13 July 1945, at Galveston, Texas, Lieutenant B. G. Fold, USNR, in command.[3]

Service history

World War II service

Schuyler loaded cargo at Gulfport, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, and sailed from the latter port on 9 August 1945 for the Pacific Ocean. She arrived at Leyte on 28 September; but, due to the end of the war, neither the cargo nor the ship was required there. She remained in the Philippine Islands until the cargo was purchased by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration for distribution in China.[3]

The ship then proceeded to Shanghai and discharged her cargo there between 18 January and 22 March. She arrived at Yokosuka on 27 March, was decommissioned and simultaneously returned to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 22 April 1946, and struck from the Navy List on 5 June 1946.[3]

Post-war inactivation

After service under charter to the Japanese government, the ship was laid up on 10 December 1954 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington, where she remained until sold on 5 February 1971, for $34,385 and scrapping.[3][4]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2015.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Schuyler". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
    • "Schuyler (AK-209)". Navsource.org. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
    • "Schuyler". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
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    • Photo gallery of USS Schuyler (AK-209) at NavSource Naval History


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