USS ''Akutan'' (AE-13) was a ''Lassen''-class
ammunition ship
An ammunition ship is an auxiliary ship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for naval ships and aircraft. An ammunition ship's cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks bet ...
commissioned in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. She was laid down on 20 June 1944 at
Tampa, Fla., by the
Tampa Shipbuilding Co. Tampa Shipbuilding Company, or TASCO, was one of a number of shipyards in Tampa, Florida. It operated from 1917 to after World War II, closing in 1947.
History
Origins
Originally Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, founded in 1917, the y ...
; launched on 17 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Rosswell B. Daggett, the wife of Capt. Daggett, USN, the supervisor of shipbuilding at Tampa; and commissioned on 15 February 1945. She was named after
Akutan Island
Akutan Island ( ale, Akutanax̂; russian: Акутан) is an inhabited island in the Fox Islands group of the eastern Aleutian Islands in the Aleutians East Borough of Alaska.
Geography
The island is approximately 18 mi (30 km) in ...
, an active volcano in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
.
Service history
Following shakedown training in the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
, the ammunition ship entered the
Norfolk Navy Yard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
for an availability. In early April, she moved to
Earle, N.J., to take on ammunition and cargo. On the 9th, ''Akutan'' shaped a course for the Pacific. She transited the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
on 16 April and proceeded independently to
Ulithi
Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap.
Overview
Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...
,
Caroline Islands. Upon reaching that advanced base on 11 May, the ship reported to Service Squadron 10, Service Force, Pacific Fleet.
On 15 May, ''Akutan'' got underway with Task Group (TG) 50.8, bound for
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. The ship arrived there on the 21st and operated from that island during the next four weeks, supplying ammunition to various units of the fleet. She sailed for Ulithi on 18 June and weathered a typhoon before arriving there on the 22d. Two days later, the vessel shaped a course for
Leyte
Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census.
Since the accessibility of land has be ...
,
Philippine Islands.
''Akutan'' reached
San Pedro Bay on 26 June and was assigned to Service Squadron 8 for duty. She remained in Philippine waters until mid-August discharging and receiving ammunition. On 14 August the ship got underway with TG 30.8 to replenish ammunition for vessels of the 3d Fleet. The following day, Japan capitulated. ''Akutan'' returned to San Pedro Bay on 10 September and operated there until 28 October, when she sailed for the east coast of the United States. The ship paused en route at
Eniwetok
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
and
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, retransmitted the Panama Canal, and reached Norfolk in December.
Following a brief stay there, ''Akutan'' sailed to Earle, N.J., to discharge her ammunition. When her cargo had been unloaded, the ship got underway for
Orange, Tex., in January 1946. She left Texas on 10 March and proceeded to
, Louisiana, to undergo repairs.
ocked at Algiers, Akutan took on 3,000 tons of gas shells—causing the crew to be issued gas masks for the duration.Five days later, the vessel set sail for
Houston, Tex., disposing of her cargo of gas shells off the Florida coast, en route. and upon arriving there, entered a shipyard for further repairs. On 26 April, the ship returned to Orange, Tex., and began preparations for deactivation. ''Akutan'' was decommissioned on 19 October 1946. her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1960, and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Administration for layup at
Beaumont, Tex.
Awards and honors
''Akutan'' earned two
battle star
A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...
s and the
Philippine Liberation Ribbon
The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on 20 December 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. The d ...
for her
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
service.
References
*
External links
AE-13 Internet Links
External links
at navsource.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akutan (Ae-13)
Lassen-class ammunition ships
Type C2-N ships
Ships built in Tampa, Florida
1944 ships
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States