USS ''Capella'' (AK-13) was a cargo ship 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 ...

during

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 ...

. She was named for Capella, the star.

Built in Pennsylvania

''Capella'' was built in 1920 as ''Comerant'' by American International Shipbuilding Corporation,

Hog Island, Pennsylvania Hog Island is the historic name of an area southeast of Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania along the Delaware River, to the west of the mouth of the Schuylkill River. Philadelphia International Airport now sits on the land that was once Hog Island. ...

, under a

Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

contract; acquired by the Navy 20 November 1921; and commissioned 8 December 1921.

Relief supplies to Japan

''Capella'' arrived at

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, 19 March 1922 to carry cargo along the west coast until July, when she returned to the east coast for similar duty in the next 4 months. Back in California waters in November, ''Capella'' sailed to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in October 1923 to bring food and medical supplies, donated by American citizens, as well as water for the relief of

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

-desolated

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

Placed in reserve

The cargo ship resumed west coast operations until February 1924 when she returned to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. ''Capella'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve there 1 September 1924. She was recommissioned 10 November 1938, and resumed supply runs along the east and west coast in alternate periods, on occasion penetrating

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., ...

n waters.

Pre-WWII and WWII service

During July and August 1940 ''Capella'' assisted in the tow of the Navy's 10,700 ton New Orleans floating drydock from Balboa, Panama Canal Zone to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. ''Capella'' and conducted an in-line, tandem tow with logistics support from . The duration of the operation was 44 days and covered 4,771 nautical miles at an average speed of 4.5 knots.U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Volume 67, September 1941, pages 1241–61 As war threatened and the United States began the buildup of Western Hemisphere bases acquired from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, ''Capella'' was recalled to the east coast late in September 1940. The veteran cargo ship supported bases from the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

with cargoes brought from Atlantic ports until 1944. In June she cleared on the first of four transatlantic convoy crossings to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and North and West

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, all so safely guarded as to be made without incident. On 9 April 1942, ''Capella'' was hit by a friendly torpedo fired from

PT-59 ''PT-59 / PTGB-1'' was an S-Class Patrol Torpedo boat (PT boat) of the United States Navy, built by the Electric Launch Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. The boat was laid down as Motor Boat Submarine Chaser ''PTC-27'', and was reclassified as '' ...

, causing eight injuries, but no deaths.

Post WWII and decommissioning

''Capella'' returned to

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

cargo duty in June 1945, and on 30 November 1945 was decommissioned at Norfolk, Virginia. She was transferred to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

in July 1946.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capella (AK-13) Design 1022 ships 1921 ships Design 1022 ships of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Hog Islanders