Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Blount (AK-163)

International Radio Call Sign:
November- Echo - Golf - Alpha
 NEGA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
Alamosa Class Cargo Ship
  • Laid down, 7 August 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C1-M-AV1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2108) at Kaiser Cargo Inc., Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 19 October 1944
  • Commissioned, USS Blount (AK-163), 26 January 1945, LT. William H. Leverett, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Blount was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 18 April 1946, at Baltimore, MD.
  • Returned to the War Shipping Administration, 24 April 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1946
  • Merchant Service
    Sold for merchant service, 5 April 1948, to Koninklikje Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mj', Amsterdam, renamed MV Hecuba, re-flagged Netherlands
  • Sold, 5 November 1963, to Afrodite Compaņia Maritima SA , Panama, Panama RP,renamed MV Anna, reflagged Panama
  • Sold, August 1965, Dakosta Compaņia Naviera SA , Piraeus, Greece, renamed MV Panes, reflagged Greece
  • Sold, December 1970, Longa Compaņia Naviera SA , Piraeus, Greece, name retained
  • Final Disposition, Sold for scrapping to the People's Republic of China in the first quarter of 1973. She left on March 25, 1973 on her last journey from the Singapore roadstead to the Shanghai demolition yard.
    • Specifications:
    Displacement 2,382 t.(lt) 7,450 t.(fl)
    Length 338' 8"
    Beam 50'
    Draft 21' 1"
    Speed 11.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 15
    Enlisted 70
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Cargo Capacity 3,945 DWT
    refrigerated 9,830 Cu ft
    non-refrigerated 227,730 Cu ft
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    six single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 6,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Nordberg Diesel, TSM 6 engine
    two Diesel-drive 250Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 1,700shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Blount
    0913016301    		 237k Ex-USS Blount (AK-163) Dutch flagged, in merchant service as the Koninklikje Nederlandsche Stoomboot Mj's MV Hecuba underway, date and location unknown. While under the Dutch flag MV Hecuba operated in the Netherlands - Caribbean trade for 15 consecutive years, sometimes transiting the Panama Canal, ongoing to Peruvian ports.
    ©Sawyer and Mitchel Collection    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Blount
    0913016302    		 64k MV Hecuba Moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    ©Maritime Historical Data Foundation    		 Dirk Dijksman
    Blount
    0913016303    		 101k MV Hecuba underway, date and location unknown.
    ©Maritime Historical Data Foundation    		 Dirk Dijksman
    USS Blount (AK-163)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Leverett, William Henry, USNR26 January 1945 - 6 August 1945
    02CDR. Henriques, Charles Buck, USNR6 August 1945 - 5 October 1945
    03LCDR. Chance, Albert Ingham, USNR5 October 1945 - 18 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    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
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 8 January 2021