.jpg) USSMegrez (AK-126), (plan view - aft) after conversion to US Naval service at Oakland, California, 2 November 1943. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | General Vallejo |
| Namesake | General Vallejo |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Isthmian Steamship Company[1] |
| Ordered | as aType EC2-S-C1 hull,MCE hull 1642[2] |
| Builder | California Shipbuilding Corporation,Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California |
| Yard number | 175[2] |
| Way number | 5[2] |
| Laid down | 31 March 1943 |
| Launched | 23 April 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. J. R. Jago |
| In service | 6 May 1943 |
| Fate | transferred to theUS Navy, 7 October 1943 |
| United States | |
| Name | Megrez |
| Namesake | The starMegrez |
| Acquired | 7 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 26 October 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 29 May 1946 |
| Renamed | Megrez, 11 October 1943 |
| Refit | converted for Naval service atBethlehem Steel Company,Shipbuilding Division,San Francisco, California |
| Stricken | 1 August 1947 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics[3] | |
| Class and 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 | 18 officers 260 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSMegrez (AK-126) was aCrater-classcargo ship commissioned by theUS Navy for service inWorld War II.Megrez was named afterMegrez, a star in the constellationUrsa Major. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in theAsiatic-Pacific Theater.
Megrez was laid down 31 March 1943, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull No. 1642, as theLiberty ship SSGeneral Vallejo, byCalifornia Shipbuilding Corporation,Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; launched on the 23 April 1943; sponsored by Mrs. J. R. Jago. She was acquired by the Navy tinderbareboat charter from MARCOM on the 7 October 1943; renamedMegrez 11 October 1943; converted by theBethlehem Steel Company,Shipbuilding Division,San Francisco, California; and commissioned 26 October 1943.[4]
DepartingSan Francisco Bay on 13 November 1943,Megrez headed forMicronesia. She operated out ofFunafuti, and after 6 March 1944,Kwajalein, as the "wholesaler", distributing dry provisions, clothing, medical supplies, and store stock to mobile supply base craft, which in turn distributed supplies to the consumer units of the fleet.[4]
Megrez returned toPearl Harbor on 2 June 1944, and took on a cargo of rolling stock, sheet metals, and ammunition for transportation to theMarianas in support ofSaipan andTinian operations. LeavingHawaiian waters on 19 June 1944,Megrez steamed, via Kwajalein andEniwetok, for Saipan, arriving on 14 August 1944. Two days later,Megrez moved to Tinian where she discharged the cargo at the rate of 590 short tons (540 t) a day.[4]
Megrez next sailed for Eniwetok, arriving on 31 August, to become a floating supply and freight depot once again. In October she was reassigned and on her arrival atUlithi on 14 October, she became a station ship for the issuance of lube oil to theUS 3rd Fleet and theUS 5th Fleet.Megrez served in this capacity for the next 7 months, supplying this vital fluid to thewarships as they pressed closer to theenemy's home islands.[4]
On 13 April 1945, her tour as a floating supply center completed,Megrez departed Ulithi forKossol Roads carrying fleet freight and general stores and supplies. She arrived in thePalau Islands on 14 April, unloaded her cargo and departed forSan Pedro Bay,Philippine Islands, on 18 April.[4]
Through September,Megrez freighted cargo among the Philippines and between San Pedro Bay and Ulithi. On 5 October 1945, she departed forBuckner Bay,Okinawa, arriving on 13 October, and then continued on to Japan on 3 November. Arriving atYokosuka on 7 November, she then supplied ships in theSea of Japan, theYellow Sea and theEast China Sea before departing for Pearl Harbor in December 1946 .[4]
Megrez was decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 29 May 1946, and was towed to San Francisco, California a year later. Her name was struck from theNavy Register on 1 August 1947, and she was turned over to MARCOM on 18 September 1947.[4]
She was placed in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet,Suisun Bay Group, until purchased byZidell Exploration, Inc., on 13 June 1974, for $175,679.97, under a "nontransportation use" (NTU) contract. She was physically removed from the Reserve Fleet on 8 August 1964.[5]
Navy records do not record anybattle stars awarded to this ship. However,Megrez's crew was eligible for the following medals:[3]
Online resources
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
