USS Achernar (AKA-53)
USS Achernar (AKA-53)
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Achernar |
| Laid down: | 6 September 1943 |
| Launched: | 3 December 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 31 January 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 July 1963 |
| Fate: | Transferred to Spain; scrapped in 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Andromeda-class attack cargo ship |
| Displacement: | 14,200 tons |
| Length: | 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m) |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h) |
| Complement: | 429 |
| Armament: |
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USS Achernar (AKA-53) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship in the service of the United States Navy, named after the star Achernar. She served as a commissioned ship for 19 years and 5 months.
She was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract on 6 September 1943 at Kearney, New Jersey by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., launched on 3 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Adela Rogers St. John, acquired by the Navy on 29 January 1944, and commissioned on 31 January 1944 with Comdr. H. R. Stevens in command.
Following conversion and fitting out at the New York Navy Yard, the attack cargo ship got underway on 28 February and held shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay. On 13 March, she arrived at Staten Island, New York — where she loaded cargo and embarked Army personnel for transportation to Britain — and stood out to sea on 19 March, with Convoy CU-18. She arrived at Swansea, Wales on 30 March and spent the next two months transporting cargo and personnel between various ports in the United Kingdom in preparation for the Normandy invasion.
The last week in May found Achernar in Plymouth, England. On 1 June 1944, she was designated the 1st Army's headquarters ship. On 6 June, she steamed across the English Channel and anchored in her preassigned position in Baie de la Seine, France. For the next few days, she acted as a nerve center for troops fighting for a foothold in France. On 11 June, the 1st Army's headquarters disembarked, and Achernar got underway for England. After a three-day respite in Plymouth, the ship moved to Roseneath, Scotland to take on the cargo and personnel of two construction battalions. On 19 June, she returned to Plymouth to onload materials to repair damaged assault craft and, on 22 June, got underway for the assault area in France. While on station, she underwent several enemy air attacks. The cargo ship again left the French coast on 29 June to return to England and arrived in Plymouth on 1 July. On 5 July, the ship was ordered to sail as a part of Task Group (TG) 120.6, which was bound for the Mediterranean Sea to support the invasion of southern France. The ship entered the harbor at Oran, Algeria on 10 July; but, six days later, sailed to Naples. After loading operations there, she switched to an anchorage at Castellamare, Italy on 2 August. Here, she embarked personnel of the 36th Division and proceeded to sea on 13 August for the assault in southern France. On the morning of 15 August, her crew commenced discharging her cargo and sending it to the beaches. The next day, after finishing the delivery of cargo, she received casualties on board and embarked 13 German prisoners of war before getting underway to return to Naples.
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