USS Manayunk (AN-81)

USS Manayunk (YN-100/AN-81) was a Cohoes-class net laying ship which was assigned to protect U.S. Navy ships and harbors during World War II with her anti-submarine nets. Her World War II career was short lived as the war was ending, and she was placed in reserve and eventually struck by the Navy.

Constructed at Portland, Oregon

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Manayunk was laid down as YN-100 by the Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon; 18 December 1944; redesignated AN-81, 17 January 1945; launched 30 March 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Bryan Wallace Strong; and commissioned 25 May 1945, Lt. M. S. Shaw in command.

World War II related service

Following shakedown and training, Manayunk steamed for the central Pacific Ocean for duty with Minecraft, Pacific Fleet. She operated in the Mariana Islands, primarily in the Saipan-Tinian area, laying and maintaining nets and moorings until the spring of 1946.

Post-war inactivation

On 3 May, she departed Saipan for Pearl Harbor and the U.S. West Coast. Arriving at Astoria, Oregon, 2 June, she decommissioned 19 July and was placed in reserve. The ship remained a unit of the 19th Fleet until June 1961 when she was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

She continued to be listed as Navy-owned until formally turned over to the U.S. Maritime Administration in September 1962 at Olympia, Washington.

Manayunk remained a unit of the MARAD Reserve Fleet at Olympia. She was struck from the Navy list in September 1962; her fate is unknown.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YN-100 / AN-81 Manayunk