USS Midland (AK-195)

Career (USA)
Name:	Midland
Namesake:	A county in central Michigan and another in western Texas
Ordered:	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull
Builder:	Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin
Laid down:	29 July 1944
Launched:	23 December 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. William G. Mitsch
Acquired:	by the U.S. Navy, 17 August 1945
Commissioned:	27 September 1945 as USS Midland (AK-195)
Decommissioned:	13 November 1945, at New Orleans, Louisiana
In service:	17 August 1945
Out of service:	18 August 1945
Refit:	at New Orleans Naval Station, New Orleans, Louisiana
Struck:	date unknown
Fate:	transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission on 13 November 1945; ultimate 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 Midland (AK-195) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed by the U.S. Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was declared excess-to-needs and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission shortly after being in commission for only a short period of time.

Service career

Midland (AK 195) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin, 29 July 1944; launched 23 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William G. Mitsch; converted by the New Orleans Naval Station; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on loan charter 17 August 1945.

Midland was placed in service the same day to be ferried from Beaumont, Texas, to Galveston, Texas, and placed out of service upon arrival the 18th; and commissioned 27 September 1945, Lt. Lloyd K. Barry, USNR, in command. Because of the reduced need for cargo ships following World War II, Midland decommissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, 13 November 1945 and was returned to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) the same day for service under the Maritime Commission as Coastal Harbinger.

Her subsequent history and ultimate fate are 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-195 Midland