USS Clarion

USS Clarion (AK-172) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

History
United States
Name	Clarion
Namesake	Clarion County, Pennsylvania
Ordered	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2145[1]
Builder	Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Yard number	17[1]
Laid down	1944
Launched	22 October 1944
Sponsored by	Miss V. L. Huebner
Acquired	10 May 1945
Commissioned	27 May 1945
Decommissioned	13 May 1946
Stricken	21 May 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-172 Code letters: NEIN
Fate	Sold to Norway, 7 March 1947, for $693,862.00
Norway
Name	Livdal
Acquired	7 March 1947
Fate	Wrecked off Peru, 26 April 1970
General characteristics [2]
Class & type	Alamosa-class cargo ship
Type	C1-M-AV1
Tonnage	5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement	2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard) 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length	388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power	1 × Nordberg, TSM 6 diesel engine 1,750 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × propeller
Speed	11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated) 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement	15 Officers 70 Enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50-caliber dual-purpose gun (DP) 6 × 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons

Construction

Clarion was launched 22 October 1944, by Froemming Brothers, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2145; acquired by the Navy 10 May 1945; and commissioned 27 May 1945.^[3]

Service history

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

After loading cargo at Gulf of Mexico ports, Clarion sailed for Pearl Harbor, which she reached 21 July 1945. Three days later she got underway for San Francisco, California, to load cargo for Manila, where she arrived 1 October. Carrying cargo to support occupation activities, she called at Jinsen, Korea, and Qingdao, Taku, and Shanghai, China, before sailing for the U.S. East Coast from Qingdao 21 January 1946.^[3]

Post-war decommissioning

She reached Norfolk 11 March, and was decommissioned at Baltimore, Maryland, 13 May 1946. On 18 May 1946, she was transferred to the War Shipping Administration.^[3]

Merchant service

Clarion was removed by Dichman, Wright and Pugh, 25 February 1947, from the Reserve Fleet, under a GAA contract. It was sold to Norway, 7 March 1947, for $693,862, then re-flagged for Norway and renamed Livdal, or Løvdal.^[4] She wrecked off of the coast of Peru, 26 April 1970.^[2]