USS ''Craighead'' (AK-175) 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
''Craighead'' was launched 28 February 1945, 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 2148; sponsored by Mrs. W. R. Provoost; transferred to the Navy 31 July 1945; and commissioned 5 September 1945.
Service history
Post-World War II activity
''Craighead'' sailed from
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 ...
, 25 September 1945 and arrived at
Davisville, Rhode Island, 4 October to load cargo for construction battalions on 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 from Davisville 25 October, arriving at
San Pedro, California, 15 November. After sailing on cargo duty between
Port Hueneme,
San Pedro, and
San Francisco, California, she sailed 14 December 1945 for
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 ...
, where she arrived 5 January 1946.
Post-war decommissioning
''Craighead'' was decommissioned 18 January 1946 and returned to the
Maritime Commission the same day for disposal.
Merchant service
''Craighead'' was sold to the
Republic of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
in 1947, for $693,862. She was transferred to the shipping company of Deniz Nakliyati T.A.O.,
Istanbul, Turkey, and renamed ''Kastamonu'' and reflagged to Turkish. Along with her
sister ships
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
, ex-, renamed ''Kars'', ex-, renamed ''Malatya'', and ex-, renamed ''Rize'', she would, for the next 15 years, provide cargo service between Turkey and Northern Europe. She was finally
broken up in the Turkish port of
Aliağa in January 1984.
Notes
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Bibliography
Online resources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Craighead (AK-175)
Alamosa-class cargo ships
Craighead County, Arkansas
Ships built in Milwaukee
1945 ships
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States