- USS Triangulum (AK-102)
USS Triangulum (AK-102) was an "Crater"-class
cargo ship commissioned by theU.S. Navy for service inWorld War II . She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone."Triangulum" (AK-102) was laid down under
Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 1669) on14 May 1943 as "SS Eugene B. Daskam" atWilmington, California , by theCalifornia Shipbuilding Corp.; renamed "Triangulum" on27 May 1943 ; launched on6 June 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. D. H. Mann; acquired by the Navy on19 June 1943 from theWar Shipping Administration on a "bareboat" basis; converted to Navy use at the Destroyer Base,San Diego, California ; and commissioned on30 July 1943 , Comdr. Eugene J. Kingsland,USNR , in command.World War II Pacific Theatre operations
Assigned to the
Naval Transportation Service , the auxiliary cargo ship moved up the coast to load cargo atSan Francisco, California , and stood out to sea with a convoy on28 August , bound for theNew Hebrides . She arrived atEspiritu Santo on2 October and, for the next five months, shuttled troops and cargo between ports inAustralia andNew Guinea .Landing troops at Humboldt Bay
"Triangulum" embarked part of a
battalion ofU.S. Army combat engineers atLae and sortied on14 April 1944 with Task Group (TG) 77.1, the Western Attack Group, for the invasion ofHollandia . On the morning of22 April , she began landing her 700 troops on the beaches of Humboldt Bay. The ship completed discharging cargo by 1800 the next day and departed in aconvoy bound, viaBuna , forMilne Bay . She then resumed her supply runs betweenAustralia andNew Guinea .Supplying the troops during the Philippine invasion
The ship loaded combat cargo at Manus and got underway for
Hollandia on7 November to rendezvous with a convoy proceeding to thePhilippines . She arrived atLeyte Gulf on the 19th and began discharging supplies.Crew members wounded by friendly fire
During her visit there, Japanese planes frequently attacked Allied shipping; and, during a raid on
Thanksgiving Day , four of her men were wounded by friendlyantiaircraft fire.End-of-war activity
On
4 December , she departed the area forAustralia and, after calling atHollandia , arrived atBrisbane, Australia , on17 December 1944 . "Triangulum" shuttled supplies from Australia to South Pacific bases, mostly in New Guinea, for the next year. The supply runs were broken by three voyages to thePhilippines : in January, May, and August1945 . On8 November , she stood out ofLeyte to load cargo atHollandia ,Biak ,Milne Bay , and Manus to be transported to theUnited States .Post-war decommissioning
On the last day of
1945 , the ship arrived atSan Francisco, California , where she was stripped for inactivation and ordered to join theReserve Fleet inHawaii . "Triangulum" arrived atPearl Harbor on23 February 1946 and was decommissioned there on15 April . In May1947 , she was towed back to San Francisco and returned to theMaritime Commission on2 July . "Triangulum" was struck from theNavy list on17 July 1947 . Her final fate is unknown.Military awards and honors
"Triangulum" received two
battle stars forWorld War II service. Her crew was eligible for the following medals:
* Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
* American Campaign Medal
* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2)
* World War II Victory Medal
* Philippines Liberation MedalReferences
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External links
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