USS Aroostook (CM-3) - Decommissioning and Sale, 1931 - 47

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Taken out of commission in March 1931 at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, the Aroostook was laid up on reserve for the entire next decade. With World War II raging in Europe, and the war threatening to spread worldwide soon, she was considered for reactivation as a cargo ship, and in May 1941, she was redesignated the AK-44. However, her age and her limited capabilities kept her inactive. In February 1943, the Aroostook was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and then transferred to the War Shipping Administration. Regaining the name Bunker Hill, she stayed in port for the rest of the war. Although she was sold in 1947 to a firm that planned to use her as a floating casino, those plans fell through, and the old ship was next seized by the U.S. Government, which sold her for scrapping in October 1947.