 Majaba sister ship SSPoint Bonita | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | An island of thePhilippines |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Albina Engine & Machine Works,Portland, Oregon |
| Cost | $821,751.56 |
| Yard number | 16 |
| Launched | 22 May 1919 |
| Completed | 1919 asMeriden |
| Acquired | Chartered by the US Navy asEl Capitan |
| Commissioned | 23 April 1942 asMajaba (AG-43) |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1943 |
| In service | 1 July 1943 asMajaba (IX-102) |
| Out of service | 14 March 1946, atSubic Bay |
| Stricken | 28 March 1946 |
| Identification |
|
| Honours & awards | 1battle star for World War II service. |
| Fate | Sank at pier, Philippines, 1946 |
| General characteristics[1][2][3] | |
| Type | Design 1049 "Albinia Type" cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 2,254 GRT, 1,353 NRT, 3,700 DWT |
| Displacement | 5,070 tons |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 44.1 ft (13.4 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 11 in (5.5 m) |
| Depth | 19.2 ft (5.9 m) |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion steam, single propeller |
| Speed | 12 knots |
| Armament | one single3 in (76 mm)gun mount |
USSMajaba (AG-43/IX-102) was the Design 1049 cargo shipMeriden built in 1919 by theAlbina Engine & Machine Works,Portland, Oregon. All the ships were requisitioned by theUnited States Shipping Board (USSB) for World War I service. The ship was bought by the E. K. Wood Lumber Co., ofSan Francisco, California in 1923 and renamedEl Capitan. The ship was chartered by theU.S. Navy through theWar Shipping Administration (WSA) in April 1942 and commissioned asMajaba.
Majaba was assigned to operations in the South Pacific Ocean and atGuadalcanal she was struck by atorpedo and beached. After salvage, towing, removal of engines and repair atTulagi the ship served as abarracks, storage ship and repair ship until the end of the war. In October 1945 WSA requisitioned the title from the owner.Majaba continued service at Tulagi until she was towed to the Philippines in 1945. The ship was redelivered to WSA on 14 March 1946, placed in the reserve fleet at Subic Bay and declared a loss. On 14 July 1946 the hull sank at the pier and declared not salvageable.
Meriden was built in 1919 by Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon. The designationEmergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) Design 1049 "Albinia Type" ship was applied to an existing Albina design after the United States Shipping Board (USSB) requisitioned the ships. The hull was Albina's yard hull number 16, USSB/EFC hull number 2249.Meriden, with U.S. Official Number 218284, signal LRPB, home port of San Francisco with registered crew size of 32.[1][2][4][5]
The type was 2,254 GRT, 1,353 NRT, 3,700 DWT, 289 ft (88.1 m) inregistry length, 44.1 ft (13.4 m) beam and 19.2 ft (5.9 m) draft. The ship was oil fired with triple expansion steam engines.[1][2]
The vessel was delivered to USSB operations 22 July 1919 and operated as a USSB vessel until 1920.General Steamship Corporation purchased the ship, originally costing $821,751.56, for $717,800 in a combination of cash and mortgage taking delivery on 28 May 1920.[6] In 1923 the ship was acquired by E. K. Wood Lumber Co., ofSan Francisco, California and renamedEl Capitan.[1][2][5] AsEl Capitan the ship is shown with signal KILP.[7]
General Steamship Corporation operatedMeriden as a general cargo vessel between the Pacific Northwest states and California.[8] AsEl Capitan the ship was engaged in theWest Coast lumber trade on the same route. An example of the cargo was a load destined forSan Pedro, California of 2,100,000 feet of lumber.[9]
El Capitan was delivered to theWar Shipping Administration (WSA) on 14 March 1942 atAlameda, California to operate under anArmy Transportation Corps agreement. The nature of the charter from E. K. Wood Lumber Co., ofSan Francisco, California was changed to bareboat on 23 April 1942 atHonolulu, Hawaii.[10] The Navy acquired the vessel under a sub-bareboat charter at the same time. The ship was immediately commissioned asMajaba designated AG-43.[3]
Majaba completed conversion to amiscellaneous auxiliary 14 May 1942 and subsequently steamed to theHawaiian Islands for cargo runs to islands ofPolynesia and the South Pacific Ocean.[3]
