USNS Blue Jacket (T-AF-51)

History
United States
Ordered:	a C2-S-B1 type freighter, MC hull 183
Laid down:	23 October 1941
Launched:	14 February 1942
Acquired:	1 March 1950
Commissioned:	1 March 1950
Decommissioned:	19 August 1970
Struck:	19 October 1971
Fate:	sold for scrapping, 1 March 1973
General characteristics
Displacement:	6,329 t.(lt) 13,893 t.(fl)
Length:	459 ft 3 in (139.98 m)
Beam:	63 ft (19 m)
Draught:	25 ft 9 in (7.85 m)
Speed:	12.5 knots
Complement:	55
Armament:	none

USNS Blue Jacket (T-AF-51) was an Alstede-class stores ship acquired by the U.S. Navy from the U.S. Army in 1950 for use by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS). During the war she was operated by the United Fruit Company, then in 1947 by the Black Diamond Steamship Corporation and, after return to the Maritime Commission in 1948, by the U.S. Army under charter.^[1]

Blue Jacket—a C2-S-B1 type freighter—was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 183) on 23 October 1941 at Oakland, California, by the Moore Dry Dock Co.; launched on 14 February 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Edward U. Read; and delivered to her operators, the United Fruit Co., on 25 March 1943.

Assigned to the MSTS

Acquired by the Navy, from the Army, on 1 March 1950, Blue Jacket was classified as a refrigerator ship, T-AF-51, and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), Atlantic Area. She operated as such, lifting cargoes of various kinds (mostly consisting of refrigerated stores) between the United States and European ports through the late 1960s. Taken out of service with MSTS on 19 August 1970,

Inactivation and decommissioning

Blue Jacket was transferred on that day to the temporary custody of the Maritime Administration for lay-up in the James River, Virginia. On 1 September 1971, she was transferred to the permanent custody of that agency; and her name was struck from the Navy list on 19 October 1971. Sold to Andy International, Inc., of Houston, Texas, on 1 March 1973, the ship was later scrapped.

Military awards and honors

Blue Jacket's crew was eligible for the following medals:

• National Defense Service Medal (1)

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Photo gallery of Blue Jacket at NavSource Naval History