USS Zenobia

USS Zenobia (AKA-52) was 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 Pinto (AKA-41) until 1966. She was scrapped in 1974.

For other ships with the same name, see Zenobia (disambiguation).
History
United States
NameUSS Zenobia
NamesakeThe asteroid Zenobia
BuilderWalsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down12 May 1945
Launched6 July 1945
Commissioned6 August 1945
Decommissioned7 May 1946
Stricken30 November 1946
FateSold to Chile, 9 December 1946
Chilean Navy EnsignChile
NamePresidente Pinto
Acquired9 December 1946
Decommissioned1962
FateBelieved scrapped about 1974
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

Zenobia (AKA-62) was named after 840 Zenobia which is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. Zenobia was also the name of a queen of the Palmyrene Empire who reigned from 267 to 272 A.D. The ship was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1913) on 12 May 1945 at Providence, R.I., by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.; launched on 6 July 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Lillian V. MacDonald; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 6 August 1945.

U.S. Navy

Following her shakedown, Zenobia relieved Vermilion as a training ship with the Atlantic Fleet's Operational Training Command on 19 August. She served briefly in that role before she was reassigned to Service Force, Atlantic Fleet (ServLant), on 11 September. She operated with ServLant in 1946.

Although allocated to the Amphibious Force of the Atlantic Fleet on 1 April 1946, Zenobia's days as a United States naval vessel were numbered. She reported to the Commandant, 3rd Naval District, on 7 April and was decommissioned exactly one month later, on 7 May, at Brooklyn, N.Y. Struck from the Navy list on 30 November 1946, Zenobia was transferred at Brooklyn to the government of the Republic of Chile on 9 December 1946. More precisely, the ship was sold to Chile.[1]

Chilean Navy

Renamed Presidente Pinto, the former Navy attack cargo ship served the Chilean Navy as a transport through the late 1960s, including being the yearly supply ship for Easter Island and figuring prominently in scientific expeditions there,[2][3] and ended her active career as a training ship for midshipmen. She was transferred to "harbor duties" in 1968 — probably serving as a floating barracks or accommodation ship — and was replaced as training ship by the four-masted schooner Esmeralda. Presidente Pinto was probably scrapped in about 1974.

References
  1. Friedman, Norman. U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History, p. 174 (2002).
  2. Heyerdahl, Thor (1958). Aku-Aku. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  3. Fisher, R.L., ed. (June 26, 1958). "Preliminary Report on Expedition DOWNWIND IGY Cruise to the Southeast Pacific". IGY General Report Series. Number 2. Retrieved May 31, 2013.

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

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