USNS Asterion (T-AF-63)
| Career (US) | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Ordered: |
as Arcadia Victory VC2-S-AP3 hull |
| Laid down: | 10 June 1944 |
| Launched: | 27 July 1944 |
| Acquired: | 7 November 1961 |
| In service: |
as USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) in September 1962 |
| Out of service: | 8 June 1973 |
| Struck: | 15 June 1973 |
| Fate: | sold, 31 August 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 12,130 tons(fl) |
| Length: | 455 ft 2 in (138.73 m) |
| Beam: | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draught: | 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) |
| Propulsion: | steam turbine, single shaft, 8,500hp. |
| Speed: | 17 kts |
| Complement: | 56 |
| Armament: | none |
USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) was an Asterion-class stores ship acquired by the United States Navy. Her task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas.
Contents
Pre-commissioning activity
The second vessel to be named Asterion by the Navy, AF-63 was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 41) on 10 June 1944 at Los Angeles, California, by the California Shipbuilding Corp., as Arcadia Victory. Launched on 27 July 1944 and sponsored by Mrs. James T. Wishart, Arcadia Victory was delivered to her operators, the American President Lines, on 3 September 1944. She operated under that shipping line's flag until laid up late in 1952.
Removed from the National Defense Reserve Fleet berthing area at Suisun Bay, California, on 7 November 1961, Arcadia Victory was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 12 November 1961. Renamed Asterion and classified as a store ship, AF-63, on 4 December 1961, the ship was taken to the Willamette Iron and Steel Co. of Portland, Oregon, where she underwent conversion to a refrigerated store ship.
Assigned to MSTS
Placed in service with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) (later Military Sealift Command, MSC) in September 1962 as USNS Asterion (T-AF-63), the ship operated in the MSTS (later, MSC), Pacific Area, delivering fresh and frozen foods to Pacific and Far Eastern ports. Early in her career, in 1963, she suffered minor damage to her bow in a collision off San Francisco, California, with the Japanese freighter Kokoku Maru.
Carrying "everything from steak and spuds, to mobile cranes and dynamite," Asterion—the winner of the MSTS "Smart Ship Award" in 1967—operated in the Pacific Ocean for the next decade; her ports of call ranged from Settahip, Thailand, and Saigon, South Vietnam, to Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, and Yokohama. As American involvement in the Vietnam War grew, Asterion's itinerary included the ports of Qui Nhon, Cam Ranh Bay, and Danang.
Decommissioning
Asterion arrived at Yokohama on 8 June 1973 from her last voyage as a "reefer ship" and her name was struck from the Navy list on 15 June 1973. Transferred, at Yokohama, to the Maritime Administration for disposal, she was sold to N. W. Kennedy, Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 31 August 1973. Final Disposition: fate unknown.
References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
See also
External links
- Ship infoboxes without an image
- Pages with broken file links
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Victory ships
- Ships built in Los Angeles, California
- 1944 ships
- World War II merchant ships of the United States
- Unique stores ships of the United States Navy
- Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States
