USS Richland (AK-207)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Richland.
History
United States
Name: Richland
Namesake: Richland County, Ohio, Richland County, Illinois, Richland County, Montana, Richland County, North Dakota, Richland County, South Carolina and Richland County, Wisconsin
Ordered: MC hull 2161
Builder: Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Laid down: 15 January 1944
Launched: 5 August 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. Warren G. Brown
Acquired: 17 April 1945
Commissioned: 22 April 1945
Decommissioned: 23 January 1946
Struck: 7 February 1946
Identification: Hull symbol:AK-207
Fate: sold for scrapping 15 December 1971, to Pyramid Ventures Group, Inc., delivered 12 January 1972
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:
  • 15 Officers
  • 70 Enlisted
Armament:

USS Richland (AK-207) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the U.S. Navy during the closing period of World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and returned home in 1946, where she was placed into the reserve "mothball" fleet until scrapped in 1971.

Built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

The first ship to be so named by the navy, Richland (AK-207) built under U.S. Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2161) was laid down 15 January 1944 by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched 5 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Warren G. Brown; acquired from the Maritime Commission on a loan-charter basis 17 April 1945 at Port Houston Iron Works, Texas, where she was converted for Navy use and commissioned 22 April 1945, Lt. Isaac Hills III, USNR, in command.

World War II service

Following shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico, Richland transited the Panama Canal and reported to the U.S. Pacific Fleet for duty 10 June 1945. She arrived in Leyte Gulf 17 July and operated on cargo hauls in Philippine Islands waters until steaming for the United States on 9 November.

Post-war inactivation

Richland transited the Panama Canal 16 December 1945 and proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia. She then continued to Mobile, Alabama, where she decommissioned 23 January 1946. She was struck from the Navy List 7 February 1946, redelivered to the U.S. Maritime Commission and placed in the Naval Defense Reserve Fleet. She was berthed at Mobile, Alabama until the first half of 1971, then scrapped.

References

  1. "USS Richland (AK-207)". Navsource.org. Retrieved June 7, 2015.


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