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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Pegasus (IX-222)
ex
 USS Pegasus (AK-48) (1941 - 1945)


International Radio Call Signs,

USS Pegasus (AK-48)
1941 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Easy - Baker - Jig
 NEBJ
USS Pegasus (IX-222)
1944 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Dog - Uncle - William
 NDUW
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine LIberation Medal
Pegasus Class Cargo Ship:
  • Built in 1939 as SS Rita Maersk at Helsingors, Jernskibs, og Maskinbyggeri A/A, Helsingor, Denmark
  • Operated under charter from the Maritime Commission as SS Rita Maersk
  • Renamed SS Larwin in 1941
  • Laid up at Boston until 18 September 1941
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission, 18 September 1941
  • Converted for Naval service at Sullivan Dry Dock and Repair Corp., New York, N.Y.
  • Commissioned, USS Pegasus (AK-48), 3 December 1941, LCDR. William A. Fly in command
  • Redesignated Miscellaneous Unclassified (IX-222), 15 May 1945
  • Decommissioned, 19 April 1946, at San Francisco, CA., and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1946
  • Returned to her owners, 5 June 1946, reflagged Denmark and name reverted to SS Rita Maersk
  • Resold in 1950 to a Finnish Co., renamed SS Kenneth reflagged Finland
  • Resold in 1966 to a Greek Co., renamed SS Faliron reflagged Greece
  • Final Disposition, probably scrapped or abandoned in 1969, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,930 t.(lt) 5,070 t.(fl)
    Length 299' 11"
    Beam 43' 6"
    Draft 14'
    Speed 12 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 12
    Enlisted 98
    Largest Boom Capacity15 t.
    Armament
    one single 4"/50 cal gun mount
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    two .50 cal. machine guns
    Cargo Capacity
    non-refrigerated 105,200 Cu ft.
    Fuel Capacity 2,380 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Helsingor Vertical double-expansion and exhaust turbine
    two Scotch boilers 220psi 520°
    one propeller, 1,750shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Pre WWII Merchant Service Maersk Lines
    Pegasus 369k SS Rita Maersk at New York, probably in mid-1941 soon before she began conversion to USS Pegasus (AK-48). Note that she has been shifted from Danish to Panamanian registry. This photo probably shows her while she was being operated in mid-1941 by the Maritime Commission under her original name with her Danish crew.
    US Navy Bureau of Ships photo # 19-N-25278 from the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Pegasus (AK-48)
    Pegasus 91k USS Pegasus (AK-48) under way in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1942.
    From the Nova Scotia Archives, HB Jefferson collection. For educational and non commercial use.    		 John Chiquoine
    Pegasus 367k USS Pegasus (AK-48) under way at sea, 5 February 1943. Starboard broadside (slightly toward the stern) aerial view. Pegasus is painted in a horizontal two-tone camouflage scheme, presumably Measure 12 or Measure 22.
    US Navy photo # 80-G-451505 from the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Pegasus 193k USS Pegasus (AK-48) under way near or at the Louisiana coast, 15 May 1944. Photo by a blimp from Lighter-Than-Air Squadron (ZP-22) assigned to NAS Houma, LA.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-271248, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives II, College Park, MD.    		 Tracy White
    Pegasus 126k USS Pegasus (AK-48) at the Norfolk Navy Yard, 23 February 1945, receiving repairs to storm damage and to main propulsion machinery problems. This detail is clipped from a view of USS ATA-125 undergoing an inclining experiment.
    US National Archives, RG-19 textual files, Item S-22, Photo No. Unknown, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Pegasus (IX-222)
    Pegasus 106k USS Pegasus (IX-222) entering San Francisco Bay, circa 4 March 1946. Note the long "homeward bound" pennant flying from her mainmast peak.
    US Navy photo # NH 84195 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, courtesy Donald M. McPherson, 1976.    		 Robert Hurst
    Post WWII Merchant Service
    Pegasus 50k Ex-USS Pegasus (IX-222) in merchant service as the Finnish-flagged freighter SS Kenneth moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    Photo source is unknown.     		Gerhard Muller-Debus
    USS Pegasus (AK-48 / IX-222)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Fly, William Anthony, USN (USNA 1923)3 December 1941 - 15 June 1943
    02LCDR. Gabel, Walter Samuel, USNR15 June 1943 - 28 August 1943
    03LT. Hackett, Donald Joseph, USN28 August 1943 - 5 August 1944
    04LT. Jackson Jr., Andrew Edward, USNR5 August 1944 - 12 July 1945
    05LT. Sanstadt, Howard Thomas, USNR12 July 1945 - 4 August 1945
    06LT. Melcher, Aloysius Bennit, USN4 August 1945 - 3 September 1945
    07LCDR. Kilcullen, John William, USNR3 September 1945 - 19 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information Web Sites
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index Back To The Miscellaneous Unclassified (IX) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 May 2024