Name Kenosha Laid down May 1944 | Yard number 39 Launched 25 August 1944 | |
Builder Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin | ||
USS Kenosha (AK-190) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that served the US Navy during the clean-up phase of World War II. When her service was no longer required in 1946, she was decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission where she was sold to the Kingdom of Norway in 1947.
Contents
Construction
Kenosha was launched 25 August 1944 by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin, under a U.S. Maritime Commission contract, MC hull 2121; sponsored by Miss Marion Crowley; acquired by the Navy 1 August 1945; and commissioned 7 September 1945, Lieutenant S. Bernsen in command.
World War II-related service
After shakedown out of Galveston, Texas, Kenosha arrived Gulfport, Mississippi, 19 October to load cargo for the Mariana Islands. The cargo ship departed Gulfport 25 November, cleared the Panama Canal, and arrived Guam via Pearl Harbor 10 January 1946.
Upon discharging her cargo, she loaded cargo for the US Marines and sailed for the US East Coast, arriving Lynnhaven Roads, Virginia, 7 March.
Decommissioning
On 3 April Kenosha arrived Baltimore, Maryland, and decommissioned there 16 April 1946.
Merchant history
She was sold to Norway on 4 March1947, for $693,862, and renamed Rio Dale. She was renamed several times between 1958 and 1967, Torian in 1959, Lars Viking in 1963, Neptune V in 1965, and finally Arabdrill 2 in 1967, when she converted to an offshore drilling ship. She was last reported in Lloyd's in 1977, and it is unknown what her fate has been after that.
Honors and awards
Qualified Kenosha personnel were eligible for the following: