USS Rockdale (AK-208)

USS Rockdale (AK-208) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She served with distinction in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and returned home in 1946 to be placed into the "mothball" fleet and sold in 1947.

History
United States
Name: Rockdale
Namesake: Rockdale County, Georgia
Ordered: as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2162[1]
Builder: Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Yard number: 327[1]
Laid down: 15 January 1944
Launched: 1 October 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. William R. Crawford
Acquired: 5 June 1945
Commissioned: 26 June 1945
Decommissioned: 22 March 1946
Stricken: 12 April 1946
Identification:
Fate: sold 11 February 1947, Nerlof Andersens Rederi A/S
Norway
Name: Carina
Owner: Nerlof Andersens Rederi A/S
Acquired: 11 February 1947
Fate: Wrecked and scrapped, 1969
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

Rockdale was laid down 15 January 1944, under US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2162, by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched 1 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William R. Crawford; acquired by the Navy from MARCOM on loan-charter basis 5 June 1945; and commissioned at Galveston, Texas, 26 June 1945.[3]

Service history

World War II service

Following shakedown off Galveston, Texas, Rockdale got underway from Gulfport, Mississippi, for the Panama Canal. Transiting the Canal 27 July, she proceeded to Hollandia, New Guinea, where she arrived 2 September to unload her cargo. On 9 September she steamed for Australia, reaching Brisbane 17 September. She got underway for Manus Island 25 September arriving 3 October. Underway the next day, she made Saipan on the 10th.[3]

Rockdale got underway on 13 October for Okinawa where she arrived 5 days later. On 1 November she sailed for the Mariana Islands and operated in that island group until getting underway for the Panama Canal on 13 January 1946. She transited the Canal on 20 February and arrived Norfolk, Virginia, on 1 March.[3]

Post-war inactivation

Rockdale decommissioned there 22 March, was returned to the War Shipping Administration on the 26th for lay-up in the James River, and was struck from the Navy List 12 April 1946.[3]

Merchant service

Rockdale was sold, 11 February 1947, to Nerlof Andersens A/S, of Norway, for $693,862.00.[4] She was wrecked and scrapped in 1969.[1]

Notes
    Citations
    1. C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2005.
    4. MARAD.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Rockdale (AK-208)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 19 October 2005. Retrieved 1 December 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
    • "Rockdale (AK-208)". Navsource.org. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
    • "Poinsett (AK-205)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
    • Photo gallery of USS Rockdale (AK-208) at NavSource Naval History


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