USS Betelgeuse (AKA-11)
Betelgeuse alongside the pier at Tongatapu, Tonga Islands, 8 June 1942 |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Betelgeuse |
| Namesake: | Betelgeuse |
| Builder: | Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Laid down: | 9 March 1939 |
| Launched: | 18 September 1939, as Mormaclark |
| Acquired: | 29 May 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 14 June 1941, as Betelgeuse (AK-28) |
| Decommissioned: | 15 March 1946 |
| Reclassified: | AKA-11 (attack cargo ship), 1 February 1943 |
| Struck: | 28 March 1946 |
| Honours and awards: |
6 battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate: | Sold into merchant service, 27 June 1947 Scrapped, April 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Arcturus-class attack cargo ship |
| Type: | Type C2 ship |
| Displacement: | 5,500 long tons (5,588 t) light |
| Length: | 459 ft 1 in (139.93 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draft: | 25 ft 10 in (7.87 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2-stroke, 4-cylinder single-acting Doxford diesel engine, 1 shaft, 6,000 shp (4.5 MW) |
| Speed: | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Complement: | 267 |
| Armament: | • 1 × 5"/38 caliber gun mount • 4 × 3 in (76 mm) gun mounts • 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts • 18 × 20 mm gun mounts |
USS Betelgeuse (AK-28/AKA-11) was an Arcturus-class attack cargo ship, the first United States Navy ship named for Betelgeuse, a star in the constellation Orion. She served as a commissioned ship for 4 years and 9 months.
Read more about USS Betelgeuse (AKA-11): Awards