USS Cassiopeia

USS Cassiopeia (AK-75) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the US Navy in World War II. She was the only ship of to bear this name. She is named after the Northern Hemisphere constellation Cassiopeia.

Broadside view of USS Cassiopeia (AK-75) off San Francisco, 19 December 1942.
History
United States
Name
  • Melville W. Fuller
  • Cassiopeia
Namesake
Orderedas a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 504[1]
BuilderPermanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Cost$1,124,481[2]
Yard number504[1]
Way number2[1]
Laid down13 October 1942[1]
Launched15 November 1942
Sponsored byMrs. C. F. Calhoun
Acquired27 November 1942
Commissioned8 December 1942
Decommissioned21 November 1945
Stricken5 December 1945
Identification
Honours and
awards		1 × battle star
FateExpended as a target 28 June 1961
General characteristics [3]
Class and typeCrater-class cargo ship
TypeType EC2-S-C1
Displacement
  • 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard)
  • 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power
  • 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) ,  (manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox)
  • 2,500 shp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion
Speed12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity
  • 7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT
  • 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement195
Armament

Construction

Cassiopeia was launched 15 November 1942 as liberty ship SS Melville W. Fuller by Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 504; sponsored by Mrs. C. F. Calhoun; acquired by the Navy 27 November 1942; and commissioned 8 December 1942.[4]

Service history

Cassiopeia sailed from San Francisco 21 December 1942 with cargo for Nouméa, where she arrived 12 January 1943. From this base, she offered essential support to the operations in the consolidation of the northern Solomons, carrying the varied necessities of war throughout the South Pacific. Between 19 June and 11 July, the cargo ship voyaged to Auckland, New Zealand, to reload, then returned with voyages from Nouméa to Guadalcanal until 9 August. Another resupply mission and a brief repair period in New Zealand preceded her resumption of South Pacific operations in November.[4]

This pattern of ferrying vital supplies in the South Pacific alternating with voyages to New Zealand to reload continued until 6 June 1945, when Cassiopeia cleared Auckland for San Francisco, the Panama Canal Zone, and Norfolk, where she arrived 25 October.[4]

Decommissioning

The cargo ship was decommissioned 21 November 1945, and transferred to MARCOM for disposal the same day.[4]

Final disposition

Cassiopeia was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Virginia, on 21 November 1945.[3]

On 21 June 1961, the Navy requested her for testing purposes, on 27 June 1961, she was transferred back to the Navy[5] to be used as a target by Cutlass, in the VACAPES area.[3]

Awards

Cassiopeia received one battle star for World War II service.[4]

References
  1. Kaiser No. 1 2010.
  2. MARCOM.
  3. Navsource 2014.
  4. DANFS.
  5. MARAD.

Bibliography
  • "Cassiopeia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 December 2016.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "Kaiser Permanente No. 1, Richmond CA". ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  • "USS Cassiopeia (AK-75)". Navsource.org. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  • "MELVILLE W. FULLER". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  • "SS MELVILLE W. FULLER". Retrieved 15 December 2017.
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