USS Fairfield (AK-178)
| Career (USA) |   |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fairfield |
| Namesake: | Towns in 14 States, and counties in three States |
| Ordered: | as type (C1-M-AV1) hull |
| Builder: | Kaiser Cargo Inc., Richmond, California |
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Launched: | 6 February 1945 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Henry W. Creeger |
| Acquired: | by the U.S. Navy, 28 March 1945, on a loan-charter basis |
| Commissioned: | 28 March 1945 as USS Fairfield (AK-178) |
| Decommissioned: | 11 January 1946, at Yokosuka, Japan |
| Struck: | date unknown |
| Fate: | returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission 11 January 1946; fate not known |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Alamosa-class cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 2,382 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 7,435 tons |
| Length: | 388' 8" |
| Beam: | 50' |
| Draft: | 21' 1" |
| Propulsion: | Diesel, single screw, 1,700shp |
| Speed: | 11.5 knots |
| Complement: | 85 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount; six 20mm guns |
USS Fairfield (AK-178) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and was decommissioned shortly after war’s end.
Contents
Built in California
The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Fairfield (AK-178) was launched on 6 February 1945 by Kaiser Cargo Inc., Richmond, California; sponsored by Mrs. Henry W. Creeger; acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis from the U.S. Maritime Commission; and commissioned on 28 March 1945, Lieutenant C. R. Snyder, USNR, in command.
Fairfield completed shakedown and fitting out before 8 May when she arrived at San Francisco, California, to load cargo for Manus, Samar and Calicoan Islands. In early July she loaded U.S. Army cargo at Parang, Mindanao, and was en route to Agusan Providence when on the 14th she picked up six Filipino guerillas from the wreckage of their boat which had been cut in two and sunk by a submarine.
Fairfield continued her cargo operations among the islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean through October 1945 when she was drydocked at Newcastle, Australia, for a brief period before being assigned to carry Australian Army cargo from Sydney, Australia, to Borneo, Tacloban, and Manila, Philippine Islands.
Post-war decommissioning
During December the Navy removed all excess gear and she steamed into Yokosuka, Japan, on the 25th. On 8 January 1946 a Japanese crew came on board for training and on the 11th she was decommissioned and turned over to the War Shipping Administration for disposal.
Her subsequent fate is not known.
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 - AK-178 Fairfield
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- Ship infoboxes without an image
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
- Alamosa class cargo ships
- Ships built in Richmond, California
- 1945 ships
- World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
- United States Navy Connecticut-related ships
- United States Navy Ohio-related ships
- United States Navy South Carolina-related ships
