USS Craighead

USS Craighead (AK-175) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

History
United States
Name	Craighead
Namesake	Craighead County, Arkansas
Ordered	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2148
Builder	Froemming Brothers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Yard number	20
Laid down	1944
Launched	28 February 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. W. R. Provoost
Acquired	31 July 1945
Commissioned	5 September 1945
Decommissioned	18 January 1946
Stricken	7 February 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-175 Code letters: NEWO
Fate	Sold, 24 February 1947
Turkey
Name	Kastamonu
Namesake	Province of Kastamonu
Owner	Deniz Nakliyati T.A.O., Turkey
Acquired	24 February 1947
Homeport	Istanbul, Turkey
Identification	IMO number: 5183209
Fate	Scrapped in January 1984 at Aliağa, Turkey
General characteristics
Class and type	Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type	C1-M-AV1
Tonnage	5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Displacement	2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard) 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length	388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power	1 × Nordberg, TSM 6 diesel engine 1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × propeller
Speed	11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated) 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement	15 Officers 70 Enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual purpose gun (DP) 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons

Construction

Craighead was launched 28 February 1945, by Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2148; sponsored by Mrs. W. R. Provoost; transferred to the Navy 31 July 1945; and commissioned 5 September 1945.

Service history

Post-World War II activity

Craighead sailed from Galveston, Texas, 25 September 1945 and arrived at Davisville, Rhode Island, 4 October to load cargo for construction battalions on the US West Coast. She sailed from Davisville 25 October, arriving at San Pedro, California, 15 November. After sailing on cargo duty between Port Hueneme, San Pedro, and San Francisco, California, she sailed 14 December 1945 for Norfolk, Virginia, where she arrived 5 January 1946.

Post-war decommissioning

Craighead was decommissioned 18 January 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day for disposal.

Merchant service

Craighead was sold to the Republic of Turkey in 1947, for $693,862. She was transferred to the shipping company of Deniz Nakliyati T.A.O., Istanbul, Turkey, and renamed Kastamonu and reflagged to Turkish. Along with her sister ships, ex-Antrim, renamed Kars, ex-Bullock, renamed Malatya, and ex-Hidalgo, renamed Rize, she would, for the next 15 years, provide cargo service between Turkey and Northern Europe. She was finally broken up in the Turkish port of Aliağa in January 1984.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Online resources

• "Craighead". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 16 November 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
• "Craighead (AK-175)". Navsource.org. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
• "Craighead". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 16 November 2016.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Craighead (AK-175) at NavSource Naval History