DepartingHonolulu 24 June 1942, she operated during the next several months out of Honolulu and completed supply missions toPalmyra Island,Christmas Island, andCanton Island.[3] In JulyMajaba was waiting at Palmyra for escort to theSouthwest Pacific operations areas joining a convoy stopping atFanning Island,Suva arriving atAuckland on 18 August 1942.[11][12] Eventually she reachedEfate,New Hebrides, to bolster the vital ocean supply line to American forces engaged in the bitter struggle for control of Guadalcanal.[3]
Majaba departed the New Hebrides 26 October 1942 and steamed to meet two supplyconvoys bound for theSolomon Islands. However, heavy weather prevented the rendezvous, and she returned toEspiritu Santo 29 October. Later that day she sailed once again for Guadalcanal where she arrived 2 November 1942. Screened byUSS Southard, she crossedIronbottom Sound and unloaded cargo atTulagi that same day.[3]
DespiteJapanese naval forces active in the area,Majaba shuttled cargo betweenTulagi and Guadalcanal during the next few days.[3] She arrived 2 nmi (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) east ofLunga Point, Guadalcanal, early 7 November 1942.[13][note 1] While her escort,Woodworth, patrolled for enemysubmarines off Lunga Point, she began final unloading operations prior to her planned departure for Espiritu Santo. Shortly before 0930 7 November 1942[13] lookouts inLansdowne, anchored nearMajaba, spotted aperiscope of what postwar records indicate wasHA-11 followed by twotorpedo wakes. One torpedo, which apparently passed underLansdowne, hit the beach but failed to explode.[3][14] That torpedo came ashore about 50 ft (15.2 m) from a party ofSeabees constructing a new pier and unloading lighters on the beach.[15] The other curved towardMajaba and exploded against herstarboard side amidships, destroying her engine room and boilers.[3] All ammunition had been unloaded.[13] She settled and listed slightly but did not sink. WhileLansdowne andWoodworth searched for the enemy sub,Bobolink went toMajaba's aid. The tug towed the disabled ship east along the coast of Guadalcanal and beached her that afternoon off the month of theTenaru River.[3]
On 8 January 1943[note 2]USS Navajo andBobolink freedMajaba from her beached position and towed her to Tulagi.[3] Work had started on 1 January 1943 with salvage operations preparing the ship for towing and continued until the morning of 8 January whenNavajo moored starboard side to port side ofMajaba for the tow getting underway with assistance ofBobolink shortly after noon. At 1528 hours the ships arrived at Tulugi and beached the bow ofMajaba in the mud of a river onFlorida Island.[note 3] Additional salvage work, including unloading bombs, began 9 January and continued through 16 January 1943.[16][17][18][19]
The November 1943 deck log ofUSS Denver anchored in Berth No. 10,Port Purvis Anchorage, Florida Island, Solomon Island Group, showsMajaba moored alongside at 1708 hours 18 November 1943, unloading ammunition, and departing to moor offUSS SC 1268 at 1450 hours 20 November 1943.[20][note 4]
Her engine was removed and her hull repaired and she was reclassifiedIX-102 and placed in an in-service status on 1 July 1943, she remained at Florida Island, Solomons, and during the remainder of World War II served as a floating quarters and material storage ship.[3][21] TheOffice of Naval Intelligence list of vessels for 1945 notes the ship's function as "salvage and repair."[22] As such the ship was assigned to CommanderService Force Pacific, Service Squadron Two.[23][24] On 13 October 1945 ownership of the ship changed with the War Shipping Administration obtaining title requisitioned from E. K. Wood Lumber Company with ownership vested in theU.S. Maritime Commission.[10][25][note 5]
Following the end of the war,Majaba was towed to thePhilippines. She remained atSan Pedro Bay, Leyte, until early in 1946 when she was towed toSubic Bay,Luzon. On 14 March 1946 the ship was placed out of service, redelivered to WSA and placed in the reserve fleet at Subic Bay. WSA declared the ship a loss on that date.[10] Her name was struck from theNavy List 28 March 1946. The ship sank at her pier 14 July 1946 and, already declared a loss, was declared impossible to salvage.[3][10]Majaba received onebattle star for World War II service.[3][26]
The remains of the ship are reportedly the most dived site in Subic Bay. The ship lies on its port side in about 20 m (65.6 ft) with the starboard side lying at 5 m (16.4 ft) to 8 m (26.2 ft) below the surface. The forward and aft cargo holds are open and the engine room and center hold can be reached by entering those. The wreck is sometimes used to train wreck divers.[27]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
