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Liberty ship of WWII From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
USS Propus (AK-132) was a Crater-class cargo ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was first named after Frederick Tresca, a French-born lighthouse keeper, sea captain, pioneer shipping man, and Union blockade runner in Florida. She was renamed and commissioned after Propus, a star in the constellation Gemini. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Frederick Tresca |
Namesake | Frederick Tresca |
Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Ordered | as a type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2471 |
Awarded | 23 April 1943 |
Builder | St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1] |
Cost | $1,124,835 |
Yard number | 35 |
Way number | 5 |
Laid down | 31 January 1944 |
Launched | 29 March 1944 |
Sponsored by | Lt. Virginia P. Tresca |
Completed | 10 April 1944 |
Fate | Transferred to US Navy, 10 April 1944 |
United States | |
Name | Propus |
Namesake | The star Propus |
Acquired | 10 April 1944 |
Commissioned | 22 June 1944 |
Decommissioned | 20 November 1945 |
Stricken | 5 December 1945 |
Identification |
|
Fate | Sold for commercial use, 3 February 1947, removed from fleet, 17 February 1947 |
Notes | Name reverted to Frederick Tresca when laid up in Reserve Fleet |
Greece | |
Name | Nicolaou Georgios |
Owner | Nicolas G. Nicolaou |
Fate | Abandoned, 24 May 1951 |
Italy | |
Name | Gabbiano |
Owner | Achille Lauro |
Acquired | 1951 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1969 |
General characteristics [3] | |
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 | 206 |
Armament |
|
Frederick Tresca was laid down 31 January 1944, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2471, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Lieutenant Virginia P. Tresca, the great-granddaughter of the namesake, and launched 29 March 1944; chartered by the US Navy, 10 April 1944; she was converted by Merrill-Stevens Drydock & Repair Co., Jacksonville; and commissioned 22 June 1944.[1][2][3][4]
Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Propus proceeded via the Panama Canal, to the Pacific Ocean. In 1944, she operated at San Francisco, California, in September; Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, in October; and San Pedro, in December. In 1945, her cargo duties took her to Noumea and Espiritu Santo, in January; Pearl Harbor, San Francisco, and back to sea in February and March; Eniwetok, Saipan, and Tinian in April; San Francisco in May; Manus in June; Emirau and Manus in July; Pearl Harbor in August; San Francisco in September; and Norfolk, Virginia, in October 1945.[4]
Decommissioned 20 November 1945, she was redelivered to the War Shipping Administration 21 November, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register 5 December.[4] Her name reverted to Frederick Tresca, and she entered the James River Reserve Fleet, in Lee Hall, Virginia. She was struck from the Navy List 5 December 1945. She was sold for commercial use to Nicolas G. Nicolaou, 17 March 1947, for $544,506. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 20 March 1947.[4][5]
Frederick Tresca was renamed Nicolaou Georgios and reflagged in Greece. She was abandoned in the Red Sea, on 24 May 1951, because of a fire. She was towed to Suez by SS Montebello Hills and declared a total loss. Achille Lauro bought her in 1951, and had her towed to Italy, for repair and to be re-engined at Trieste. She was refitted with a 3,000 bhp (2,200 kW) Babcock & Wilcox diesel engine that had been built by Harland and Wolff in 1940. Nicolaou Gerogios was renamed Gabbiano and reflagged in Italy. She was scrapped in 1970.[3]
No battle stars are indicated for Propus in current Navy accounts. However, her crew was eligible for the following medals:
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