USS Amador (AK-158)

USS Amador (AK-158) at anchor in the Columbia River, OR., December 1944.
History
United States
Name: Amador
Namesake: Amador County, California
Ordered: MC hull 2103
Builder: Kaiser Shipyards Co., Richmond, California
Laid down: 27 December 1943
Launched: 15 June 1944
Acquired: 10 August 1944
Commissioned: 9 October 1944
Decommissioned: 23 October 1944
In service: 25 November 1944
Out of service: 20 June 1946
Refit: 23 October 1944, at Commercial Iron Works, Portland OR., converted to ammunition tender
Struck: 19 July 1946
Identification: Hull symbol:AK-158
Fate: scrapped in Spain in 1980
General characteristics [1]
Class & type: Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type: C1-M-AV1
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: 1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion:
Speed: 11.5 kn (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h)
Capacity: 3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
Complement:
  • 10 Officers
  • 69 Enlisted
Armament:

USS Amador (AK-158) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

Amador (AK-158) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2103) on 27 December 1943 at Richmond, California, by Kaiser Cargo Inc.; launched on 15 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. S. J. Davis; acquired by the Navy on 10 August 1944; commissioned on 9 October 1944, decommissioned at Portland, Oregon, on 23 October 1944 to undergo conversion to an ammunition tender by the Commercial Iron Works, and recommissioned on 25 November 1944, Lt. Fred W. Beyer in command.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Amador got underway early in December for shakedown training off San Pedro, California. She loaded cargo and ammunition at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, then sailed for Eniwetok on 11 January 1945. The ship reached Eniwetok on the 29th and was routed on to Ulithi. Upon her arrival there on 18 February, Amador was assigned to Service Squadron 10.

Delivering ammunition to the Philippines

Amador remained at Ulithi through 15 March for ammunition handling operations. She next set sail on the 16th for Leyte, Philippines, via Kossol Roads. The ship anchored in San Pedro Bay on 22 March and began issuing ammunition to ships of the fleet, as well as reworking defective projectiles and fuses. On 23 October, she moved to Guinan Roadstead, Samar, and began receiving ammunition from ammunition lighters for transportation back to the United States.

Post-war decommissioning

On 12 November, Amador got underway for Seattle, Washington. She arrived in Puget Sound on 8 December and remained in that area until 29 March 1946, when she began preparations for deactivation. She was decommissioned on 20 June 1946, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 19 July 1946. The ship was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 23 July 1946. She was subsequently sold and fitted out for service as a merchant ship.

References

  1. "USS Amador (AK-158)". Navsource.org. Retrieved June 5, 2015.

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

External links


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