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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Enceladus (AK-80)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Uniform - Sierra
 NYUS
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

USS Enceladus (AK-80) was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
Enceladus Class Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 14 February 1942, as MV Elias D. Knight, a Maritime Commission type (N3-M-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract, (MC hull 463), at Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.
  • Launched, 9 October 1942
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission, 18 August 1943
  • Commissioned, 18 August 1943, LT. Melville M. Coombs, USCGR, in command
  • USAV Enceladus was assigned to the U.S. Army Small Ships Section, U.S. Army Services of Supply (USASOS), Southwest-Pacific Area
  • Decommissioned, 18 December 1945, at Pearl Harbor, T.H.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 8 January 1946
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 30 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Benecia, CA.
  • Sold, 3 June 1964, to Foss launch and Tug Co. for non-transportation use
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,677 t.(lt), 5,200 t.(fl)
    Length 269' 10"
    Beam 42' 6"
    Draft 20' 8"
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Cargo Capacity 3,175 DWT
    non-refrigerated 115,873 Cu. ft.
    Speed 10.25 kts
    Complement 83
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,940 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Cooper Bessemer Diesel engine
    Ship's Service Generators
    three Diesel-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    two Diesel-drive 40Kw 120V D.C.
    single propeller, 1,190shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Enceladus 117k USS Enceladus (AK-80) underway with a tug alongside near Baltimore, MD., in mid or late August 1943 in her original Navy configuration. The Whirley crane is part of her original design, the two masts were added by the Navy during the ship's conversion.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM , Photo # 19-N-51234 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Enceladus 150k USS Enceladus (AK-80) underway near Baltimore, MD., 30 August 1943, in her original Navy configuration. This image provides a good view of the Whirley crane, which ran on tracks on each side of the hatch covers and which was intended to handle all the cargo carried by the ship. The Navy added the two masts and their cargo booms.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo # 19-N-52141 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Enceladus 197k USS Enceladus (AK-80) moored at Norfolk Navy Yard, 10 November 1943, during an inclining experiment following her second conversion. The Whirley crane and the original foremast have been replaced with a new foremast stepped between Nos. 1 and 2 holds. The hatch openings and covers have also been reduced in size, and two 20mm guns on pedestals have taken the place of the old foremast.
    US National Archives, RG-19 Item S-22 (Inclining experiments), Photo # Unknown a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Enceladus 61k USS Enceladus (AK-80) at anchor, date and location unknown. David Fuller for his father Ernest E. Fuller USGCR USS Enceladus
    Enceladus 100k USS Enceladus (AK-80) officers, circa 5 June to 17 October 1944. Ernest E. Fuller is in the center of this photograph. David Fuller for his father Ernest E. Fuller USGCR USS Enceladus
    Enceladus
    0913008006    		 144k USS Enceladus (AK-80) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    U.S. Navy photo.    		 David Wright
    USS Enceladus (AK-80)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Coombs, Melville M.USCG18 August 1943 - 1945
    02LT. Greene, W. A.USCG1945 - 7 August 1945
    03LT. Freeman Jr., Lloyd R.USCG7 August 1945 - 27 September 1945
    04LCDR. Johnson, Victor A.USCG27 September 1945 - 1945
    05LT. Mess, B. R.USCG1945 - 18 December 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Data Base
    Back To the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 29 March 2024