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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Chatham (AK-169)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Golf - Whiskey
NEGW

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

Alamosa Class Cargo Ship: Laid down, date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (C1-M-AV1) hull, under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2142) at Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, WI.

Launched, 13 May 1944

Acquired by the US Navy, 20 January 1945

Commissioned USS Chatham (AK-169), 22 February 1945, at Galveston, TX., LCDR. Norman C. Harrison, Jr., USNR, in command

During World War II USS Chatham was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater

Following World War II USS Chatham was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
21 September to 21 October 1945
20 to 30 December 1945

Decommissioned, 2 April 1946, at Baltimore, MD.

Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946

Returned to the Maritime Commission, 4 April 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.

Sold for merchant service by the Maritime Commission, 6 February 1947, to Koninklikje Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mj's., Amsterdam

Removed from the Reserve Fleet, 28 February 1947, under a General Agency Agreement contract with Dickman, Wright and Pugh

Transferred to buyer, 15 April 1947, reflagged Dutch, renamed MV Helena

Resold in 1963, owner unknown, renamed MV Lincoln Express

Final Disposition, broke in two and sank in December 1972 in heavy weather West of San Juan, Puerto Rico with a load of Gypsum

Specifications:
Displacement 2,382 t.(lt) 7,450 t.(fl)
Length 338' 6"
Beam 50'
Draft 29' 2" (limiting)
Speed 11.5 kts.

Complement

Officers 15

Enlisted 70

Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.

Cargo Capacity 3,945 DWT

non-refrigerated 227,730 Cu ft

refrigerated 9,830 Cu ft

Armament

one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount

six single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacity Diesel 6,300 Bbls

Propulsion

one Nordberg Diesel TSM6 engine

two Diesel-drive 250Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

single propeller, 1,750shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
USS Chatham (AK-169)
	58k	*USS Chatham* (AK-169)** departing an island port in the Pacific, circa mid-1945. US Navy photo	Submitted by Jacqueline O. Morrow, in honor of her father William H. O'Connell, USS Chatham.
Merchant Service
	66k	Ex-*USS Chatham* (AK-169)** Dutch flagged, in merchant service as the Koninklikje Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mj's MV Helena underway, date and location unknown. While under the Dutch flag MV Helena operated in the Netherlands - Caribbean trade for 15 consecutive years, sometimes transiting the Panama Canal, ongoing to Peruvian ports.	Gerhard Mueller-Debus

USS Chatham (AK-169)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LCDR. Harrison Jr., Norman C., USNR	22 February 1945 - 2 October 1945
02	LCDR. Trynks, Herman G., USNR	2 October 1945 - 5 February 1946
03	CDR. Hoffman, Allan C., USNR	5 February 1946 - 2 April 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Chatham (AK-169) War Diary February to December 1945 and History

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Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 2 August 2019