Cargo ship of the United States Navy
History United States Name Fairfield Namesake Ordered as type (C1-M-AV1 ) hull, MC hull 2374 Builder Kaiser Shipbuilding Co. , Richmond, California Yard number 70 Laid down 1944 Launched 6 February 1945 Sponsored by Mrs. Henry W. Creeger Acquired 28 March 1945 Commissioned 28 March 1945 Decommissioned 11 January 1946 Stricken 12 April 1946 Identification Fate Wrecked 18 December 1946 General characteristics Class and type Alamosa -classcargo ship Type C1-M-AV1 Tonnage 5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT) 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 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 Armament
USS Fairfield (AK-178) was an Alamosa -classcargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II . She served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and was decommissioned shortly after war’s end.
Construction
The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Fairfield was launched on 6 February 1945, by Kaiser Cargo Inc. , Richmond, California , under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2374; sponsored by Mrs. Henry W. Creeger; acquired by the Navy on a loan-charter basis; and commissioned on 28 March 1945.
Service history
World War II-related service
Fairfield completed shakedown and fitting out before 8 May, when she arrived at San Francisco, California , to load cargo for Manus , Samar and Calicoan Islands . In early July she loaded US Army cargo at Parang, Mindanao , and was en route to Agusan province when on the 14th she picked up six Filipino guerillas from the wreckage of their boat which had been cut in two and sunk by a submarine .
Fairfield continued her cargo operations among the islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean through October 1945 when she was drydocked at Newcastle, Australia , for a brief period before being assigned to carry Australian Army cargo from Sydney , Australia, to Borneo , Tacloban , and Manila , Philippines.
Post-war decommissioning
During December the Navy removed all excess gear and she steamed into Yokosuka , Japan, on the 25th. On 8 January 1946 a Japanese crew came on board for training and on the 11th she was decommissioned and turned over to the War Shipping Administration for disposal.
US Army service
Fairfield was transferred to the US Army on 5 February 1946, and wrecked on 18 December 1946.[5]
Alamosa-class cargo ships
* = Canceled August 1945
** = Canceled August 1945, but completed as Coastal Guide
† = Canceled August 1945, but completed as Coastal Crusader
MARCOM ships built by Kaiser Shipyards, Richmond Shipyards, Richmond, California during World War II
Type C1-M ships
Type C1-M-AV1 Type C1-M-AV7 Type C1-M-AV8
Crossing Knot Flat Knot Marline Bend Persian Knot Single Hitch Solid Sinnet Type C1-MT-BU1
Arizona Pine California Redwood Oregon Fir Washington Cedar
United States
