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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

ID-4253W / AK-13 Capella

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Zulu - Kilo
NAZK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet Clasp)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Hog Island Standard Fabricated Type A freighter Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1022:
  • Laid down, 1 July 1919, as SS Comerant, for the United States Shipping Board under USSB contract # 1508 at American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island, PA.
  • Launched, 3 March 1920
  • Delivered, 17 April 1920, the 77th in the series, and was given the ID number 4215-W
  • Acquired by the Navy, 20 November 1921
  • Commissioned USS Capella (AK-13), 8 December 1921, LCDR. S. W. Hickey, USNRF, in command
  • Decommissioned, 1 September 1924, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Laid up in reserve at Norfolk, VA.
  • Recommissioned, 10 November 1938
  • Decommissioned, 30 November 1945, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in July 1946 for disposal
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,037 t.(lt) 11,500 t.(fl)
    Length 401'
    Beam 54' 1"
    Draft 24' 5"
    Speed 11 kts.
    Complement 271
    Armament
    two single 5"/51 single purpose gun mounts (replaced by one 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount)
    four single3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts (added at the end of 1940)
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts (add in 1942)
    Propulsion reciprocating triple-expansion steam engine, single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Capella 135k Capella (AK-13) at the New York Navy Yard, 26 September 1922, loading an Army 16" gun on deck aft for shipment to Pearl Harbor. The Merritt and Chapman derrick Monarch has lifted the gun clear of the Moran Towing and Transportation Co. barge No. 30. Maryland (BB-46) is across the pier. The crane between the two ships is probably moving along rails on the pier.
    US Navy photo # 42062 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
    		US Naval Historical Center
    Capella 57k Capella (AK-13) pierside, probably between 1922 and 1924.
    US Navy photo #: NH 55049 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
    		US Naval Historical Center
    Capella 48k Capella (AK-13) transiting the Panama Canal, probably between 1938 and 1940. The ship was unarmed until she received two 5"/51 and four 3"/50 guns at the end of 1940. Photo courtesy of FADM C. W. Nimitz, USN.
    US Navy photo #: NH 58160 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
    		US Naval Historical Center
    Capella 69k Capella (AK-13) underway, date and place unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Capella 38k Capella (AK-13) underway in 1942 or 1943, after she received eight 20mm guns and before her two 5"/51 guns were replaced by one 5"/38 gun. She also carried four 3"/50 guns amidships. She is painted in camouflage Measure 12(modified).
    US Navy photo #: NH 98063 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
    		US Naval Historical Center
    View the Capella (AK-13)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    No Information Available
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 18 January 2008