USS Chatham (AK-169), departing an island port in the Pacific, c. mid-1945.
History
United States
Name	Chatham
Namesake	Chatham County, Georgia, and Chatham County, North Carolina
Ordered	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2142[1]
Builder	Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Yard number	14[1]
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	13 May 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. G. C. Salisbury
Acquired	20 January 1945
Commissioned	22 February 1945
Decommissioned	2 April 1946
Stricken	17 April 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-169 Code letters: NEGW
Fate	Removed from the Reserve Fleet, 28 February 1947, under GAA contract by Dickman, Wright and Pugh
History
Netherlands
Name	Helena
Owner	Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mattschappij N.V.
Acquired	15 April 1947
Fate	Sold 1963
History
Panama
Name	Lincoln Express
Owner	Bahamas Lines, Panama
Acquired	1963
Fate	broke in two and sank in December 1972
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type	C1-M-AV1
Tonnage	5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement	2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard) 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length	388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power	1 × Nordberg, TSM 6 diesel engine 1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × propeller
Speed	11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated) 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement	15 Officers 70 Enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber dual purpose gun (DP) 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons

USS Chatham (AK-169) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

Construction

The third Chatham commissioned by the Navy, was launched 13 May 1944 by Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2142,; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Salisbury; acquired by the Navy 20 January 1945; and commissioned at Galveston, Texas, 22 February 1945.^[3]

Service history

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Chatham arrived at Pearl Harbor 6 May 1945 to carry cargo to Eniwetok, Saipan, and Guam, before returning to San Francisco, 18 July for a brief overhaul. She cleared San Francisco 13 August, and until 30 January 1946, when she returned to San Francisco once more, carried cargo from Okinawa to Guam, Manus, Saipan, Eniwetok, and the Philippines, aiding in the redeployment of American strength in the Pacific Ocean which followed the war.^[3]

Post-war decommissioning

From the US West Coast, she sailed to Baltimore, Maryland, where she was decommissioned 2 April 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission, 4 April 1946.^[3]

Merchant service

Chatham was acquired by the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mattschappij, N.V. of Amsterdam, Holland, and renamed Helena, the former Navy cargo ship operated out of Amsterdam, under the Dutch flag, from 1949 to 1963.^[2]

She was sold in 1963 to the Bahamas Line, Panama, and renamed Lincoln Express.^[4] She broke in two and sank 15 December 1972, in heavy weather West of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a load of Gypsum.^[2] All but one of her crew were rescued by the USCG buoy tender Sagebrush.^[5]

Military awards and honors

The record does not indicate any battle stars for Chatham. However, her crew was eligible for the following medals:

• American Campaign Medal
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
• World War II Victory Medal
• Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)