USS Muscatine (AK-197)

USS Muscatine (AK-197) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy under a US Maritime Commission contract during the closing period of World War II. She had a brief career before being decommissioned a year later.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Muscatine.
History
United States
NameMuscatine
NamesakeMuscatine County, Iowa
Orderedas type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2151[1]
BuilderGlobe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number118[1]
Laid down21 December 1943
Launched16 June 1944
Sponsored byMrs. William Kennedy
Acquired3 April 1945
Commissioned19 April 1945
Decommissioned7 March 1946
Stricken20 March 1946
Identification
FateSold, 24 February 1947
NorwayNorway
NamePalma
OperatorJ. Ludwig Moinckels Rederi
Acquired24 February 1947
FateScrapped 1973
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeAlamosa-class cargo ship
TypeC1-M-AV1
Tonnage5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement
  • 2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard)
  • 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 × propeller
Speed11.5 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

Muscatine was laid down under US Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2151, by Globe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin, 21 December 1943; named Muscatine and classified AK-197 on 25 February 1944; launched 16 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William Kennedy; floated down the Mississippi River in November 1944, for completion at Pennsylvania Shipyards, Beaumont, Texas; acquired by the Navy on loan charter from the Maritime Commission 3 April 1945; placed in service from 3 April to 4 April during transfer to Houston, Texas, for fitting out at Brown Shipbuilding Co.; and commissioned at Houston 19 April 1945.[3]

Service history

After shakedown along the Texas coast, Muscatine loaded a full cargo of "beer, Coca-Cola syrup, and a bottling unit" at Gulfport, Mississippi, before sailing 17 May for the central Pacific Ocean. She touched at Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands, 26 June, thence from 2 to 7 July, steamed to Guam where she discharged her cargo.[3]

Assigned to Service Squadron 8, she departed the Marianas 13 July and spent much of the final month of the Pacific war sailing to the US West Coast where she arrived San Francisco, California, 2 August. After loading refrigerated and "miscellaneous amphibious fleet issue" cargo, she sailed for the western Pacific the 18th.[3]

Muscatine off loaded refrigerated stores at Ulithi, in the Caroline Islands, between 8 and 11 September; thence, from 15 September to 23 October she served as a stores ship in Leyte Gulf, Philippine Islands. On 30 October she reached Sasebo, Japan, where she began duty as a cargo issue ship to support the occupation of the defeated Japanese Empire.[3]

She completed her occupation service 7 December and sailed for the United States. Steaming via the Marianas and the Panama Canal, she arrived Norfolk, Virginia, 6 February 1946.[3]

Post-war decommissioning

She steamed to Baltimore, Maryland, 23 to 24 February and decommissioned there 7 March 1946. She was returned to War Shipping Administration (WSA) 12 March and her name was struck from the Navy List 20 March.[3]

Merchant service

Muscatine was acquired by J. Ludwig Moinckels Rederi of Norway, on 25 February 1947, for $693,862 and renamed Palma. She was scrapped in 1973.[4]

Honors and awards

Qualified Muscatine personnel were eligible for the following:[2]

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

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Muscatine II (AK-197)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 20 November 2016.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    • "USS Muscatine (AK-197)". Navsource.org. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    • "Muscatine (AK-197)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
    • Photo gallery of USS Muscatine (AK-197) at NavSource Naval History
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