USS Altair (AKS-32)
_underway_in_1966.jpg)
USS Altair (AKS-32) underway in 1966. From the appearance of her decks and helicopter landing pad, aft, she is ready to commence an underway replenishment.
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 United States
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| Operator: | Waterman Steamship Company |
| Ordered: | as type (VC2-S-AP2) hull, MCV hull 110 |
| Builder: | Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon |
| Laid down: | 20 April 1944, as SS Aberdeen Victory |
| Launched: | 30 May 1944 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. A. L. M. Wiggins |
| Completed: | 22 June 1944 |
| Acquired: | 7 July 1951, by the USN |
| Commissioned: | 31 January 1952, as USS Altair (AK-257) |
| Decommissioned: | 5 January 1953 |
| Refit: | 5 January 1953, converted to a General Stores Issue Ship Antares-class General Stores Issue Ship |
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| Recommissioned: | 15 December 1953, as USS Altair (AKS-32) |
| Decommissioned: | 2 May 1969 |
| Struck: | 1 June 1973 |
| Fate: | sold for scrapping, 31 January 1975, to Luria Brothers & Co., Philadelphia, PA. |
| General characteristics | |
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| Displacement: | 4,960 metric tons (4,880 long tons) |
| Length: | 455 ft 3 in (138.76 m) |
| Beam: | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draft: | 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) |
| Installed power: | 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
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| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Complement: | 250 |
| Armament: | 4 × 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors antiaircraft guns (2×2) |
| Aviation facilities: | Helicopter deck added in 1959 |
The second USS Altair (AK-257) was a United States Navy Greenville Victory-class cargo ship in commission from 1952 to 1953. She was converted into a Antares-class general stores issue ship (AKS-32) in 1953 and was in commission as such from 1953 to 1969, seeing extensive service during the Cold War. Prior to her U.S. Navy career, she had operated as the merchant ship SS Aberdeen Victory during the latter stages of World War II.
SS Aberdeen Victory was a Maritime Commission type VC2-S-AP3 hull laid down on 20 April 1944 at Portland, Oregon, by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation under a Maritime Commission contract as MCV hull 110. She was launched on 20 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. A. L. M. Wiggins, and completed on 22 June 1944.
Aberdeen Victory entered mercantile service as a cargo ship under contract with the Waterman Steamship Company, under whose flag she supported World War II operations against Japan and took part in the Okinawa campaign during May 1945. Following the end of the war, she was assigned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet and laid up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay, California.
The U.S. Navy acquired Aberdeen Victory on 7 July 1951 and renamed her Altair on 26 July 1951. Classified as a cargo ship (AK) and designated AK-257, she was commissioned at Baltimore, Maryland, on 31 January 1952 as USS Altair (AK-257) with Commander George J. Largess in command.
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