USS ''Chatham'' (AK-169) was an commissioned by the
U.S. Navy for service in
World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
Construction
The third ''Chatham'' commissioned by the Navy, was launched 13 May 1944 by
Froemming Brothers
Froemming Brothers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was a shipyard that built ships for World War II under the emergency shipbuilding program, War Shipping Administration and United States Navy. Froemming Brothers shipyard was opened in 1942 by Ben Froe ...
, Inc.,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under a
Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2142,; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Salisbury; acquired by the Navy 20 January 1945; and commissioned at
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
, 22 February 1945.
Service history
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
''Chatham'' arrived at
Pearl Harbor 6 May 1945 to carry cargo to
Eniwetok,
Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
, and
Guam, before returning to San Francisco, 18 July for a brief overhaul. She cleared San Francisco 13 August, and until 30 January 1946, when she returned to San Francisco once more, carried cargo from
Okinawa to Guam,
Manus, Saipan, Eniwetok, and the Philippines, aiding in the redeployment of American strength in the Pacific Ocean which followed the war.
Post-war decommissioning
From the
US West Coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...
, she sailed to
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, where she was decommissioned 2 April 1946 and returned to the
Maritime Commission, 4 April 1946.
Merchant service
''Chatham'' was acquired by the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mattschappij, N.V. of
Amsterdam, Holland, and renamed ''Helena'', the former Navy cargo ship operated out of Amsterdam, under the Dutch flag, from 1949 to 1963.
She was sold in 1963 to the
Bahamas Line, Panama, and renamed ''Lincoln Express''. She broke in two and sank 15 December 1972, in heavy weather West of
San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a load of
Gypsum. All but one of her crew were rescued by the
USCG buoy tender .
Military awards and honors
The record does not indicate any
battle stars for ''Chatham''. However, her crew was eligible for the following medals:
*
American Campaign Medal
*
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
*
World War II Victory Medal
*
Navy Occupation Service Medal
The Navy Occupation Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was "Awarded to commemorate the services of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard personnel in the occupation of certain territories of the enemies of the U.S. durin ...
(with Asia clasp)
Notes
;Citations
Bibliography
Online resources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham (AK-169)
Alamosa-class cargo ships
Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County, North Carolina
Ships built in Milwaukee
1944 ships
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
Maritime incidents in 1972