U.S.S. Vega
AK-17
1939
(Saratoga Model Shipyard SMY-5)
- Class: Sirius - 4 cargo ships of 1919
- Displacement: 11,400 tons
- Dimensions: 401 x 54 x 24.5 ft
- Machinery: 2-shaft reciprocating (VTE), SHP 2,500 = 11.5 knots
- Armament: 2-5"/51, 2-3"/50 AA guns
- Complement: 227
- Builder: American International Shipbuilding Corp, Hog Island, PA
- Laid down: 8 Jul 1918
- Launched: 18 Jul 1919
- Acquired: 2 Dec 1921
- Commissioned: 21 Dec 1921
- Decommissioned: 15 Jan 1946
- Notes: Launched as SS Lebanon (named for Lebanon, PA), a United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corp Standard Type A Freighter built at Hog Island. After a few commercial sailings in the North Atlantic, she was laid up by the summer of 1921. One of six Hog Islanders taken over by the Navy, four of which became cargo (AK) ships. Renamed USS Vega, she was refitted at Boston Navy Yard and then assigned to the Naval Transportation Service. She operated in both the Atlantic and Pacific prewar. Arrived at Pearl Harbor on 6 Dec 1941 with a cargo of ammunition. She was unloading during the Japanese attack the next day, but was not molested. Sailed between Hawaii, the West Coast, and Alaskan ports in 1942-44. Then she participated in Western Caroline Islands, Marianas, and Okinawa campaigns, earning a total of four battle stars. Scrapped in 1946.
Previous
Up
Next