USS Aries (AK-51)
.jpg) USS Aries (AK-51) Off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, on 29 May 1944. She is carrying the main armament of two 3"/50 guns, one forward and one aft, that was fitted when she was manned by a Navy crew and commissioned in July 1942.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Lake Geneva (ID-4215-B) |
| Namesake | Lake Geneva, Wisconsin |
| Builder | McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company |
| Launched | 22 June 1918 |
| Acquired | 21 September 1918 |
| Commissioned | 22 September 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 17 July 1919 |
| Fate | United States Shipping Board |
| United States | |
| Name | John J. O’Hagan |
| Acquired | 22 September 1941 |
| Renamed | USS Manomet 15 October 1941 |
| Reclassified | (AG-37) 15 October 1941 |
| Namesake | Manomet, Massachusetts |
| Renamed | USS Aries 7 January 1942 |
| Reclassified | (AK-51) 7 January 1942 |
| Namesake | Aries |
| Commissioned | 18 July 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 28 March 1946 |
| Stricken | 17 April 1946 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1952 |
| General characteristics as USS Aries | |
| Displacement | 4,500 tons |
| Length | 261 ft (80 m) |
| Beam | 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 10 in (5.44 m) |
| Speed | 9.25 knots |
| Complement | 122 |
| Armament | 2 x 3"/50 caliber guns |
USS Aries (AK-51) (1918–1952) was a
After fitting out, the freighter sailed for
, to French ports.After continuing this duty through the spring of 1919, she sailed for Charleston, South Carolina, carrying some 1,500 tons of Army ordnance material. However, while en route to that port, she was diverted to Newport News, Virginia, where she arrived on 12 July.
Between the wars
After discharging her cargo, Lake Geneva was slated for demobilization. She was decommissioned on 17 July 1919 and then returned to the USSB, in whose hands she remained until the mid-1920s. She was then sold to the Bison Steam Ship Company, of Tonawanda, New York, and renamed John J. O'Hagan in honor of the manager of the firm which had purchased her. She operated out of Buffalo, New York carrying coal and iron ore on the Great Lakes.
World War II service
Shortly before the United States entered
After taking on cargo, ammunition, and supplies, the cargo ship stood out to sea and joined a convoy bound for
The ship left Iceland on 21 August 1943, on a course for the
Upon reaching San Diego on 12 February, the vessel underwent more repairs to her main engine. Late in April, she entered the
Aries reached
On 20 May, the ship set a course for San Pedro Bay. She arrived there on the 24th and commenced discharging her cargo. In mid-June, the vessel began taking on various equipment and supplies for transit to Ulithi. She got underway on 2 July, arrived back at Ulithi on the 8th, and was assigned duty as a station ship, her role through the end of hostilities on 15 August.
After VJ Day
Aries left Ulithi on the 22nd and proceeded to
On 30 November, the cargo ship left Japanese waters and set a course for the United States. She paused en route at Midway on 11 December and finally reached San Francisco on the 24th. The ship then discharged all her cargo and ammunition in preparation for deactivation.
Final disposition
She later moved to
See also
- USS Menemsha (AG-39)sister ship in Navy
- USS Lake Pepin(ID 4215) sister ship in Navy in 1918
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
