USS ''Saugus'' (AN-4/AP-109/LSV-4/MCS-4) was an built for 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 ...
. Named after , which was in turn named for
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America.
History
Native Americans ...
, she was the second of three U.S. Naval vessels to bear the name.
Laid down on 27 July 1942 by the
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 ...
Corporation of
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...
as
netlayer
A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship.
A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...
''AN-4''; reclassified ''AP-109'' on 1 May 1943; launched on 4 September 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Rivers J. Carstarphen; reclassified ''LSV-4'' on 21 April 1944; completed by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company of
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
; and commissioned on 22 February 1945.
Service history
After shakedown, ''Saugus'' loaded cargo at
New Orleans
New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
and sailed on 30 March 1945 for Hawaii. En route, she spent 10 days at Balboa,
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 terri ...
, for turbine repairs and arrived at
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 ...
on 27 April. Between 4 May and 15 August, she made five round trips between the west coast and Hawaii with passengers and cargo. On 1 September she sailed from Pearl Harbor with occupation troops for Japan, arriving at
Sasebo
is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
on 22 September. She then made one voyage to
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 ...
; returned to Sasebo; and reported for "
Operation Magic Carpet
Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships ...
" duty on 20 October. After making two voyages returning troops home from 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 ...
, the ship was released from "Magic Carpet" duty in December 1945 and arrived at
San Diego
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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
for inactivation on 8 February 1946.
''Saugus'' was decommissioned on 24 March 1947 but remained "in service, in reserve" until 17 October 1947. Her designation was changed to ''MCS-4'' on 18 October 1956, in anticipation of a conversion under project SCB 123. She was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
on 1 July 1961 and transferred to the Maritime Administration's reserve fleet at Suisun Bay, California on 1 October 1962. She was sold for scrapping to the
National Metal and Steel
National Metal and Steel Corporation was engaged in ship breaking, ship dismantling operations at Terminal Island in the Los Angeles Harbor Region of the city of Los Angeles, California. Net laying ship § 1930s