USNS Sgt. Morris E. Crain (T-AK-244)

Career (USA)
Name:	Sgt. Morris E. Crain
Namesake:	A U.S. Army name retained: Morris E. Crain
Ordered:	as type (VC2-S-AP2) hull, MCV hull V 741
Builder:	Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Laid down:	14 February 1945, as SS Mills Victory
Launched:	28 March 1945
Sponsored by:	Miss Jane McVeigh
Acquired:	by the U.S. Army on (date unknown); by the U.S. Navy February 1950
Commissioned:	date unknown, as USAT Sgt. Morris E. Crain
Decommissioned:	February 1950
In service:	circa February 1950 as USNS Sgt. Morris E. Crain (T-AK-244)
Out of service:	date unknown
Struck:	1 April 1975
Honours and awards:	National Defense Service Medal
Fate:	returned to the U.S. Maritime Administration, 17 July 1975; fate unknown
General characteristics
Type:	Boulder Victory-class cargo ship
Displacement:	15,589 tons
Length:	455'
Beam:	62'
Draft:	29' 2"
Propulsion:	steam turbine, single propeller, 8,500shp
Speed:	15.5 knots
Complement:	99 officers and enlisted
Armament:	none

USNS Sgt. Morris E. Crain (T-AK-244) was a Boulder Victory-class cargo ship built at the end of World War II and served the war and its demilitarization as a commercial cargo vessel. From post-war to 1950 she served the U.S. Army as a transport named USAT Morris E. Crain. In 1950 she was acquired by the U.S. Navy and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service. In 1975 she ended her career and was placed into reserve.

Victory ship built in California

Sgt. Morris E. Crain was laid down as Mills Victory under a U.S. Maritime Commission contract (MC hull V 741) on 14 February 1945 by Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California; launched on 28 March 1945; sponsored by Miss Jane McVeigh; and delivered to the War Shipping Administration on 21 April 1945.

U.S. Army service

Renamed the Sgt. Morris E. Crain by the U.S. Army, the ship served the Army Transportation Corps until 1950 when it was transferred to the U.S. Navy.

Service with the MSTS

She was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service in February 1950 to become a United States Naval Ship. Home ported in San Francisco, California, Sgt. Morris E. Crain made trips to the major islands of the Pacific Ocean and carried military cargo to Korea in support of United Nations forces there.

As of 1974, Sgt. Morris E. Crain continued her service as a United States Naval Ship with a civil service crew. Assigned to the Military Sealift Command, Sgt. Morris E. Crain carried cargo for all the services.

Decommissioning

She was decommissioned at an unknown date and struck from the Navy list on 1 April 1975. She was returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission on 17 July 1975. Her subsequent fate is not recorded.

Honors and awards

• National Defense Service Medal

References

• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - USAT Sgt. Morris E. Crain - T-AK-244 Sgt. Morris E. Crain