USS Camano

USS Camano (AG-130/AKL-1) was an Army Design 381 coastal freighter acquired by the United States Navy 16 July 1947 at Apra Harbor, Guam and became the lead ship of her class of cargo ship. She was configured as a Navy transport and cargo ship and operated with the U.S. Pacific Fleet until 1951, when she was turned over to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

History
United States
Name	USS Camano
Namesake	Camano Island in the Puget Sound, Washington
Builder	Wheeler Shipbuilding Corporation, Whitestone, Long Island, New York
Laid down	date unknown, as FS-256 for the U.S. Army
Acquired	by the US Navy, 16 July 1947, at Apra Harbor, Guam, as Miscellaneous Auxiliary
Commissioned	16 July 1947 as USS Camano (AG-130)
Decommissioned	26 July 1951
Reclassified	AKL-1, 31 March 1949
Stricken	date unknown
Identification	IMO number: 5338634
Fate	fate unknown
General characteristics
Type	Camano-class cargo ship
Displacement	550 tons
Length	177 ft
Beam	33 ft
Draft	10 ft
Propulsion	two 500 hp GM Cleveland Division 6-278A 6-cyl V6 diesel engines, twin screws
Speed	12 knots
Complement	42 officers and enlisted
Armament	Two 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machines guns, one on Port and one on Starboard side of flying bridge.

History

FS-256 was constructed as a Design 381 coastal freighter by Wheeler Shipbuilding, Whitestone NY for the U.S. Army as FS-256 in 1944 and delivered in 1945.^[1] FS-256 was a Coast Guard-staffed Army vessel until the end of World War II. She left New York 16 June 1944 for the Southwest Pacific. The Army vessel was decommissioned on 14 October 1945.^[2]

FS-256 was acquired by the Navy at Apra Harbor, Guam, 16 July 1947; renamed Camano and commissioned the same day. First designated as Miscellaneous Auxiliary with the designation of AG-130 the ship underwent conversion to Navy specifications until 8 October 1947. Camano began cargo and passenger duty out of Guam to the Caroline Islands. She was reclassified as a Light Cargo Ship to become AKL-1, the class lead, on 31 March 1949.^[3]

On 2 June 1949 she sailed to Pearl Harbor for overhaul, then resumed duty at Guam on 24 September and remained there, except for another overhaul at Pearl Harbor, until 26 July 1951. On that date, she was decommissioned and transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Camano was returned to the Navy 22 December 1952. She was struck from the Navy List at an unknown date. She then served for an unknown amount of time as a cargo ship. From January 1974 to December 1974, she was named Star 60, and afterwards was named Rio Chagres.^[4] Her final fate is not known.

Notes

1. "U.S. Army Coastal Freighters (F, FS, T)".
2. "World War II Coast Guard-staffed U.S. Army Freight and Supply Ship Histories".
3. "Naval History & Heritage Command; Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships".
4. "RIO CHAGRES". MarineTraffic. Retrieved 31 August 2018.

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 – FS-256 – AG-130 / AKL-1 Camano