USS Xenia

USS Xenia (AKA-51) wa an Artemis-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1946. She was then sold to Chile, where she served as Presidente Errazuriz until 1966.

History
United States
NameUSS Xenia
NamesakeThe asteroid Xenia
BuilderWalsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down4 May 1945
Launched27 June 1945
Commissioned28 July 1945
Decommissioned13 May 1946
Stricken30 November 1946
FateSold to Chile, 1946
Chilean Navy EnsignChile
NamePresidente Errazuriz
Acquired1946
Decommissioned1962
Fatepartly scrapped 1966
General characteristics
Class and typeArtemis-class attack cargo ship
TypeS4–SE2–BE1
Displacement
  • 4,087 long tons (4,153 t) light
  • 7,080 long tons (7,194 t) full
Length426 ft (130 m)
Beam58 ft (18 m)
Draft16 ft (4.9 m)
Speed16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph)
Complement303 officers and enlisted
Armament

History

U.S. Navy

USS Xenia (AKA-51) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1912) on 4 May 1945 at Providence, Rhode Island, by the Walsh-Kaiser Company; launched on 27 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Roger W. Armstrong; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 28 July 1945.

Following shakedown, Xenia operated off the east coast with Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, from September 1945 until 17 April 1946, when she reported to the Commandant, 3rd Naval District, New York City, for disposal.

Chilean Navy

Decommissioned on 13 May 1946, Xenia was struck from the Navy list on 30 November 1946 and subsequently transferred to the government of Chile. Renamed Presidente Errazuriz (named after Federico Errázuriz Echaurren), she served the Chilean Navy, for a time serving as fleet flagship, until 1966. She was sold for partial scrapping by Agencias Metalugicas S.A.C of Chile. A section of the hull was retained by the Chilean Navy for use as a floating jetty.

Name background

The Greek word xenia (ξενία) is a term for an ancient concept of hospitality.

A July 1945 newspaper report stated that the Walsh-Kaiser Company had named each of its attack cargo ships after stars.[1] However, this was questioned at the time,[2] and appears to be in error. The ship names do correspond to the names of minor planets (asteroids), such as USS Artemis (AKA-21), 105 Artemis; USS Athene (AKA-22), 881 Athene; USS Aurelia (AKA-23), 419 Aurelia; and so forth. Thus, AKA-51 appears to be named for 625 Xenia, which was discovered by August Kopff in 1907.

Shortly after the ship was commissioned, the town of Xenia, Ohio, demonstrated how well it deserved the name which it shares with the asteroid and warship by offering to adopt the attack cargo ship.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  1. "'USS Xenia' Named For Star, Not City". Springfield News-Sun. Springfield, Ohio. July 29, 1945. p. 10-A. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "News Sidelights". Dayton Daily News. August 2, 1945. p. A-3. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
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