USS Midland (AK-195)

History

United States
Name:	Coastal Harbinger Midland
Namesake:	Midland County, Michigan or Midland County, Texas
Ordered:	MC hull 2126
Builder:	Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Laid down:	29 July 1944, as MV Coastal Harbinger
Launched:	23 December 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. William G. Mitsch
Acquired:	17 August 1945
Commissioned:	27 September 1945
Decommissioned:	13 November 1945, name reverted to MV Coastal Harbinger
Struck:	date unknown
Identification:	Hull symbol:AK-195
Fate:	transferred to the Maritime Commission 13 November 1945 sold, 1 June 1946, to the government of China, without cost, reflagged Republic of China, renamed MV Union Banker
Status:	fate unknown
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and 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:	1 × Nordberg Diesel diesel TSM 6 engine 1 × shaft
Speed:	11.5 kn (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h)
Capacity:	3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
Complement:	15 Officers 70 Enlisted
Armament:	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual purpose gun 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft gun mounts

USS Midland (AK-195) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed by the U.S. Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was declared excess-to-needs and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission shortly after being in commission for only a short period of time.

Built in Superior, Wisconsin

Midland (AK 195) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin, 29 July 1944; launched 23 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William G. Mitsch; converted by the New Orleans Naval Station; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on loan charter 17 August 1945.

Service career

Midland was placed in service the same day to be ferried from Beaumont, Texas, to Galveston, Texas, and placed out of service upon arrival the 18th; and commissioned 27 September 1945, Lt. Lloyd K. Barry, USNR, in command.

Post-war decommissioning

Because of the reduced need for cargo ships following World War II, Midland decommissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, 13 November 1945 and was returned to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) the same day for service under the Maritime Commission as Coastal Harbinger.

Her subsequent history and ultimate fate are not known.

References

↑ "USS Midland (AK-195)". Navsource.org. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-195 Midland

Alamosa-class cargo ship

Alamosa Alcona Amador Antrim Autauga Beaverhead Beltrami Blount Brevard Bullock Cabell Caledonia Charlevoix Chatham Chicot Claiborne Clarion Codington Colquitt Craighead Dodridge^* Duval^* Fairfield Faribault Fentress Flagler Gadsden Glacier Grainger Gwinnett Habersham Hennepin Herkimer Hidalgo Kenosha Lebanon Lehigh Lancaster Marengo Midland Minidoka Muscatine Muskingum Nicollet Pembina Pemiscot Pinellas Pipestone Pitkin Poinsett Pontotoc Richland Rockdale Schuyler Screven Sebastian Somerset Sussex Tarrant Tipton Traverse^* Tulate^* Washtenaw^** / Sgt. George Peterson Westchester^* Wexford^† / Coastal Crusader Maiden's Eye / Colonel William J. O'Brien Becket Bend / Private John F. Thorson Short Splice Long Splice / Private Frank J. Petrarca

* = Canceled August 1945 ** = Canceled August 1945, but completed as Coastal Guide † = Canceled August 1945, but completed as Coastal Crusader List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy

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