.jpg) USSRutilicus (AK-113), moored, 13 October 1944 at San Francisco. Her camouflage is Measure 32 Design 11F. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Ordered | as aType EC2-S-C1 hull,MCE hull 1643[1] |
| Builder | California Shipbuilding Corporation,Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California |
| Yard number | 176[1] |
| Way number | 10[1] |
| Laid down | 2 April 1943 |
| Launched | 26 April 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. A. B. Chandler |
| Acquired | 9 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 30 October 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 17 December 1945 |
| Stricken | 8 January 1946 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors & awards |  2 ×battle stars |
| Fate | Returned to MARCOM, 18 December 1945, sold for scrapping, 26 October 1971, removed, 23 November 1971 |
| General characteristics[2] | |
| Class & type | Crater-classcargo ship |
| Type | Type EC2-S-C1 |
| 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 | 16 officers 190 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSRutilicus (AK-113) was aCrater-classcargo ship commissioned by theUS Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in theAsiatic-Pacific Theater.
Rutilicus was laid down 2 April 1943, underMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull No. 1643, asLiberty ship SSAndrew Rowan, byCalifornia Shipbuilding Corporation,Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; launched on 26 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. A. B. Chandler; and delivered toWaterman Steamship Co. for operation on 8 May 1943. Acquired by the Navy on 9 October 1943, she was commissioned atSan Diego, California, on 30 October 1943.[3]
Following a shortshakedown cruise along the coast,Rutilicus took on a load of general cargo atPort Hueneme, California, and steamed inconvoy for theTerritory of Hawaii arriving atPearl Harbor on 21 November. Departing theHawaiian Islands on 4 December, she continued on to theGilbert Islands, delivering cargo at bothTarawa andAbemama before returning to Pearl Harbor on 12 January 1944.[3]
She got underway on 25 January 1944, for the invasion of theMarshall Islands. Arriving atMajuro on 3 February, she delivered 150Marines and general cargo and then returned to Pearl Harbor on 21 February. Her next voyage, 29 February to 28 March, was a run toBaker Island, to pick up Army Air Force advance base equipment for return to Pearl Harbor.[3]
Rutilicus' next operations involved extensiveisland-hopping. Standing out from Pearl Harbor on 14 April, she steamed in convoy forKwajaleinAtoll, the Marshalls, arriving on 23 April. She then touched atMakin, Tarawa, Abemama, and Makin again, before returning to Pearl Harbor on 20 May.[3]
By 14 June,Rutilicus was steaming in convoy forEniwetok Atoll, arriving there on 25 June. For the next seven weeks, she rode at anchor there, then joined up with a convoy forTinian, theMarianas. Following offloading at Tinian, she left for Eniwetok 14 August, touching there on 19 August, and then continued on to Pearl Harbor. Then she steamed independently forSan Francisco, California, arriving on 8 September. On 12 September, she moved intoAmship Corporation Shipyard,Alameda, California, for repairs, alterations, and conversion from a general cargo carrier to a fleet dry provisions issue ship.[3]
Rutilicus moved to theNaval Supply Depot,Oakland, California, on 13 October, took on dry provisions, clothing, small stores, ship's store stock, and medical stores for fleet issue in the forward areas. Thirteen days later, she steamed forLeyte, thePhilippines, viaManus,Funafuti, andHollandia. By 1 December, she was serving units of the fleet in Philippine waters. The next 5 months saw her issuing stores between Hollandia,Nouméa,Espiritu Santo, Manus,Ulithi, andGuam. She was back in San Francisco on 6 May 1945.[3]
Following repairs, she steamed on 12 June, via theCarolines forOkinawan waters. She commenced operations fromBuckner Bay on 21 July; and, on 10 September, she steamed with Task Group 55.7 forNagasaki, Kyūshū, Japan, arriving on 12 September. She shifted toSasebo on 25 September.[3]
After returning to San Francisco, she headed, via thePanama Canal, forNorfolk, Virginia. Arriving atHampton Roads on 1 December, she reported to the Commandant,5th Naval District for disposition.[3]
Decommissioned on 17 December 1945, and returned to theWar Shipping Administration (WSA) the following day, she was struck from theNavy List on 8 January 1946.Rutilicus was placed in the MARCOMNational Defense Reserve Fleet, and was laid up in theJames River.[3]
On 26 October 1971, she was sold toHierros Ardes, S.A., ofBilbao, Spain, for $71,520, to be scrapped. She was removed from the fleet 23 November 1971.[4]
Rutilicus received twobattle stars for World War II service.[3] Her crew was eligible for the following medals:[2]
Online resources
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