USS Alnitah

The USS Alnitah (AK-127) was a Crater-class 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.

USS Alnitah (AK-127), under way, date and location unknown.
History
United States
Name	John A. Logan Alnitah
Namesake	John A. Logan The star Alnitah
Ordered	as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 451^[1]
Builder	Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Yard number	451^[1]
Way number	10^[1]
Laid down	12 October 1942
Launched	14 January 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. T. W. Ludington
Acquired	8 October 1943
Commissioned	27 November 1943
Decommissioned	11 March 1946
Refit	converted for Naval service at Los Angeles Shipbuilding Corp, San Pedro, CA.
Stricken	28 March 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-127 Code letters: NHCI
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 3 March 1961
General characteristics ^[2]
Class and type	Crater-class cargo ship
Displacement	4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard) 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam	56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft	28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power	2 × Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 220psi 450° 2,500 shp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion	1 × General Machine Corp. vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 1 × shaft
Speed	12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity	7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m^3) (non-refrigerated)
Troops	1057
Complement	309
Armament	1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber dual purpose gun 4 × 40 mm (1.6 in) 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounts 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft gun mounts

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Notes

Citations

1. Kaiser No. 2 2010.
2. Navsource 2016.
3. DANFS.
4. MARAD.

Bibliography

Online resources

• "Alnitah". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 31 December 2016.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• "Kaiser Permanente No. 2, Richmond CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
• "USS Azimech (AK-124)". Navsource.org. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
• "ALNITAH (AK-127)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 31 December 2016.

External links

• Photo gallery of Alnitah (AK-127) at NavSource Naval History