USS Cygnus (AF-23)

USS Cygnus (AF-23) was a Cygnus-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II, named after the constellation Cygnus. She was responsible for delivering necessary goods and equipment to ships and stations in the war zone.

History
United States
Builder	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Launched	22 March 1924 as SS La Perla
Acquired	12 August 1942
Commissioned	11 August 1942
Decommissioned	18 July 1946
Stricken	date unknown
Fate	Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 18 July 1946
General characteristics
Displacement	7,171 t.(fl)
Length	336 ft 3 in (102.49 m)
Beam	48 ft (15 m)
Draught	23 ft 8 in (7.21 m)
Propulsion	Reciprocating engine, single screw, 1,975 shp
Speed	13.2 knots (24 km/h) maximum
Complement	112
Armament	two single 3 in (76 mm) dual purpose gun mounts, two single 20 mm guns gun mounts

Cygnus (AF-23) was built as SS La Perla in 1925 by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, England; acquired by the Navy 12 August 1942; and commissioned 11 August 1942.

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

After sailing in convoy to Pearl Harbor and back between 4 September and 24 September 1942, Cygnus cleared San Francisco, California, 10 October and arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, 3 November. Until 5 January 1944 she operated on a regular run carrying chilled meats and vegetables from Auckland to the American bases at Tongatapu, Tonga Islands; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Bora Bora, Society Islands; Cook Islands; and Funafuti, Ellice Islands. Between 18 January 1944 and 9 September 1945 she sailed on similar duty from Auckland and Napier, New Zealand, to Espiritu Santo and Efate, New Hebrides, the Solomon Islands; and Nouméa, New Caledonia.

End-of-war activity

After a west coast overhaul, Cygnus sailed via Pearl Harbor to discharge cargo at Okinawa in December 1945. Arriving at Manus, Admiralty Islands, 3 January 1946, she operated out of this port on cargo duty to Nouméa, Espiritu Santo, and American Samoa until 13 March when she returned to the U.S. West Coast and then sailed for New York, arriving 2 July.

Post-war decommissioning

Cygnus was decommissioned 18 July 1946 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal the same day.

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 Cygnus at NavSource Naval History