USS Pipestone

History
United States
Name
  • Coastal Explorer (1944–1945, 1945–)
  • Pipestone (1945)
NamesakePipestone County, Minnesota
Orderedas type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2157[1]
BuilderGlobe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin
Yard number124[1]
Launched6 March 1945
Completed23 November 1945
AcquiredApril 1945
CommissionedReturned to the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) prior to commissioning
IdentificationHull symbol: AK-203
FateReturned to MARCOM, 23 November 1945
United States
NameCoastal Explorer
OwnerMARCOM
Operator
Acquired23 November 1945
In service23 November 1945
Out of service13 March 1946
FateSold, 20 February 1947
PeruPeru
NamePutumayo
NamesakePutumayo Province
OperatorCorperacion Peruana e Vapores, Callao, Peru
Acquired20 February 1947
FateSold, 1968
PeruPeru
NameFelipe
OperatorNaviera Panamar S.A., Callao, Peru
Acquired1968
FateSold
PanamaPanama
NameFelipe
OperatorGold Shipping S.A., Panama
FateScrapped, 1974
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeAlamosa-class cargo ship
TypeC1-M-AV1
Tonnage5,032 long tons deadweight (DWT)[1]
Displacement
  • 2,382 long tons (2,420 t) (standard)
  • 7,450 long tons (7,570 t) (full load)
Length388 ft 8 in (118.47 m)
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft21 ft 1 in (6.43 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 × propeller
Speed11.5 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity
  • 3,945 t (3,883 long tons) DWT
  • 9,830 cu ft (278 m3) (refrigerated)
  • 227,730 cu ft (6,449 m3) (non-refrigerated)
Complement
  • 15 Officers
  • 70 Enlisted
Armament

USS Pipestone (AK-203) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. By the time she was scheduled for commissioning, the war’s end caused her to be declared “excess to needs” and she was returned to the US Government and struck by the Navy.

Construction

Pipestone was laid down under US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2157, by Globe Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin. She was transferred to the Navy in April 1945. Pipestone was scheduled for commissioning. However, because of the Allied victory in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations, her commissioning was delayed.[2]

Merchant service

Pipestone was ordered returned to MARCOM for disposal. Her name subsequently reverted to Coastal Explorer.[3]

Coastal Explorer was used by a couple of shipping companies from 1945–1946, before being sold to the government of the Republic of Peru for $693,862.[3]

On 20 February 1947, she was sold to the Peru.[3] She was operated by Corperacion Peruana e Vapores, Callao, Peru, and renamed Putumayo. In 1968 she was sold to Naviera Panamar S.A., also of Callao, and renamed Felipe.[2]

She was eventually sold to Gold Shipping S.A., Panama, and finally sold for scrapping to Spanish shipbreakers in 1974.[2]

Notes

Citations
  1. ^ a b c C1 Cargo Ships 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Navsource 2010.
  3. ^ a b c MARAD.

Bibliography

Online resources

  • "C1 Cargo Ships". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  • "USS Pipestone (AK-203)". Navsource.org. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  • "Coastal Explorer". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  • Photo gallery of USS Pipestone (AK-203) at NavSource Naval History