USS Flagler

USS Flagler (AK-181) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during the final months of World War II. She served the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations for a short period of time before being decommissioned at Okinawa and returned to the U.S. Maritime Administration for dispositioning.

History
United States
Name	Flagler
Namesake	Flagler County, Florida
Ordered	as type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2377[1]
Builder	Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Richmond, California
Cost	$1,982,464[2]
Yard number	73[1]
Laid down	1944
Launched	24 March 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. T. B. Smith
Commissioned	18 May 1945
Decommissioned	24 December 1945
Stricken	7 February 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-181 Code letters: NEKU
Fate	Sold, 3 March 1948 Scrapped at Shanghai in 1949
General characteristics [3]
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

Flagler was launched 24 March 1945 by Kaiser Cargo Co., Inc., Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2377; sponsored by Mrs. T. B. Smith; and commissioned 18 May 1945.^[4]

Service history

World War II-related service

Flagler sailed from San Francisco, California, 5 July 1945 with cargo for Ulithi and Leyte Gulf, where she discharged the last of her load 6 August. Here she loaded supplies and men for Okinawa, from which she sailed 29 August for Guam and Saipan.^[4]

Grounded during a typhoon

Okinawa-bound again 12 September, Flagler sailed through a raging typhoon Ursula, which caused some damage to the ship, but arrived safely 18 September. Twice while at Okinawa she put to sea to avoid typhoons, evading the first typhoon Jean. During the second, typhoon Louise, on 9 October, she was grounded. Success in a difficult salvage operation refloated her 26 October.^[4]

Decommissioning and disposal

Flagler was decommissioned at Okinawa 24 December 1945. She was returned to the Maritime Commission 29 March 1946 and laid up at Subic Bay.^[3] On 3 March 1948 she was sold for scrap to the Asia Development Corporation, Shanghai, China, along with 14 other vessels, for $271,000.^[2]