USS ''Xenia'' (AKA-51) wa an in service with 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 ...

from 1945 to 1946. She was then sold to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, where she served as ''Presidente Errazuriz'' until 1966.

History

U.S. Navy

USS ''Xenia'' (AKA-51) was laid down 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 ...

contract (MC hull 1912) on 4 May 1945 at

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, by the

Walsh-Kaiser Company Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc. was a shipyard in both Cranston, Rhode Island, Cranston and Providence, Rhode Island. It was built during World War II and financed by the Maritime Commission as part of the country's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. It was ori ...

; launched on 27 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Roger W. Armstrong; and commissioned at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

on 28 July 1945. Following

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, ...

, ''Xenia'' operated off the east coast with Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, from September 1945 until 17 April 1946, when she reported to the Commandant, 3rd Naval District, New York City, for disposal.

Chilean Navy

Decommissioned on 13 May 1946, ''Xenia'' was struck from the Navy list on 30 November 1946 and subsequently transferred to the government of

. Renamed ''Presidente Errazuriz'' (named after

Federico Errázuriz Echaurren Federico Errázuriz Echaurren (Santiago, November 16, 1850 – Valparaíso, July 12, 1901) was a Chilean politician who served as the 12th President of Chile. Early life He was son of the president Federico Errázuriz Zañartu and of Eulogia ...

), she served the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the War ...

, for a time serving as fleet flagship, until 1966. She was sold for partial scrapping by Agencias Metalugicas S.A.C of Chile. A section of the hull was retained by the Chilean Navy for use as a floating jetty.

Name background

The

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word '' xenia'' (ξενία) is a term for an ancient concept of hospitality. A July 1945 newspaper report stated that the Walsh-Kaiser Company had named each of its attack cargo ships after stars. However, this was questioned at the time, and appears to be in error. The ship names do correspond to the names of

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...

s (asteroids), such as USS ''Artemis'' (AKA-21), 105 Artemis; USS ''Athene'' (AKA-22), 881 Athene; USS ''Aurelia'' (AKA-23), 419 Aurelia; and so forth. Thus, AKA-51 appears to be named for

625 Xenia 625 Xenia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered in 1907 by August Kopff August Kopff (February 5, 1882 – April 25, 1960) was a German astronomer and discoverer of several comets and asteroids. Kopff studied and worked in Hei ...

, which was discovered by

August Kopff August Kopff (February 5, 1882 – April 25, 1960) was a German astronomer and discoverer of several comets and asteroids. Kopff studied and worked in Heidelberg, getting his PhD there in 1906 and he then joined the Humboldt University of Berli ...

in 1907. Shortly after the ship was commissioned, the town of

Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in southwestern Ohio and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. It is east of Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Miami Valley region. The name comes from the Gree ...

, demonstrated how well it deserved the name which it shares with the asteroid and warship by offering to adopt the attack cargo ship.

References

External links

NavSource Online: AKA-51 ''Xenia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xenia (AKA-51) Artemis-class attack cargo ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Ships built in Providence, Rhode Island 1945 ships Auxiliary ships of the Chilean Navy