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USS Celeno (AK-76)
Encyclopedia
The USS Celeno (AK-76) was a Crater-class
cargo ship
in the service of the United States Navy
in World War II
. Named with a variant spelling of the star Celaeno
in the constellation Pleiades
, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
Celeno was laid down 3 November 1942 as liberty ship
SS Redfield Proctor (MCE hull 439) by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California
, under a Maritime Commission contract; launched 12 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. G. G. Sherwood; transferred to the Navy 19 December 1942; and commissioned 2 January 1943, Lieutenant Commander
N. E. Lanphere, USNR, in command.
Celeno joined the Pacific Fleet and cleared San Francisco
10 January 1943 with cargo for Nouméa
, New Caledonia
. She arrived 1 February to support the operations on Guadalcanal
and throughout the Solomons
with cargo brought from New Zealand
to Nouméa, Tulagi
, and Guadalcanal itself. Unloading cargo off Guadalcanal on 16 June, Celeno was attacked by a swarm of Japan
ese bombers. As the freighter’s antiaircraft guns began to fire, the dive bombers scored three near misses, then hit Celeno’s stern, putting her 5 in (127 mm) gun out of operation. Her men stood to the remaining guns, and aided in downing at least three enemy planes and damaging several others. A second direct hit set two of Celeno’s holds on fire, and another near miss sent her deck cargo of diesel oil and gasoline flaming. With her rudder jammed from the first hit, Celeno circled, as her crew determined to save her. Skillful damage control and seamanship beached her safely on Lunga Point
, and when the air attack had been fought off, Celeno was towed off for repairs at Port Purvis. Fifteen of her crew were killed and 19 wounded in the attack.
Further repairs at Espiritu Santo
and San Francisco fitted Celeno for action once more, and the ship returned to the South Pacific in January 1944 to continue her support of the Solomons campaign. As the seizure of bases in the Admiralty Islands
began, Celeno brought troops and cargo to Manus
through the spring of 1944, and continued to operate throughout the Solomons, Bismarcks
, and Marianas. She sailed to Australia
and New Zealand, then made a cargo run to newly secured Iwo Jima
. Returning to Nouméa, Celeno performed rear-area support for the Okinawa operation by voyages to Eniwetok and Ulithi
, en route to Okinawa itself, where she arrived 18 June. She returned to Ulithi 3 July, and resumed cargo operations throughout the South Pacific.
In November 1945, Celeno sailed to Iwo Jima to embark troops for transportation to Saipan
, where she picked up another group of men bound for the west coast. Celeno was decommissioned at San Francisco 1 March 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Commission.
Celeno received three battle stars for World War II service.
Crater class cargo ship
Crater-class cargo ship is a category of freighter that was constructed for use by the United States Navy during World War II under Maritime Commission EC2-S-C1 type....
cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in the service of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Named with a variant spelling of the star Celaeno
Celaeno (star)
Celaeno is a star in the constellation Taurus and a member of the Pleaides open cluster of stars. Celaeno is sometimes called the Lost Pleiad, a name alluded to in a poem by Alfred Austin...
in the constellation Pleiades
Pleiades (star cluster)
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
Celeno was laid down 3 November 1942 as liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS Redfield Proctor (MCE hull 439) by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
, under a Maritime Commission contract; launched 12 December 1942; sponsored by Mrs. G. G. Sherwood; transferred to the Navy 19 December 1942; and commissioned 2 January 1943, Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
N. E. Lanphere, USNR, in command.
Celeno joined the Pacific Fleet and cleared San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
10 January 1943 with cargo for Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. She arrived 1 February to support the operations on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
and throughout the Solomons
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
with cargo brought from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
to Nouméa, Tulagi
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida Island. The town of the same name on the island Tulagi, less commonly Tulaghi, is a small island (5.5 km by 1 km) in the Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Florida...
, and Guadalcanal itself. Unloading cargo off Guadalcanal on 16 June, Celeno was attacked by a swarm of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese bombers. As the freighter’s antiaircraft guns began to fire, the dive bombers scored three near misses, then hit Celeno’s stern, putting her 5 in (127 mm) gun out of operation. Her men stood to the remaining guns, and aided in downing at least three enemy planes and damaging several others. A second direct hit set two of Celeno’s holds on fire, and another near miss sent her deck cargo of diesel oil and gasoline flaming. With her rudder jammed from the first hit, Celeno circled, as her crew determined to save her. Skillful damage control and seamanship beached her safely on Lunga Point
Lunga Point
Lunga Point is a promontory on the northern coast of Guadalcanal, the site of a naval battle during World War II. It was also the name of a nearby airfield, later named Henderson Field....
, and when the air attack had been fought off, Celeno was towed off for repairs at Port Purvis. Fifteen of her crew were killed and 19 wounded in the attack.
Further repairs at Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
and San Francisco fitted Celeno for action once more, and the ship returned to the South Pacific in January 1944 to continue her support of the Solomons campaign. As the seizure of bases in the Admiralty Islands
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...
began, Celeno brought troops and cargo to Manus
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. According to the 2000 census, Manus Island had a...
through the spring of 1944, and continued to operate throughout the Solomons, Bismarcks
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
, and Marianas. She sailed to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand, then made a cargo run to newly secured Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. Returning to Nouméa, Celeno performed rear-area support for the Okinawa operation by voyages to Eniwetok and Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, en route to Okinawa itself, where she arrived 18 June. She returned to Ulithi 3 July, and resumed cargo operations throughout the South Pacific.
In November 1945, Celeno sailed to Iwo Jima to embark troops for transportation to Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, where she picked up another group of men bound for the west coast. Celeno was decommissioned at San Francisco 1 March 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Commission.
Celeno received three battle stars for World War II service.