USS ''Ganymede'' (AK-104) was a commissioned by the

US 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 of ...

for service in

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 responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone. Named after the largest of the moons of Jupiter, Ganymede was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.

Construction

''Ganymede'', was laid down 16 May 1943, as liberty ship SS ''James W. Nye'', MCE hull 1571, by the

Permanente Metals Corporation Permanente Metals Corporation (PMC) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California, owned by one of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser's many corporations, and also engaged in related corporate activities. These four ...

, Yard No.2,

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

, under

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract; authorized for acceptance by the US Navy on 22 May 1943; classified as a cargo ship, AK-104, and renamed ''Ganymede'' on 27 May 1943. She was launched 8 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. William C. Dalby of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

; assigned to the General Engineering & Dry Dock Co. for conversion on 19 June 1943; acquired 23 June 1943; commissioned 31 July 1943.

Service history

After

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

training out of Oakland, ''Ganymede'' departed

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, 28 August 1943, carrying military cargo to Pallikulo Bay,

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

, and to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia. The ship was one of five Navy manned Liberties assigned 8 December 1943 to the Southwest Pacific Area for service under operational control of the Commander, Seventh Fleet in meeting

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

requirements. Assigned to the Seventh Fleet Service Force, she sailed from Queensland on 29 November 1943, with fuel, supplies, and passengers for Milne and Langemak Bays,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and thence returned to Australia. During the next 12 months she transported military cargo of many types and provided limited passenger service from ports of Australia to bases in New Guinea, including

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...

, Milne Bay,

Cape Sudest Cape Sudest is a cape in Papua New Guinea, next to Oro Bay. There was an important U.S military base there in World War II. It was situated in Oro Province Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal province of P ...

and Tanahmerah Bay. Her itinerary was expanded in February 1945, to include

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 ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Subic Bay and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, with occasional calls at Manus, Admiralty Islands. ''Ganymede'' continued her busy Australia–New Guinea–Philippines–Australia supply circuit until 20 November when she departed Brisbane, Australia for the United States arriving San Francisco 18 December. She remained in port until 25 February 1946, when she sailed for

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 ...

to take part in special explosive tests prior to her decommissioning there 15 April 1946.

Post-war decommissioning

Towed back to San Francisco, her name was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

1 August 1947, and she was returned 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 ...

(WSA) on 1 October 1947, and entered the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

Suisun Bay, California Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

. She was sold on 19 March 1973, to Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corporation, of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, for $137,000. She was delivered on 16 April 1973.

Awards

''Ganymede'' crew members were eligible for the following medals: *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal

Notes

;Citations

Bibliography

Online resources * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganymede (AK-104) Crater-class cargo ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Richmond, California 1943 ships Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet