USS Fairfield (AK-178)

USS Fairfield (AK-178) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and was decommissioned shortly after war’s end.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Fairfield.
History
United States
Name: Fairfield
Namesake:
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2374[1]
Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Richmond, California
Yard number: 70[1]
Laid down: 1944
Launched: 6 February 1945
Sponsored by: Mrs. Henry W. Creeger
Acquired: 28 March 1945
Commissioned: 28 March 1945
Decommissioned: 11 January 1946
Stricken: 12 April 1946
Identification:
Fate: 5 February 1946, custody transferred to the US Army
Status: declared a total loss, 29 April 1947
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

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Fairfield was launched on 6 February 1945, by Kaiser Cargo Inc., Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2374; sponsored by Mrs. Henry W. Creeger; acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis; and commissioned on 28 March 1945, Lieutenant C. R. Snyder, USNR, in command.[3]

Service history

Fairfield completed shakedown and fitting out before 8 May, when she arrived at San Francisco, California, to load cargo for Manus, Samar and Calicoan Islands. In early July she loaded US Army cargo at Parang, Mindanao, and was en route to Agusan province when on the 14th she picked up six Filipino guerillas from the wreckage of their boat which had been cut in two and sunk by a submarine.[3]

Fairfield continued her cargo operations among the islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean through October 1945 when she was drydocked at Newcastle, Australia, for a brief period before being assigned to carry Australian Army cargo from Sydney, Australia, to Borneo, Tacloban, and Manila, Philippines.[3]

Post-war decommissioning

During December the Navy removed all excess gear and she steamed into Yokosuka, Japan, on the 25th. On 8 January 1946 a Japanese crew came on board for training and on the 11th she was decommissioned and turned over to the War Shipping Administration for disposal.[3]

US Army service

Fairfield was transferred to the US Army on 5 February 1946, for an unknown period of time, however, on 29 April 1947, she was declared a total loss, but it is unknown what became of her after that.[2][4]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2015.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Fairfield II (AK-178)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
    • "FAIRFIELD (AK-178)". Navsource.org. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
    • "FAIRFIELD (AK-178)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 16 November 2016.


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