USS Autauga

USS Autauga (AK-160) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

History
United States
Name: Autauga
Namesake: Autauga County, Alabama
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2105[1]
Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Richmond, California
Yard number: 62[1]
Laid down: 10 May 1944
Launched: 7 August 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. Leroy Lloyd
Acquired: 24 November 1944
Commissioned: 24 November 1944
Decommissioned: 24 June 1946
Stricken: 19 July 1946
Identification:
Fate: Sold, 6 April 1948, to Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mattschappij, N.V., Amsterdam
History
Netherlands
Name: Hersilia
Owner: Koninklijke Nederlandsche StoombootMattschappij N.V.
Acquired: 6 April 1948
Fate: Sold 1963
History
Saudi Arabia
Name: Fauzia B
Owner: Saudi Lines
Acquired: 1963
Fate: Scrapped 1971
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type: C1-M-AV1
Tonnage: 5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement:
  • 2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard)
  • 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length: 388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam: 50 ft (15 m)
Draft: 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion: 1 × propeller
Speed: 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity:
  • 3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
  • 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated)
  • 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement:
  • 15 Officers
  • 70 Enlisted
Armament:

Construction

Autauga was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2105, on 10 May 1944 at Richmond, California, by the Kaiser Cargo Co.; launched on 7 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Leroy Lloyd; delivered to the Navy at her builder's yard on 24 November 1944; and commissioned the same day, Lieutenant Commander George L. Eastman, USNR, in command.[3]

Service history

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

After conversion to a cargo ship at the Navy Dry docks, Terminal Island, California, between 6 December 1944 and 9 January 1945, Autauga conducted her shakedown training out of San Pedro, California, from 10 to 22 January before shifting to Port Chicago, California early in February to load cargo. Autauga then departed San Francisco, California, on 16 February and, following a stop in the Marshalls, reached the Carolines one month later. After reporting to Commander, Service Squadron (ServRon) 10, at Ulithi as an ammunition issue and rework ship, she received from bulk carriers and then issued them to ships and craft that ranged from patrol boats to battleships.[3]

End-of-war activity

Leaving Ulithi in her wake on 9 July, the cargo ship sailed for the Marshalls and reached Eniwetok on the 16th to resume operation as an ammunition issue and rework vessel of Service Division 102. After hostilities with Japan ended in mid-August, she sailed for the United States on 8 November, having serviced almost 400 ships.[3]

Autauga reached the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on the 29th. Although initially earmarked for delivery to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) at Norfolk, Virginia, she was later directed to remain in the 13th Naval District because of the heavy workload at Norfolk.[3]

Decommissioning

Decommissioned on 24 June 1946, Autauga was delivered to the WSA the next day, and her name was struck from the Navy List on 19 July 1946.[3]

Merchant history

Acquired by the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mattschappij, N.V. of Amsterdam, Holland, and renamed Hersilia, the former Navy cargo ship operated out of Amsterdam, under the Dutch flag, from 1949 to 1962. Subsequently, bought by the Saudi Arabian concern, the Saudi Lines, and renamed Fauzia B, she served until being scrapped in January 1971 at Hsinkang.[4][3][5]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2015.
    4. "Autauga (5403984)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
    5. Swiggum & Kohli 2009.

    Bibliography

    Online resources


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