USS Menkar
Liberty ship of WWII / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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USS Menkar (AK-123) was a Crater-class cargo ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was first named after John White, a settler among those who sailed with Richard Grenville, to present-day North Carolina, in 1585, to found the Roanoke Colony. White acted as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. He became the governor, in 1587, of the colony, and his granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was the first English child born in the Americas. She was renamed and commissioned after Menkar, the second-brightest star in the constellation of Cetus. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
SS John White launching 31 December 1943, at St. Johns River Shipbuilding Co., Jacksonville, Florida. | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | John White |
Namesake | John White |
Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Ordered | as a type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1218 |
Awarded | 4 March 1942 |
Builder | St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1] |
Cost | $1,442,577 |
Yard number | 26 |
Way number | 2 |
Laid down | 17 November 1943 |
Launched | 31 December 1943 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Cora E. Owens |
Completed | 17 January 1944 |
Identification | |
Fate | Transferred to U.S. Navy, 17 January 1944 |
USS Menkar (AK-123) underway, date and location unknown. Note dazzle camouflage scheme. | |
United States | |
Name | Menkar |
Namesake | The star Menkar |
Operator |
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Acquired | 17 January 1944 |
Commissioned |
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Decommissioned |
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Stricken | 1 May 1946 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sold for scrapping, 8 May 1962, removed from fleet, 22 May 1962 |
Notes | Name reverted to John White when laid up in Reserve Fleet |
General characteristics [3] | |
Class and type | Crater-class cargo ship |
Displacement |
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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 |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
Capacity |
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Complement | 282 |
Armament |
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