USS ''Fentress'' (AK-180/T-AK-180) was an acquired 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 ...

during the final months of World War II. In 1950, she was reactivated and placed into service with the

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 ...

as USNS ''Fentress''. She was ultimately transferred to the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

and the

Republic of the Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

Construction

''Fentress'' was launched on 10 March 1945, by

Kaiser Cargo, Inc. The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser ...

, Richmond, California, 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 2376; sponsored by Mrs. G. M. Ellis; and commissioned 4 May 1945.

Service history

World War II-related service

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, ...

and availability, ''Fentress'' engaged in local operations until 27 June 1945 when she departed

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, to transport cargo among the

Philippine Islands 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 ...

. On 20 February 1946 she was placed out of commission and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission.

Service with the MSTS

After the organization of the

(MSTS), ''Fentress'' was reacquired on 1 July 1950 for service.

Merchant service

''Fentress'' 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 autho ...

on 15 October 1973 and transferred to the Government of the

on 20 July 1974. On 4 July 1982, she was transferred permanently to the

. This ship was apparently still docked on the Hawaiian Islands in 1982, as it was seen on the ''

Magnum P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on th ...

'' episode, "I do". The ship was scrapped in 1985.

Notes

;Citations

Bibliography

Online resources * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fentress (AK-180) Alamosa-class cargo ships Ships built in Richmond, California 1945 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands