USS Venus (AK-135) was a cargo ship Crater -the class in the United States Navy service in World War II. Originally the SS of the William William freedom ship, named after William Williams, the signatory to the Declaration of Independence, was taken over by the Navy after being damaged in a torpedo attack and renamed after the planet Venus. It was the only Navy ship to bear this name.
Video USS Venus (AK-135)
Construction
William Williams was established on 5 July 1942, under the Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 263, by Permanente Metal Corporation, No. Yard. 2, Richmond, California; launched on August 21; sponsored by Mrs. Paul S. Marrin; sent to its owner, Isthmian Steamship Company, on September 8; and operated in the Pacific for the remainder of 1942 and into 1943. The ship was commanded by Captain William Robinson Freeman Sr. until the time he was felled.
Maps USS Venus (AK-135)
Vendor history
On May 2, 1943, when near Suva, the Fijian Islands, William Williams was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-19, was commanded by Lieutenant Takaichi Kinashi who, while leading I -boat , had torpedoed the aircraft carrier Wasp , the warship North Carolina , and the destroyer O'Brien , with the same torpedo spread in Guadalcanal on September 15, 1942 Kinashi chose not to finish the paralyzed Liberty ship, and cleared the area. William Williams , meanwhile, abandoned by his crew, survives despite being severely damaged.
At the time he was stripped naked, he was carrying wood. At other times, he will bring ammunition and will definitely disappear. With a quick thought by Captain Freeman, he ordered to leave the ship by most of his crew, but Captain Freeman stayed behind with a small crew to extinguish the fire. Captain Freeman also ordered the radio operator, "Sparks" when they were summoned, to send a distress signal that they drowned quickly in hopes the Japanese ship would intercept the message. Believing the ship would explode from the load of ammunition or believe that the ship was sinking and saw the crew ablaze aboard, the Japanese ship cleared the area in the belief that a fatal blow had occurred. After the fires were extinguished, the crew returned and William William built up steam to proceed to the harbor. A Navy pull is sent to pull him in but if necessary, William Williams can create one himself. Captain Freeman received praise for saving William Williams.
Service history
William William was withdrawn to Fiji and then to Auckland, New Zealand, where the Navy acquired a vessel on 6 November 1943, from the War Shipping Administration (WSA) under the bareboat charter. Enough repair to make the ship worthy of the sea was done, and he was assigned as Venus on November 10, Commander Lieutenant George H. L. Peet as his commander.
Towed from Auckland, Venus arrived in Sydney, Australia, where he was disabled and placed "in service" on December 4th.
The vessel was one of five manned Naval Liberties commissioned December 8, 1943 to the Southwest Pacific Region for service under the operational control of the Commander, the Seventh Fleet in meeting the requirements of the Army; However, due to damage and other Liberty delays are assigned.
Docking and conversion work at the port are postponed because of the higher priority assigned to other vessels and labor issues in the shipyard itself. Once this obstacle is overcome, the work runs fast - a difficult task because the conversion is done on the outside page with non-standard materials. Appointed AK-135 , the ship was placed back in commission on September 26, 1944. On October 4, he began his search and immediately loaded general cargo and dry stock before he sailed to the Admiralties on October 26.
He reached Manus four days later and took out some of his cargo. There, he also received his main battery, single-double (127 mm)/38 inch single gun. The ship witnessed an air strike on 9 November, but the attack was directed to other areas, and the cargo ship did not participate in the action. The next day, Mount Hood exploded in a huge explosion while handling ammunition at Seeadler Harbor. All but a few of his crew, those on the beach at the time, were killed in an explosion that not only synchronized the ammunition vessels but also damaged other ships nearby. Venus responds to this emergency by sending a boat to assist in medical operations with 30 units of blood plasma.
