Nashira (AK-85)
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | USS Nashira |
| Ordered | as SS Josiah Paul |
| Builder | Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey |
| Laid down | 1 November 1943 |
| Launched | 23 April 1944 |
| Commissioned | Never commissioned |
| Renamed | Nashira, 30 October 1943, Richard R. Arnold by Army |
| Stricken | 9 June 1944 |
| Fate | sold as to Kelbar, Inc. in the late 1960s |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Navy: Enceladus-class cargo ship |
| Type | N3–M–A1 cargo ship |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 1,677 long tons (1,704 t) light 5,202 long tons (5,285 t) full |
| Length | 269 ft 10 in (82.25 m) |
| Beam | 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m) |
| Draft | 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) |
| Propulsion | Diesel, single shaft, 1,300 shp (969 kW) |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Notes | The ship was Navy only during construction, transferred to Army upon delivery to Navy and underwent extensive modifications for operation by the Corps of Engineers as a port repair ship. |
Nashira (AK-85) was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation[1] and had no significant naval service.
Nashira', named after Nashira, the third brightest star in the constellation Capricorn, was a Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1 cargo vessel originally assigned the name SS Josiah Paul. The ship was transferred from the control of the Maritime Commission to the U.S. Navy 1 January 1943, prior to the start of construction.
Renamed Nashira 30 October 1943, she was laid down by Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey, 1 November 1943; launched 23 April 1944; sponsored by Miss Patricia Palmer; delivered to the Navy 25 April 1944; and transferred to the U.S. Army the same day for use as a U.S. Army Port Repair ship. Nashira was struck from the Navy List 9 June 1944.
The Army renamed the ship Richard R. Arnold after an Engineer officer, Colonel Richard R. Arnold, on General Eisenhower's personal staff killed by a mine 6 June 1943 in North Africa while commanding the 20th Engineer Regiment.[2] The ship was converted too late to play a significant role in port work, was relegated to the reserve fleet and eventually sold to Kelbar, Inc. in the late 1960s as a repair ship possibly until 1984.[3]
References
- ^ http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq63-1.htm | Navy History & Heritage Command - Ship Naming in the United States Navy
- ^ http://www.20thengineers.com/ww2.html | World War II - 20th Engineers
- ^ Grover, David (1987). U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II. Naval Institute Press. pp. 133–137. ISBN 0-87021-766-6.)
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links