USS Hydra (AK-82)
For other ships of the same name, see
USS Hydra.
|
| Career (US) |
|
| Ordered: |
as N3-M-A1 hull, MC hull 465 |
| Laid down: |
as MV Eben H. Linnell |
| Launched: |
23 January 1943 |
| Acquired: |
1 January 1943 |
| Commissioned: |
as USS Hydra (AK-82) 25 September 1943 |
| Decommissioned: |
19 November 1943 transferred to Army same day |
| Out of service: |
20 August 1947 |
| Struck: |
date unknown |
| Fate: |
scrapped |
| General characteristics |
| Displacement: |
1,677 t.(lt), 5,202 t.(fl) |
| Length: |
269 ft 10 in (82.25 m) |
| Beam: |
42 ft 6 in (12.95 m) |
| Draught: |
20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Diesel, single shaft, 1,300shp |
| Speed: |
10 kts. |
| Complement: |
83 |
| Armament: |
one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount |
USS Hydra (AK-82), ex MV Eben H. Linnell, was an Enceladus-class[Note 1] cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for cargo service in World War II. The ship was in naval service from 1 January through 19 November 1943 before transfer to U.S. Army[1] for conversion to the Engineer Port Repair ship Madison Jordan Manchester.[2]
Construction
Constructed as a Maritime Commission N3-M-A1[3] type, initially under Maritime Commission contract by Penn-Jersey Ship Building Corp., Camden, New Jersey as MV Eben H. Linnell, with the contract being transferred to Navy during construction.[4][2] The ship was acquired by the Navy 1 January 1943 before launch on 23 January 1943.[1]
Naval Service
The ship was converted for naval service at Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, with completion on 27 May 43.[4] Hydra commissioned 25 September 1943, Lt. E. F. McCotter, USCGR, in command and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, 1 October to prepare for her shakedown. For the next month she engaged in various operations, including speed trials and target runs in the Chesapeake Bay.[1] She was loading cargo in Norfolk, Virginia upon transfer to Army[4] and departed in early November for Boston, Massachusetts, Harbor 5 November to begin transferring process where she decommissioned 19 November 1943 and transferred to the U.S. Army the same day.[1]
Army Service
Hydra was renamed by the Army as the Engineer Port Repair ship Madison Jordan Manchester after an Engineer officer killed in the war. Conversion began in the second week of December 1943 with delays plaguing the program and scheduled completion delayed until 31 March 1944. Crew training further delayed the ship.[2] Sailing for the European Theater was not until 8 November 1944 from New York in Convoy HX 303.[5]
Fate
The ship was returned to the Maritime Commission and arrived in the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet on 20 August 1947.[1] There the ship was put into use on 15 July 85 as Fleet Service Craft (SS-27) to support maintenance of the fleet until disposal 24 May 1994.[4] The Madison Jordan Manchester was berthed at Fairfield Terminal at Baltimore, Maryland before scrapping there.
Notes
- ^ Only USS Enceladus (AK-80) of the ten ships of the Enceladus class, composed of Maritime Commission N3-M-A1 type small cargo vessels, saw significant naval service. Of the other nine, excpting USS Hydra (AK-82), all were transferred within months or days of shipyard delivery to Navy to the Army. Hydra was transferred to Army shortly after commissioning and trials. Navy had assumed the administration of contracts for these ships from the Maritime Commission on 1 January 1943 during or before construction and thus most were only administratively Navy, including names and numbers, during construction.
References
External links