USS Leonis
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Key Pittman |
Namesake | Key Pittman |
Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Operator | Coastwise Lines |
Ordered | as a MCE hull 512[1] |
Builder | Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California |
Yard number | 512[1] |
Way number | 1[1] |
Laid down | 21 November 1942 |
Launched | 22 December 1942 |
In service | 31 December 1942 |
Fate | transferred to the US Navy , 10 October 1943 |
United States | |
Name | Leonis |
Namesake | The constellation Leo |
Acquired | 10 October 1943 |
Commissioned | 25 October 1943 |
Decommissioned | 5 December 1945 |
Stricken | 15 December 1946 |
Identification |
|
Honors and awards | 2 × battle stars |
Fate | Sold for scrapping, 29 April 1966 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Crater-class cargo ship |
Displacement |
|
Length | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
Beam | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
Draft | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
Capacity |
|
Complement | 234 |
Armament |
|
USS Leonis (AK-128) was a
Construction
Leonis was laid down 21 November 1942, as
Merchant history
Key Pittman was initially under War Shipping Administration (WSA) control and was the first Liberty ship to make the transit from Milne Bay to Oro Bay with supplies for the New Guinea campaign arriving Oro Bay on 11 June 1943 and departing 16 June.[4] The arrival of Key Pittman back in Milne Bay on 17 June signified the end of Operation Lilliput which had before that time largely involved Dutch ships.[5]
Service history
The ship was acquired by the Navy 6 October 1943; renamed Leonis 11 October, and commissioned 25 October 1943.[6]
After shakedown along the west coast, Leonis departed San Pedro 6 December, with cargo for the Pacific islands. Arriving
Assigned to the
Following training and repairs, the cargo ship departed Pearl Harbor 20 August, to join the forces preparing for the
After loading
Touching the Marshalls and
Inactivation and decommissioning
Sailing again 15 October, the veteran cargo ship proceeded toward the East Coast, arriving Norfolk, Virginia 6 November. Leonis decommissioned there 5 December 1945 and was returned to WSA the 9 December.[6] Her name also reverted to Key Pittman.[2]
The ship was subsequently laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia. Key Pittman was sold on 29 April 1966, to Universal Salvage Corporation, but she was returned in August because of default in payment. She was again sold on 2 November 1967, for scrapping, to North American Smelting Company. She was delivered 21 November 1967, with scrapping completed 17 November 1968.[3]
Awards
Leonis received two
Notes
- Citations
Bibliography
Online resources
- "Leonis". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- "Kaiser Permanente No. 1, Richmond CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- "USS Leonis (AK-128)". Navsource.org. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- "KEY PITTMAN". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
Books
- Masterson, Dr. James R. (1949). U. S. Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941-1947. Washington, D. C.: Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, U. S. Army. p. 589.
- Gill, G. Hermon (1968). Royal Australian Navy 1939–1942. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Vol. 2. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
External links
- Photo gallery of Leonis (AK-128) at NavSource Naval History