USS Alnitah
{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=USS Alnitah (AK-127).jpg |Ship caption=USS Alnitah (AK-127), under way, date and location unknown. }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}} |Ship name=
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner= |Ship operator= |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered=as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 451{{sfn|Kaiser No. 2|2010}} |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number=451{{sfn|Kaiser No. 2|2010}} |Ship way number=10{{sfn|Kaiser No. 2|2010}} |Ship laid down=12 October 1942 |Ship launched=14 January 1943 |Ship sponsor=Mrs. T. W. Ludington |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired=8 October 1943 |Ship commissioned=27 November 1943 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=11 March 1946 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit=converted for Naval service at Los Angeles Shipbuilding Corp, San Pedro, CA. |Ship struck=28 March 1946 |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification=*Hull symbol: AK-127
|Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 3 March 1961 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption={{sfn|Navsource|2016}} |Ship class={{sclass|Crater|cargo ship}} |Ship type= |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement={{Crater cargo displacement}} |Ship length={{Crater cargo length}} |Ship beam={{Crater cargo beam}} |Ship draft={{Crater cargo draft}} |Ship power={{Crater cargo power CE}} |Ship propulsion={{Crater cargo propulsion GMC}} |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed={{Crater cargo speed}} |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity={{Crater cargo capacity}} |Ship troops=1057 |Ship complement=309 |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*1 × 5-inch/38-caliber gun caliber dual purpose gun
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The USS Alnitah (AK-127) was a {{sclass|Crater|cargo ship}} in the service of the US Navy in World War II. Named a spelling variation of the star Alnitak in the constellation Orion, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
Construction
Alnitah was laid down 10 December 1942, as liberty ship SS John A. Logan, MCE hull 451, by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract; launched on 14 January 1943; sponsored by Mrs. T. W. Ludington; acquired by the Navy on a bareboat basis on 7 October 1943; converted for naval service at San Pedro, California, by Los Angeles Shipbuilding Corp.; renamed Alnitah on 11 October 1943 and simultaneously designated AK-127; and placed in commission at San Pedro on 27 November 1943.{{sfn|DANFS}}
Service history
Following a brief period of shakedown training, the ship took on cargo and personnel at Port Hueneme, California, for transportation to the South Pacific. She departed the California coast on 12 December, and reached Espiritu Santo on 3 January 1944. On that same day, Alnitah reported to Service Squadron 8 for duty as an interisland transport. Among her ports of call were Guadalcanal and Florida Island, Solomon Islands; Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides; Treasury Islands; Russell Islands; Fiji Islands; Auckland, New Zealand; Nouméa, New Caledonia; Milne Bay, New Guinea; Ulithi, Caroline Islands; Tinian and Guam, Mariana Islands; and Okinawa.{{sfn|DANFS}}
Alnitah continued her routine of transporting cargo and personnel throughout the Pacific theatre of operations into late July 1945. The ship departed Saipan on 28 July, and shaped a course for the west coast of the United States. During her homeward voyage, Japan capitulated in mid-August ending World War II. After a two-day visit en route at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the cargo ship arrived at San Francisco, California, on 21 August, and received voyage repairs before the vessel resumed action on 25 September. She was subsequently assigned to Magic Carpet duty, which involved shuttling American military personnel from various points in the Pacific back home to the United States.{{sfn|DANFS}}
USS ALNITAH departed Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands 01NOV1945 and arrived San Diego CA 21NOV1945.
The cargo ship made a voyage from San Francisco to Roi, Kwajalein, and Majuro Atolls in October. She touched back at Pearl Harbor on 12 November before continuing on to San Diego, California. Alnitah debarked her passengers before getting underway on 29 November, for Okinawa. The vessel arrived there on 22 December, and discharged her cargo and passengers. She operated in the Okinawa area through 4 February 1946; then sailed for the Philippines. The ship reached Subic Bay on 8 February and there embarked troops for transportation to Japan. Alnitah left Philippine waters on 16 February, and arrived at Yokosuka, Japan, on 23 February.
Inactivation and decommissioning
USS ALNITAH departed Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands 01NOV1945 and arrived San Diego CA 21NOV1945.
Upon her arrival preparations were begun to deactivate the ship. She was decommissioned on 11 March 1946, and was transferred to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) representative at Yokohama, Japan. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 28 March 1946.{{sfn|DANFS}}
On 26 September 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon, as part of the "7th Group Libertys". She was sold for scrapping on 3 March 1961, to Zidell Exploration, Inc., for $52,887.87, with delivery on 12 April 1961.{{sfn|MARAD}}
Notes
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;Citations
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Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
Online resources
- {{cite DANFS
| url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/alnitah.html
| title = Alnitah
| publisher = Naval History and Heritage Command
| access-date = 31 December 2016
| ref = {{sfnRef|DANFS}}
}}{{PD-notice}}
- {{cite web
| url = http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/kperm2.htm
| title = Kaiser Permanente No. 2, Richmond CA
| publisher = www.ShipbuildingHistory.com
| date = 13 October 2010
| access-date =31 December 2016
| ref = {{sfnRef|Kaiser No. 2|2010}}
}}
- {{cite web
| url = http://www.navsource.org/archives/9/13/130127.htm
| title=USS Azimech (AK-124)
| publisher=Navsource.org
| date= 16 December 2016
| access-date= 31 December 2016
| ref={{sfnRef|Navsource|2016}}
}}
- {{cite web
| url = https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/165
| title = ALNITAH (AK-127)
| publisher = United States Department of Transportation
| access-date = 31 December 2016
| ref = {{sfnRef|MARAD}}
}}
{{refend}}
External links
- {{navsource|9/13/130127|Alnitah (AK-127)}}
{{Crater class cargo ship}}
{{Kaiser, Permanente Metals, Richmond Shipyards}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alnitah (AK-127)}}
Category:Crater-class cargo ships
Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States