| Career (USA) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller |
| Namesake: | Joseph E. Muller, who was awarded the Medal of Honor |
| Builder: | Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation, Savannah, Georgia |
| Laid down: | December 1944, as M/V Check Knot, type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2485 |
| Launched: | 17 February 1945 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. D. R. Williams |
| Commissioned: | circa 1948 as USAT Sgt Joseph E. Muller |
| Decommissioned: | 1 July 1950 |
| In service: | circa 1950 as USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-APC-118) |
| Out of service: | 16 September 1969 as USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-AG-171) |
| Refit: | as a Miscellaneous auxiliary (Technical Research ship) at Maryland Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, Maryland, in October 1962 |
| Struck: | 25 October 1957 and on 16 September 1969 |
| Honours and awards: |
Nine battle stars for Korean War service |
| Fate: | transferred to MARAD, 13 November 1969; sold on 3 October 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Sgt. Jonah E. Kelly-class cargo ship |
| Tonnage: | 3,366 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 6,090 tons |
| Length: | 338' 9" |
| Beam: | 50' 4" |
| Draft: | 21' |
| Propulsion: | diesel, single propeller |
| Speed: | 11.5 knots |
| Troops: | 101 |
| Complement: | 107 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | not known |
USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-AG-171/ T-APC-118) was a Sgt. Jonah E. Kelly-class cargo ship constructed during the final months of World War II. As USAT Sgt. Joseph E. Muller she was used by the U.S. Army for World War II cleanup operations. She was again commissioned – this time for the United States Navy – and assigned to Korean War supply and transport operations, earning nine battle stars. She was again place back in service in 1962 as an oceanographic research ship, based out of Florida, until she was finally declared surplus to needs in 1969 and struck.
Contents |
Sgt. Joseph E. Muller was laid down under U.S. Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2485) as Check Knot on 30 December 1944 by the Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation, Savannah, Georgia; launched on 17 February 1945; sponsored by Mrs. D. R. Williams; delivered to the Maritime Commission's Shipping Administration on 9 June 1945 for operation by the Waterman Steamship Company.
Returned to the Maritime Commission and transferred to the U.S. War Department for operation by the Army's transportation service after the end of World War II, Check Knot was renamed Sgt. Joseph E. Mutter and was operated in support of occupation forces in Japan and Korea.
In late 1949, the Navy-operated Military Sea Transportation Service (now Military Sealift Command) was established; and, in July 1950, the ship was transferred to that organization. Through the Korean War, she continued to shuttle passengers and cargo—primarily to Japan and Korea, but with an occasional run to Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
In the spring of 1955, she sailed east, arriving in Hawaii for repairs in mid-May, and at New York City in late June for operations out of that port. Initially slated for Arctic resupply missions, she was transferred temporarily and in ready status to the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), Hudson River berthing area, in December 1956, and, in September 1957, was declared surplus to the needs of the Navy. The following month, she was returned to the Navy and, on 25 October, was permanently transferred to the NDRF and laid up with the Hudson River unit.
Just under five years later, in August 1962, Sgt. Joseph E, Mutter was designated for activation, conversion to a research support ship, and redelivery to the Navy. On 1 October, reactivation and conversion was begun at the Maryland Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, Maryland; on 30 October, she was reinstated on the Navy List as USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Mutter (T-AG-171). A week later, the ship was towed to New Orleans, Louisiana, for further alterations; and, in April 1963, she arrived at Port Everglades, Florida, where she took up duties as a special project ship for oceanographic research operations.
During the Korean War, Sgt. Joseph E. Muller participated in the following campaigns:
On 16 September 1969, the ship was again declared surplus; and, on 13 November, she was transferred back to the NDRF for berthing in the James River. Her name was struck from the Navy List on the same date.
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