USS Luna (AKS-7)

USS Luna (AKS-7) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was originally named for Harriet Hosmer, a neoclassical sculptor, considered the first female professional sculptor. She was converted shortly after completion to an Acubens-class general stores issue ship and renamed Luna, the latin name for the Moon. She was responsible for delivering and disbursing goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

USS Luna (AKS-7)
History
United States
Name: Harriet Hosmer
Namesake: Harriet Hosmer
Owner: War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator: Standard Fruit & Steamship Company
Ordered: as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1528
Builder: J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost: $2,204,181[1]
Yard number: 10
Way number: 4
Laid down: 23 April 1943
Launched: 30 September 1943
Acquired: 25 October 1943
Identification:
Fate: Transferred to US Navy, 2 November 1943
United States
Name: Luna
Namesake: Luna
Acquired: 2 November 1943
Commissioned: 31 January 1944
Decommissioned: 28 April 1946
Reclassified: General Stores Issue Ship, AKS
Identification:
Fate: Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, 21 May 1947
Status: Sold for scrapping, 23 October 1964
Notes: Name reverted to Harriet Hosmer when laid up in Reserve Fleet
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Acubens-class General Stores Issue Ship
Tonnage:
Displacement:
Length:
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam: 57 feet (17 m)
Draft: 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power:
  • 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa)
  • 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion:
Speed: 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity:
  • 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain)
  • 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement: 195
Armament:

Construction

Harriet Hosmer was laid down 23 April 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1528, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched 30 September 1943.[3][1]

Service history

Harriet Hosmer was allocated to the Standard Fruit & Steamship Company, on 25 October 1943, for transport to Tampa, Florida. Acquired by the Navy, 2 November 1943, she was converted by Tampa Shipbuilding Co.; renamed Luna 13 November 1943; and commissioned 31 January 1944, Lieutenant Commander James A. F. Knowlton in command.[4]

Luna departed Norfolk, Virginia, 19 March 1944, passed through the Panama Canal, and arrived Pearl Harbor 15 April. After being assigned to ServRon 10, she sailed for her first issue area 19 April, and arrived Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, 27 April, to service units of the U.S. 5th Fleet. After a short voyage to Kwajalein, she proceeded to Eniwetok 3 June, and returned Pearl Harbor 8 July. She then steamed to Oakland, California, the 6th to reload at the Naval Supply Depot; this was to be her only return to the United States until after the war.[4]

From 1944 to 1946, the ship continued servicing the U.S. 3rd Fleet and the U.S. 5th Fleet in the South Pacific. While at Ulithi, Caroline Islands, 24 October 1945, she assisted Viburnum who had struck a mine. After successfully completing seven issuing voyages and servicing 1,121 different ships, Luna was ordered to Tokyo Bay 25 September 1945, to load for the final voyage home.[4]

Post-war decommissioning

She arrived San Francisco, California, 28 December, and returned to Pearl Harbor, where she was decommissioned 28 April 1946. She was then towed back to San Francisco, and delivered back to MARCOM on 21 May 1947, and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the Suisun Bay Group. On 23 October 1964, she was sold, along with another ship, for $111,226 to Nicolai Joffe Corp., for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 2 November 1964.[5][4]

Military awards and honors

Luna's crew was eligible for the following medals:

[2]

References
  1. MARCOM.
  2. Navsource.
  3. J.A. Panama City 2010.
  4. DANFS.
  5. MARAD.

Bibliography
  • "Luna". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 22 November 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  • Maritime Administration. "Harriet Hosmer". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  • "SS Harriet Hosmer". Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  • "USS Luna (AKS-7)". Navsource.org. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2017.


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