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	USS Etamin (AK-93), broadside view, underway off San Francisco, 25 May 1943.
History
United States
Name	Isaac Babbitt; Etamin;
Namesake	Isaac Babbitt; The star Etamin;
Ordered	as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 1106
Builder	Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Cost	$959,509
Yard number	1106
Way number	1
Laid down	28 March 1943
Launched	25 April 1943
Acquired	8 May 1943
Commissioned	25 May 1943
Decommissioned	26 June 1944
In service	12 August 1944
Out of service	9 July 1946
Reclassified	non-self propelled storage hulk, 12 August 1944
Stricken	31 July 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-93; Hull symbol: IX-173; Code letters: NJTE; ; US Official Number: 243378;
Honors and; awards	2 × battle stars
Fate	Sold, 2 February 1948
General characteristics
Class and type	Crater-class cargo ship
Tonnage	7,176 gross register tons (GRT); 10,500 long tons deadweight (DWT);
Displacement	4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (standard); 14,550 long tons (14,780 t) (full load);
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam	56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft	28 ft 4 in (8.64 m)
Depth	37 ft 4 in (11.38 m); 34 ft 8 in (10.57 m);
Installed power	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) , (manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox); 2,500 shp (1,900 kW);
Propulsion	1 × Vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, (manufactured by Joshua Hendy); 1 × screw propeller;
Speed	12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Capacity	7,800 t (7,700 long tons) DWT; 444,206 cu ft (12,578.5 m3) (non-refrigerated);
Complement	198
Armament	1 × 5 in (127 mm)/38 caliber dual-purpose (DP) gun; 1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber DP gun; 2 × 40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounts; 6 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon AA gun mounts;

USS Etamin (AK-93) was the Liberty ship (EC2) Isaac Babbitt constructed for the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in 1943, for World War II service at a cost of $959,509. After acquisition by the US Navy, the ship was named Etamin, after the brightest star in the constellation Draco and manned by a US Coast Guard crew. As a Crater-class cargo ship, she served the military in the Pacific Ocean by providing food and material until she was torpedoed and put out of service. After repairs, she served as a non-self-propelled floating warehouse for the rest of the war. The ship ended the war in the Philippines and was among fifteen hulls sold for scrap for a lump sum of $271,000.

Construction

Etamin was launched 25 April 1943, as Isaac Babbitt, MCE hull 1106, by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard No. 2, Richmond, California, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract; acquired by the Navy 8 May 1943; and commissioned 25 May 1943.^[6]^[4]

Service history

She was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), 12th Naval District with operational control given to Commander, 7th Fleet Service Force.^[6]

The ship was one of five Navy manned Liberties assigned 8 December 1943 to the Southwest Pacific Area for service to meet Army requirements.^[7] She was active in the southwest Pacific Ocean issuing stores to the fleet and making minor repairs.^[6]

On 27 April 1944,Etamin was disabled by a torpedo hit in Milne Bay and towed to Cairns, Australia, where she decommissioned on 26 June 1944. The ship, no longer self-propelled because of the torpedo damage, was designated as an unclassified miscellaneous auxiliary (IX) and placed in service as Etamin (IX-173) on 12 August 1944 continuing to issue stores to the fleet while under tow. She was placed out of service on 9 July 1946 and stricken from the Navy List on 31 July.^[6]

Sale and scrapping

Returned to the MARCOM for disposal, the ship was laid up at Subic Bay, Philippines, 9 July 1946. She was one of fifteen vessels sold for scrap to Asia Development Corporation, Shanghai, for a total of $271,000. ^[8] She was sold 29 January 1948,^[3] and delivered 3 March 1948.^[8]

Awards

Etamin received two battle stars for World War II service.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Kaiser No. 2 2010.
^ MARCOM.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e MARAD Etamin.
^ ^a ^b Navsource 2014.
^ Lloyd's.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e DANFS.
^ Masterson 1949, pp. 359, 390 (fn 61).
^ ^a ^b MARAD Isaac Babbitt.

Bibliography

"Etamin". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 19 December 2016. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
"Kaiser Permanente No. 2, Richmond CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
"USS Etamin (AK-93)". Navsource.org. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
"ETAMIN". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
"ISAAC BABBITT". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1945–46" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Masterson, Dr. James R. (1949). U. S. Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941–1947. Washington, D. C.: Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, U. S. Army. pp. 359, 390.
"SS ISAAC BABBITT". Retrieved 15 December 2017.