USS Alchiba

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For other ships with the same name, see SS Mormacdove.

USS Alchiba (AKA-6)
History
United States
NameUSS Alchiba
NamesakeAlchiba, a star in the constellation Corvus
BuilderSun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania
Laid down15 August 1938, as SS Mormacdove
Launched6 July 1939
Acquired2 June 1941
Commissioned15 June 1941
Decommissioned14 January 1946
RenamedUSS Alchiba (AK-23), 3 June 1941
ReclassifiedAKA-6 (attack cargo ship), 1 February 1943
Stricken25 February 1946
IdentificationIMO number: 5362544
Honours and
awards		3
battle stars & Presidential Unit Citation
(World War II)
Fate
  • Sold into merchant service, 1948
  • Scrapped, 1973
General characteristics
Class and type
attack cargo ship
TypeType C2 ship
Displacement6,761 long tons (6,869 t) light
Length459 ft 2 in (139.95 m)
Beam63 ft (19 m)
Draft26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)
Speed16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement247
Armament
  • 1 ×
    5 in (130 mm)
    gun mount
  • 4 × twin
    40 mm
    gun mounts
  • 16 × 20 mm gun mounts

USS Alchiba (AKA-6) was an

attack cargo ship of the United States Navy, named after Alchiba, a star in the constellation Corvus
. She served as a commissioned ship for 4 years and 7 months.

Operational history

Laid down as Mormacdove under a

Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc.; acquired by the Navy on 2 June 1941; renamed Alchiba the next day and simultaneously designated AK-23; converted by the Boston Navy Yard for naval service as a cargo ship; and placed in commission at Boston
on 15 June 1941.

1941

Alchiba was assigned to the

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – for Halifax, Nova Scotia, to take on cargo and personnel for transportation to Iceland. She departed Halifax on 22 October in convoy HX 156 and reached Reykjavík, Iceland, on 30 November. The vessel discharged cargo there before sailing back to the United States. She reached New York City
on 26 December, and was briefly drydocked there for repairs.

1942

The ship got underway on 11 January 1942, arrived at Charleston – via

Pacific theater, and set sail on 27 January. She transited the Panama Canal on 2 February; joined the Base Force, Pacific Fleet; and continued on to the Society Islands. Alchiba reached Bora Bora on the 17th and began discharging her cargo. She departed that port on 14 March and shaped a course for Chile. She reached Antofagasta
, Chile, on 29 March and took on a load of ingot and electrolytic copper. After transiting the Panama Canal on 8 April, the cargo ship arrived back in New York City on 19 April and unloaded her cargo.

Alchiba circa in early 1942.

One week later, Alchiba moved to Charleston and underwent a period of repairs and alterations. She resumed duty late in May and sailed for

Wellington, New Zealand
, on 11 July.

The vessel was assigned to Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and became a member of Transport Division C. For Operation Watchtower, Alchiba's Division served under Task Force 62 (South Pacific Amphibious Force), Task Group 62.1, Transport Group X-Ray. On 22 July, she sailed for Korp Island, Fiji Islands, to participate in amphibious landing exercises – the rehearsal for the first American assault landing in the Pacific theater. Upon completing this training, she embarked marines and filled her holds with ammunition, amphibious tractors, gasoline, and general supplies and got underway for operations in the Solomon Islands. The vessel arrived off Guadalcanal on 7 August, where she disembarked her troops, unloaded her cargo, and helped rescue survivors from the USS Astoria, sunk after the Battle of Savo Island. She left the Solomons on 9 August, bound for New Caledonia. After her arrival at Nouméa on the 13th, the ship loaded on more cargo and, nine days later, commenced a voyage which took her to Pago Pago, American Samoa; Tongatapu, Tonga Islands; and Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides.

Alchiba returned to Guadalcanal on 18 September. After unloading cargo to support

Navy Cross and executive officer Commander Howard R. Shaw the Silver Star for their leadership in saving this vessel.[4]

Alchiba aground and afire off Lunga Point in November 1942.

Salvage operations began soon thereafter. Most of her cargo was saved, and temporary repairs were in progress when Alchiba was torpedoed again on 7 December, this time by midget submarine Ha-38 (launched from I-24).[2][3] An enemy submarine's conning tower had been spotted shortly before two torpedoes were fired. One passed close under the cargo ship's stern, but the other struck her No. 4 hold on the port side near the engine room. Although the hold cargo (500-pound bombs) had been unloaded earlier, the blast killed three men, including Everett M. Stuermer, MM2[5] wounded six others, and caused considerable structural damage. Once the fires and flooding were controlled, salvage operations resumed and enabled the ship to get underway for Tulagi on 27 December 1942.

