USS Poinsett (AK-205)
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
300px
USS Poinsett (AK-205) probably running builder's trials in the Great Lakes circa September, 1944
|
|
History | |
---|---|
![]() |
|
Name: | Poinsett |
Namesake: | Poinsett County, Arkansas |
Ordered: | MC hull 2159 |
Builder: | Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin |
Laid down: | 6 November 1943 |
Launched: | 22 May 1944 |
Sponsored by: | Mrs. Robert L. Rote |
Acquired: | 22 January 1945 |
Commissioned: | 7 February 1945 |
Decommissioned: | 25 January 1946 |
Struck: | 12 March 1946 |
Identification: | Hull symbol:AK-205 |
Honors and awards: |
one battle star for World War II service |
Fate: |
|
Status: | scrapped in South Korean in 1979 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class & type: | Alamosa-class cargo ship |
Type: | C1-M-AV1 |
Displacement: |
|
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: |
|
Speed: | 11.5 kn (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h) |
Capacity: | 3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT |
Complement: |
|
Armament: |
|
USS Poinsett (AK-205) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy just prior to the end of World War II. She carried supplies and ammunition to the Pacific Ocean battle areas and was awarded one battle star for her operations in the Borneo area.
Contents
Constructed Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin
Poinsett (AK–205) was laid down as MC hull 2159 by Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 6 November 1943; launched 22 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Robert L. Rote; acquired by the Navy 22 January 1945; and commissioned at Houston, Texas, 7 February 1945, Lt. Comdr. Robert M. Baughman, USNR, in command.
World War II service
After shakedown off Galveston, Texas, Poinsett loaded ammunition at Theodore, Alabama, and departed for the Panama Canal 21 March. She steamed to Ulithi thence to Zamboanga, Philippine Islands, arriving 11 May.
After issuing ammunition there, she proceeded to Tawi Tawi, Sulu Archipelago, and joined the main forces for the invasion of Balikpapan (1 July). On 10 July she departed Borneo for Morotai and the Philippines, whence she sailed southeast to Manus. There, while loading fleet issue clothing and small stores, she received word of the war’s end. Poinsett then proceeded to Manila and Guiuan, Samar, to discharge her cargo. She departed 19 November for the Panama Canal and Norfolk, Virginia, for inactivation. Decommissioned 25 January 1946, she was returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission, 29 January 1946, and her name was struck from the Navy List, 12 March 1946.
Honors and awards
Poinsett received one battle star for World War II service:
- Borneo operations Balikpapan operation, 1 to 10 July 1945
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 – USS Poinsett (AK-205)