As long as the ship resides in Manus, some cases of diphtheria are developed on board, and all hands are restricted to the ship. On November 28th, Venus sailed to New Guinea Holland, arriving in Hollandia the next day, and staying until Christmas Eve, as she headed to Aitape - arrived there on Christmas Day. On December 27, 1944, a cargo ship was underway for Cape Sansapor, where it supplied LSTs attached to the 77.5 Task Group (TG), which then took part in the landing at Lingayen Bay. Continuing to Morotai after completing these operations, he unpacked the remaining load and lit various Australian naval vessels.
On January 4, 1945, during Venus 'stay in Morotai, Japanese aircraft carried out bomb attacks on a nearby land base, but the planes were turned off by anti-aircraft fire and night warriors. Six days later, Venus , he remained empty, sailed with five other ships to Hollandia, where he boarded the passengers. As he traveled to Australia, he encountered a severe storm but arrived safely in Brisbane on January 23.
The ship was repaired as soon as he arrived while concurrently equipment from the 109th Fleet Hospital unit and the 544th (CB or "Seabees") Construction Battalion to be transported to the Philippines. He left for Brisbane on February 4, continued his journey through Manus and Hollandia, and joined the convoy off the Dutch coast of New Guinea. Allied ships arrived at Guiuan Roadstead outside Samar on 27 February. Part of the Seabee unit immediately went to the beach to start building the hospital, while the rest remained on board to dismantle equipment and shops. Finally, as more Seabees can be accommodated on land, loading and unloading work is forwarded to the Venus crew. Despite the lack of experienced barges and stevedores, Venus successfully unloaded all equipment and supplies allocated to the hospital unit before he joined the convoy southward on April 8, going on for the Admiralties, and arriving at Manus one one week later.
Afterwards to the Emirau, Venus contains the remnants of the 77th Construction Battalion and their equipment, completing this on 25 April before commencing to Brisbane to load more of the 77th Battalion's equipment. In addition to the full payload, Venus also accommodates 600 passengers, and additional kitchen and bunking facilities are set up on the deck under temporary shelters to care for these people. The cargo ship then heads north to the Philippines, via Milne Bay, and arrives in Manila on June 13 to begin the demolition and to lower its passengers. Five days later, the ship shifted to a dock next to a drowned Japanese cargo ship.
With an enemy warship that once served as a dock, Venus unveiled its cargo - underwent two air strikes while living in Manila - and completing this operation on 30 June. He then presses south for the Admiralties and loads 1,500 tonnes (1,500 tonnes) of bombs for transportation to Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. The gyro compass installation delayed its voyage until July 25, but the ship arrived at Empress Augusta Bay on 29 July.
Eleven days later, Venus left Torokina, Bougainville, headed for the New Hebrides and arrived in Espiritu Santo on 11 August. He loaded material for dry docks ABSD-1 , loaded from lighters at Pallikulo Bay. Due to poor loading conditions, the work was not completed until September 7, when he was ready to sail to the Philippines. During his stay in Espiritu Santo, news arrived that Japan had surrendered; and, for the first time since being commissioned, ships can sail at night without having to "darken the ship".
Venus arrived in Samar on September 20, and dumped her cargo before moving to Subic Bay. He sailed from Cebu on December 15, heading for the Hawaiian Islands, and arrived at Pearl Harbor on March 16.
Post-war and decommission
Closed on April 18, 1946, the ship was then pulled by Hitchiti to the west coast, departing from Pearl Harbor on December 5, 1947, and arrived in San Francisco on December 13.
Said to be a surplus for the Navy's needs, the ship was struck from the Navy list on 19 February 1948. Stripped for disposal, it was returned to MARCOM on 27 February, and stationed at the National Defense Fleet in Suisun Bay, California.
Venus was sold for removal on April 18, 1961, to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, for $ 59,339.89. He was sent August 21, 1961, with the abolition of 21 October 1961 completed.
Awards
Venus received a battle star for its service during World War II as William Williams . The crew qualified for the following medals:
- Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive SS William Williams , May 2, 1943)
- American Campaign Medal
- Asia Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
- Victory Medal of World War II
- Philippine Liberation Medal
Note
- Quote
Bibliography
External links
- Photo gallery Venus (AK-135) in NavSource Naval History
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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