USS Deimos (AK-78)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Deimos.

USS Deimos (AK-78) was a Crater-class cargo ship in the service of United States Navy in World War II. It was the first ship of the Navy to have borne the name Deimos, after one of the moons of Mars.

Broadside view of USS Deimos (AK-78) underway off San Francisco, 26 January 1943.
History
United States
Name	Hugh McCulloch Chief Ouray Deimos
Namesake	Hugh McCulloch Chief Ouray The moon Deimos
Ordered	as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 513[1]
Builder	Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Cost	$1,089,087[2]
Yard number	513[1]
Way number	5[1]
Laid down	27 November 1942
Launched	28 December 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Marie Moyer
Acquired	7 January 1943
Commissioned	23 January 1943
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-78 Code letters: NYOV
Honors & awards	1 × battle star
Fate	Torpedoed and scuttled, 23 June 1943
General characteristics [3]
Class & type	Crater-class cargo ship
Displacement	4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard) 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load)
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam	56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft	28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Installed power	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) ,  (manufactured by Combustion Engineering) 2,500 shp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine,  (manufactured by Joshua Hendy) 1 × screw propeller
Speed	12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity	7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement	210
Armament	1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose (DP) gun 1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber DP gun 2 × 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounts 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon AA gun mounts

Construction

Deimos was laid down 27 November 1942, as liberty ship SS Hugh McCulloch, renamed SS Chief Ouray, MCE hull 513, by Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California, under a United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract. Deimos was launched on 28 December 1942 and sponsored by Mrs. Marie Moyer. Deimos was transferred to the Navy on 7 January 1943, and commissioned 23 January 1943.^[4]

Service history

Deimos sailed from San Francisco 27 January 1943, with cargo for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and Townsville, Australia. She arrived at Nouméa, New Caledonia, 23 May, to load cargo which she delivered to Guadalcanal in June. Returning to her base, she was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine Ro-103^[5] on 23 June, on the port side, aft. Efforts to save her failed. She was finally abandoned and sunk by gunfire by the destroyer O'Bannon (DD-450) at 11°26′S 162°01′E.^[4]

Awards

Deimos received one battle star for World War II service.^[4]