- USS Antrim (AK-159)
USS "Antrim" (AK-159) was an "Alamosa"-class
cargo ship in theUnited States Navy . She was named forAntrim County, Michigan ."Antrim" was laid down under a
Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2104) on18 April 1944 atRichmond, California , byKaiser Cargo , Inc.; launched on17 July 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs. F. H. Horstman; and, after her delivery to and acceptance by the Navy on31 October 1944 , was commissioned the same day, Lieutenant Glen Martin, USNR, in command.After the completion of her fitting out, the cargo ship conducted her shakedown training out of
San Pedro, California , completing this by 13 December. Subsequently pushing on forHawaii , she reachedPearl Harbor on New Year's Day, 1945, but got underway again three days later, bound for the Western Pacific. After calling at Eniwetok, Ulithi, and Kossol Roads, "Antrim" reached Leyte on 9 February to unload her cargo.Operating under the aegis of Service Squadron 9 through the end of the war with
Japan , the vessel carried cargo between Manus, in theAdmiralty Islands , and Philippine ports. She conducted three such voyages during the periods from 19 March to 27 April; from 30 May to 22 June; and from 6 to 30 August. After supporting the occupation of Japan through the autumn, "Antrim" departed the Western Pacific on 4 January 1946 and proceeded singly to thePanama Canal Zone , reaching Cristobal on 20 February. Ultimately, "Antrim" arrived atNorfolk, Virginia , on 4 March where she decommissioned on 3 April.Delivered to the
War Shipping Administration (WSA) three days later, "Antrim's" name was struck from the Navy list on 17 April 1946. Records indicate that the ship briefly operated under the United States flag, with the firm of Dichmann, Wright, and Pugh ofSan Francisco, California , in 1947, before being transferred to Turkish registry the following year. Renamed "Kars" and homeported at Istanbul,Turkey , the erstwhile Navy cargo ship operated under the Turkish flag into the 1980's.ource
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a9/antrim-i.htm
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