USS Caelum (AK-106)

USS Caelum (AK-106) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Caelum was named after the constellation Caelum. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

For other ships with the same name, see Wyatt Earp (disambiguation).

USS Caelum (AK-106) underway probably in San Francisco Bay.
History
United States
Name:
  • Wyatt Earp
  • Caelum
Namesake:
Ordered: as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 1860[1]
Builder: California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California
Yard number: 231[1]
Way number: 5[1]
Laid down: 30 June 1943
Launched: 25 July 1943
Sponsored by: Mrs. H. N. MacKusick
Acquired: 10 August 1943
Commissioned: 22 October 1943
Decommissioned: 30 July 1946
Stricken: 15 August 1946
Identification:
Honors and
awards:		 1 × battle star
Fate: returned to MARCOM, 6 December 1945, laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Washington
Status: sold for scrapping, 19 October 1961, removed, 26 October 1961, scrapping completed, 2 January 1962
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Crater-class cargo ship
Type: Type EC2-S-C1
Displacement:
  • 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard)
  • 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length: 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam: 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft: 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity:
  • 7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT
  • 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement: 25 officers 196 enlisted
Armament:

Construction

Caelum was laid down 30 June 1943, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull No. 1860, as the Liberty ship SS Wyatt Earp, by California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; launched 25 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. N. MacKusick; transferred to the Navy 10 August 1943; commissioned 22 October 1943, Lieutenant Commander Edgar Johnson in command; and reported to the US Pacific Fleet.[3]

Service history

Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Caelum carried cargo between Pearl Harbor and Tarawa, Majuro, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, and Ulithi, in her first year of service. Her tireless operations included participation in the occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro in February 1944, and from June through October 1944, she was assigned to Service Squadron 10.[3]

Supporting invasion forces

A San Francisco overhaul late in 1944, was followed by Caelum's assignment from 20 January 1945, as station ship at Ulithi, and from 8 May, at Guam. At these bases she controlled and issued cargo and provisions to the ships which carried out the massive operations in the Palaus, Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and the task forces which pounded Japanese bases from the air.[3]

End-of-war activity

Returning to the States for overhaul in June and July 1945, Caelum towed YF-741 to Ulithi in August, and sailed on to support the occupation of Korea in September, and to provide logistic services to ships at Shanghai in early October. From 9 November, when she arrived at Samar, Philippine Islands, the cargo ship sailed from this and various Chinese ports until clearing for the United States 15 April 1946.[3]

Post-war decommissioning

Decommissioned at Seattle, Washington on 30 July 1946, Caelum was returned to the Maritime Commission the next day.[3] She was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Washington.[4]

Fate

On 19 October 1961, she was sold to Hyman-Michaels Company, for $82,011.11, to be scrapped.[4] Her scrapping was completed 2 January 1962, at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO).[2]

Awards

Caelum received one battle star for World War II service.[3]

Notes
    Citations
    1. CalShip 2010.
    2. Navsource 2016.
    3. DANFS 2016.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Naos". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "California Shipbuilding, Los Angeles CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
    • "USS Caelum (AK-106))". Navsource.org. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
    • "WYATT EARP". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 15 February 2017.


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