1943

Alchiba remained at Tulagi through 18 January 1943. On that day, she was moved to Espiritu Santo for further repair work. While at that island, the ship was redesignated AKA-6 on 1 February. She left Espiritu Santo on 6 May, bound for the West Coast of the United States, and entered the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, on 2 June.

Her refurbishing there lasted until early August when she conducted

Port Hueneme, California, to take on cargo. Six days later, she headed for the South Pacific to continue her service providing logistics support for Allied fighting men. Alchiba left Espiritu Santo on 12 September.[6] She made runs to New Caledonia and Guadalcanal and in mid-November, participated in the landings on Bougainville, as part of Transport Division C, III Amphibious Force. Alchiba returned to Espiritu Santo on 13 December.[6]

1944

Alchiba continued her supply duties in the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia through late March 1944. In April, Alchiba was assigned to carry elements of the 25th RCT (Regimental Combat Team), 4th Marines, for the invasion of Saipan as part of Transport Division 20. However, during the rehearsal in mid-May she had to return to Pearl Harbor for major repairs, and her place was taken by AKA 19 (USS Thuban). On 25 May, the ship left Pearl Harbor for the West Coast of the United States.

On 30 May, Alchiba entered the

Hunters Point Navy Yard
on the 22d and sailed once again for Espiritu Santo.

While en route, the ship experienced more engine problems, but she reached her destination on 9 October and commenced repair work. This process continued until early November, when the vessel shaped a course back to San Francisco. She arrived at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California, on the 29th and underwent extensive repairs to her main engine.

1945

On 24 February 1945, Alchiba commenced sea trials but was forced to return to Mare Island two days later for still more work. Two weeks later, the ship sailed to Morehaven(?), California, to load cargo and got underway on 20 March for Pearl Harbor. During the run to Hawaii, the engines continued to give trouble, and Alchiba returned to San Francisco for further repairs, this time by the General Engineering & Drydock Corp.

The cargo ship left the shipyard on 3 June; sailed to the

Eniwetok, Marshall Islands; Ulithi, Caroline Islands; Guam, Mariana Islands; and Manila, Philippines. The end of World War II
in mid-August found Alchiba in port at Ulithi unloading cargo. She remained on duty in the western Pacific through 26 October, when she was ordered back to the United States.

Alchiba arrived at San Francisco on 19 November. Eight days later, she began a voyage to the East Coast, transited the Panama Canal on 10 December, and sailed for Norfolk where she arrived on the 18th. Preparations for her deactivation then began.

Decommissioning and sale

The ship was decommissioned at Portsmouth, Virginia, on 14 January 1946; and her name was struck from the Navy List on 25 February 1946. She was transferred on 19 July 1946 to the Maritime Commission for disposal. She was sold in 1948 and refitted for merchant service in the Netherlands as Tjipanas, later renamed Tong Jit, and scrapped in 1973.[7]

Awards

Alchiba earned three battle stars for her World War II service, and received two awards of the Combat Action Ribbon, for actions on 8 November 1942 and 7 December 1942.

Alchiba was awarded a

Presidential Unit Citation for her service at Guadalcanal from August through December 1942. She is the only cargo ship in the history of the U.S. Navy to receive the Presidential Unit Citation. As a citation awardee, she was entitled to fly the Presidential Unit Citation pennant beneath her ensign, and to be saluted by other warships
whenever entering a military port.

References

  1. ^ PT 46 Deck Log
  2. ^
    OCLC 41977179
    . Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  3. ^ a b US Navy 1940-1945, War Damages. USS Alchiba (AKA6) 28 November and 7 December 1942. [1]
  4. ^ U.S. Navy Department Communique No. 440, July 13, 1943
  5. ^ Muster Rolls of U.S. Navy Ships, Stations, and Other Naval Activities, 01/01/1939-01/01/1949; A-1 Entry 135, 10230 rolls, ARC ID: 594996. Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group Number 24. National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
  6. ^ a b U.S.S. DENVER (CL 58) Deck Log and War Diary
  7. ^ http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/shipsbytype/cargoships.htm [dead link]
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External links

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