USS Sebastian (AK-211)

USS Sebastian (AK-211) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was retained by the Navy for only a short period of service before being inactivated as "excess to needs."

History
United States
Name: Sebastian
Namesake: Sebastian County, Arkansas
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2165[1]
Builder: Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Yard number: 331[1]
Laid down: 10 August 1944
Launched: 21 December 1944
Sponsored by: Miss J.C. Sullivan
Acquired: 10 August 1945
Commissioned: 11 September 1945
Decommissioned: 14 November 1945
Stricken: 28 November 1945
Identification:
Fate: transferred back to MARCOM, 14 November 1945
United States
Name: Coastal Spartan
Owner: MARCOM
Operator: Fall River Navigation Company (1947)
Acquired: 14 November 1945
In service: 14 November 1945
Out of service: 12 May 1948
Fate: sent to reserve fleet, 18 May 1948
Status: loaned to US Army, 31 October 1966
United States
Name:
  • Coastal Highflyer (1966–1967)
  • Resolve (1967–)
Acquired: 31 October 1966
Renamed: May 1967
Fate: sold for scrap, 22 January 1976
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

Sebastian was laid down on 10 August 1944, under US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2165, by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched on 21 December 1944; sponsored by Miss J.C. Sullivan; delivered to the U.S. Maritime Commission on 31 January 1945; acquired by the Navy on loan charter on 10 August 1945; converted to an AK at New Orleans, Louisiana; and commissioned on 11 September 1945.[3]

Service history

Commissioned after the end of World War II, Sebastian was retained by the Navy only briefly.[3]

Post-war inactivation

She was decommissioned on 14 November 1945 and simultaneously returned to MARCOM's War Shipping Administration (WSA) for subsequent maritime service under the name Coastal Highflyer. The name Sebastian was struck from the Navy List on 28 November 1945.[3]

Merchant service

On 4 January 1947, the Fall River Navigation Company chartered Coastal Highflyer. On 29 July 1947, she ran aground at the east end of Cayo Moa, Grand Shoal, Cuba.[2]

She was laid up in the Reserve Fleet in Wilmington, North Carolina, 18 May 1948.[2]

On 2 September 1960, she was put up for sale but received no bids.[4]

US Army service

On 31 October 1966, Coastal Highflyer was loaned to the US Army to serve as a training ship for stevedores. In May 1967 her name was changed to Resolve.[2]

She was sold for scrap on 22 January 1976, to Andy International, Inc.[4]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2011.
    3. DANFS.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Sebastian". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2 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 2 December 2016.
    • "USS Sebastian (AK-211)". Navsource.org. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
    • "Coastal Highflyer". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
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    • Photo gallery of USS Sebastian (AK-211) at NavSource Naval History


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