USS Melucta (AK-131)

USS Melucta (AK-131) was a Crater-class cargo ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. She was first named after Thomas A. McGinley, the president of the Duff-Norton Manufacturing Co., and inventor of an improved high-speed screw jack and lifting machinery. She was renamed and commissioned after Melucta, a star in the constellation Gemini. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

USS Melucta (AK-131) underway, 2 August 1944, off Jacksonville, Florida.
History
United States
Name: Thomas A. McGinley
Namesake: Thomas A. McGinley
Owner: War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Ordered: as a type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2470
Awarded: 23 April 1943
Builder: St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost: $1,156,379
Yard number: 34
Way number: 4
Laid down: 21 January 1944
Launched: 20 March 1944
Sponsored by: Mrs. McGinley
Completed: 31 March 1944
Fate: Transferred to US Navy, 31 March 1944
United States
Name: Melucta
Namesake: The star Melucta
Acquired: 31 March 1944
Commissioned: 22 July 1944
Decommissioned: 13 December 1945
Stricken: 3 January 1946
Identification:
Fate: Laid up in the, James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 3 January 1946
Status: Sold for scrapping, 24 March 1970, removed from fleet, 20 July 1970
Notes: Name reverted to Thomas A. McGinley when laid up in Reserve Fleet
General characteristics [3]
Class and type: Crater-class cargo ship
Displacement:
  • 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard)
  • 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length: 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam: 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft: 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity:
  • 7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT
  • 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement: 213
Armament:

Construction

Thomas A. McGinley was laid down on 21 January 1944, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2470, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Thomas A. McGinley, the widow of the namesake, and launched 20 March 1944. She was acquired by the US Navy as Melucta from WSA under bareboat charter 31 March 1944; converted from a freighter by Gibbs Gas Engine Co., Jacksonville; and commissioned 22 July 1944, with Commander John L. Graham, USN, in command.[1][2][3][4]

Service history

Following shakedown off Norfolk, Virginia, Melucta, was assigned to Naval Transportation Service, 17 August, for cargo carrying duties along the U.S. East Coast into the fall. By 10 November, she was en route to the Marshalls, towing USS Cinnabar (IX-163) to Pearl Harbor, before continuing on to Ebon Atoll.[4]

The cargo ship operated in the South Pacific Ocean for the next year. Melucta steamed to San Francisco, California, in May 1945, for repairs and reloading, departing the first week of June. In mid October she got underway for the U.S. East Coast via the Panama Canal Zone, arriving Norfolk, Virginia, 28 November.[4]

Decommissioning

Melucta was decommissioned there 13 December, and was delivered to War Shipping Administration 5 days later. Her name reverted back to Thomas A. McGinley, and she entered the James River Reserve Fleet, in Lee Hall, Virginia. She was struck from the Navy List 3 January 1946. She was sold for scrapping to Revalorizacion de Materiales, SA, on 24 March 1970, for $106,500. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 20 July 1970.[4][5]

Military awards and honors

No battle stars are indicated for Melucta in current Navy accounts. However, her crew was eligible for the following medals:

  • American Campaign Medal
  • Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
  • World War II Victory Medal

[3]

References
  1. St. John's River SBC 2010.
  2. MARCOM.
  3. Navsource.
  4. DANFS.
  5. MARAD.

Bibliography
  • "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  • Maritime Administration. "Thomas A. McGinley". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  • "USS Melucta (AK-131)". Navsource.org. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  • "Melucta". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "SS Thomas A. McGinley". Retrieved 20 January 2020.


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