USS Ailanthus
.png) USS Ailanthus (YN-57) launching at Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Everett, WA., 20 May 1943
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Ailanthus (AN-38) |
| Namesake | Ailanthus |
| Builder | Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Everett, Washington |
| Laid down | 17 November 1942 as YN-57 |
| Launched | 20 May 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Billie Jean McNatt |
| Commissioned | 2 December 1943 as USS Ailanthus (YN-57) |
| In service | 6 months |
| Reclassified | AN-38, 20 January 1944 |
| Stricken | 9 June 1944 |
| Fate | Grounded and declared a total loss. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Ailanthus-class net laying ship |
| Displacement | 1,190 long tons (1,209 t) |
| Length | 194 ft 7 in (59.31 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft 7 in (10.54 m) |
| Draft | 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) |
| Propulsion | Diesel-electric , 2,500 hp (1,864 kW), single propeller |
| Speed | 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) |
| Complement | 56 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
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USS Ailanthus (AN-38/YN-57) was an
U.S. Pacific Fleet with her protective anti-submarine nets. She ran aground at Lash bay, Tanaga Island in the Aleutians 26 February 1944 and was declared a total loss. She was only six months old. Seabees
of Naval Construction Battalion 45 assisted the ship's crew evacuate safely.
Built in Washington
Ailanthus (YN-57) was laid down on 17 November 1942 at Everett, Washington, by the Everett-Pacific Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company; launched on 20 May 1943; sponsored by Miss Billie Jean McNatt; and placed in commission at Seattle, Washington, on 2 December 1943.
World War II service
The net tender completed fitting out and, during the second half of December, conducted
13th Naval District
. On 20 January 1944, she was reclassified a net laying ship and redesignated AN-38.
Early in February, Ailanthus moved north to
U.S. Pacific Fleet
, she began to carry out net laying duties.
However, her career proved very brief. Having delivered a cargo of perforated steel plating (
13th Naval District to which she had originally been assigned). Finally, she was declared a total loss, and her name was struck from the Navy List
on 9 June 1944.
References
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 – YN-57 / AN-38 Ailanthus
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in February 1944 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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