USS Nicollet (AVS-6)

300px USS Nicollet (AVS-6) probably photographed underway in San Francisco Bay, CA., in 1945.
History
United States
Name:	Nicollet
Namesake:	Nicollet County, Minnesota
Ordered:	MC hull 2153
Builder:	Globe Shipbuilding Company, Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number:	120
Laid down:	9 February 1944
Launched:	31 July 1944, as USS Nicollet (AK-199)
Sponsored by:	Mrs. F. C. Hanson
Commissioned:	27 April 1945, USS Nicollet (AG-93)
Decommissioned:	17 June 1946
Reclassified:	12 March 1945, USS Nicollet AG-93 25 May 1945, USS Nicollet (AVS-6)
Refit:	converted to Gwinnett-class aviation stores issue ship at Samuelson Shipyard, Beaumont, Texas, and Brown Shipyard, Houston, Texas
Struck:	3 July 1946
Identification:	Hull symbol:AK-199 Hull symbol:AG-93 Hull symbol:AVS-6
Fate:	Sold to France in 1948, reflagged French Reflagged Moroccan in 1959
Status:	scrapped in Spain, February 1970
General characteristics
Class & type:	Alamosa-class cargo ship Gwinnett-class aviation stores issue ship
Type:	C1-M-AV1
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:	1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion:	1 × Nordberg Diesel diesel TSM 6 engine 1 × shaft
Speed:	11.5 kn (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h)
Capacity:	3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
Complement:	15 Officers 70 Enlisted
Armament:	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual purpose gun 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft gun mounts

USS Nicollet (AK-199/AG-93/AVS-6) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy shortly before the end of World War II. She was configured to carry aviation parts and spares, and to issue them to the Pacific fleet and activities as needed.

Built in Superior

Nicollet (AK-199) was laid down 9 February 1944 for the U.S. Maritime Commission as M.C. hull 2153 by Globe Shipbuilding Corporation; named Nicollet 25 February 1944; launched 31 July 1944 as AK-199; sponsored by Mrs. F. C. Hanson; converted for Navy use by Samuelson Shipyard, Beaumont, Texas, and Brown Shipyard, Houston, Texas; redesignated AG–93 on 12 March 1945; and commissioned 27 April Lt. F. M. Bible in command.

Career

After shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico Nicollet was reclassified AVS–6 effective 25 May 1945. Steaming to the Pacific Ocean, she arrived in the forward area and was assigned to Commander, Air Forces, Subordinate Command Forward, Pacific Fleet. She operated out of Apra Harbor, Guam.

Nicollet followed closely behind the invasion forces to supply newly acquired airstrips and aviation activities with spare parts and other needs. She salvaged goods, returned materials for repair and eventual re-use, and supplied aircraft carriers at sea.

Post-War and decommission

At the end of hostilities she continued to support naval and marine air groups, both carrier and land-based. In April 1946 she returned to the U.S. West Coast via Pearl Harbor. Following a cruise to the Gulf of Mexico, she sailed again to the western Pacific Ocean.

Returning to San Francisco, California, she decommissioned and was returned to the War Shipping Administration 17 June. She was struck from the Navy Register 3 July and sold to France on 24 July.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-199 / AG-93 / AVS-6 Nicollet