USNS ''Blue Jacket'' (T-AF-51) was an ''Alstede''-class

stores ship Store may refer to: Enterprises * Retail store, a shop where merchandise is sold, usually products and usually on a retail basis, and where wares are often kept ** App store, an online retail store where apps are sold, included in many mobile op ...

in service 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 ...

Military Sea Transportation Service Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

from 1950 to 1971. She was scrapped in 1973.

History

''Blue Jacket''—a C2-S-B1 type freighter—was laid down under a

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 183) on 23 October 1941 at

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 ...

, by the

Moore Dry Dock Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. In 1905, Robert S. Moore, his brother Joseph A. Moore, and John Thomas Scott purchased the National Iron Works located in the Hunter's Point section o ...

Co.; launched on 14 February 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Edward U. Read; and delivered to her operators, the United Fruit Co., on 25 March 1943. 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 ...

, she was operated by the

United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

, then in 1947 by the Black Diamond Steamship Corporation and, after return to the Maritime Commission in 1948, by the U.S. Army under charter. ''Blue Jacket'' was acquired from the U.S. Army in 1950 as a refrigerator ship, T-AF-51, and assigned to the

(MSTS), Atlantic Area. She operated as such, lifting cargoes of various kinds (mostly consisting of refrigerated stores) between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an ports through the late 1960s. Taken out of service with MSTS on 19 August 1970, ''Blue Jacket'' was transferred on that day to the temporary custody of the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

for lay-up in the

James River, Virginia The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. On 1 September 1971, she was transferred to the permanent custody of that agency; and her name was struck from the Navy list on 19 October 1971. Sold to Andy International, Inc., of

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, on 1 March 1973, the ship was later scrapped.

Military awards and honors

''Blue Jacket's'' crew was eligible for the following medals: *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...

(1)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Jacket (T-AF-51) Type C2-S-B1 ships Ships built in Oakland, California 1942 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Alstede-class stores ships Type C2-S-B1 ships of the United States Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States