USS Pitkin (AK-204) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. By the time she was scheduled for commissioning, the war's end caused her to be declared “excess to needs” and she was returned to the US Government and struck by the Navy.
History | |
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United States | |
Name |
|
Namesake | Pitkin County, Colorado |
Ordered | as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2158[1] |
Builder | Globe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin |
Yard number | 125[1] |
Laid down | date unknown |
Launched | date unknown |
Completed | 20 November 1945 |
Acquired | May 1945 |
Commissioned | returned to the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) prior to commissioning |
Identification |
|
Fate | Returned to MARCOM, 20 November 1945 |
United States | |
Name | Coastal Observer |
Owner | MARCOM |
Operator |
|
Acquired | 20 November 1945 |
In service | 20 November 1945 |
Out of service | 11 July 1949 |
Fate | Sold, 13 July 1956 |
Brazil | |
Name | Rio Mossoró |
Operator | Companhia Nacional de Navegacao Costerira, Patrimonio Nacional |
Acquired | 13 July 1956 |
In service | 15 February 1957 |
Renamed | Guararapes in 1971 |
Fate | Broken up at Recife in 1984 |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Alamosa-class cargo ship |
Type | C1-M-AV1 |
Tonnage | 5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1] |
Displacement |
|
Length | 388 ft 8 in (118.47 m) |
Beam | 50 ft (15 m) |
Draft | 21 ft 1 in (6.43 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 1 × propeller |
Speed | 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity |
|
Complement |
|
Armament |
|
Construction
editPitkin was laid down under US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2158, by Globe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin. She was transferred to the Navy in May 1945. Pitkin was scheduled for commissioning. However, because of the Allied victory in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations, her commissioning was cancelled. Pitkin was ordered returned to MARCOM for disposal. Her name subsequently reverted to Coastal Observer.[2]
Merchant service
editCoastal Competitor was used by several shipping companies from 1945 to 1948, when she was placed in the reserve fleet.[2]
On 13 July 1956, she was sold to Companhia Nacional de Navegacao Costerira, Patrimonio Nacional, of Brazil, for $693,682, under the condition that she be used for coastal shipping. She was delivered on 2 February 1957.[3] She was broken up at Recife in 1984.[4]
Notes
edit- Citations
- ^ a b c C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
- ^ MARAD.
- ^ "GUARARAPES (5296252)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
Bibliography
editOnline resources
- "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- "USS Pitkin (AK-204)". Navsource.org. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- "Coastal Observer". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
External links
edit- Photo gallery of USS Pitkin (AK-204) at NavSource Naval History