View source for USS Beaverhead

{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Beaverhead (AK-161).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Beaverhead'' (AK-161) at anchor, date and location unknown.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=''Beaverhead''
|Ship namesake=[[Beaverhead County, Montana]]
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry=
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=as type ([[Type C1 ship|C1-M-AV1]]) hull, [[Maritime Commission|MC]] hull 2106{{sfn|C1 Cargo Ships|2009}}
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Richmond Shipyards|Kaiser Shipbuilding Co.]], [[Richmond, California]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=63{{sfn|C1 Cargo Ships|2009}}
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=15 June 1944
|Ship launched=2 September 1944
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. T. H. Purdom, Jr.
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=3 January 1945
|Ship commissioned=3 January 1945
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=8 March 1946
|Ship maiden voyage= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=28 March 1946
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Support type|Hull symbol]]: AK-161
*[[International Code of Signals|Code letters]]: NEFS
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Echo}}{{ICS|Foxtrot}}{{ICS|Sierra}}
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|Ship nickname=
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|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Sold, 28 March 1947, to Koninklijke Nederlandsche StoombootMattschappij N.V., Amsterdam
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Netherlands
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Netherlands|civil}}
|Ship name=''Hera''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=Koninklijke Nederlandsche StoombootMattschappij N.V.
|Ship acquired=28 March 1947
|Ship fate=Sold 1963
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Panama
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Panama|civil}}
|Ship name=
*''Omar Express'' (1963–1967)
*''Cementos Ponce'' (1967–1976)
*''Vanessa'' (1976–1982)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=[[Bahamas Lines]], [[Panama]]
|Ship acquired=1963
|Ship refit=1967, to a self-unloading cement carrier
|Ship identification=*{{IMO Number|5407590}}
|Ship fate=Scrapped at Veracruz, Mexico between 1982 and 1984
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption={{sfn|Navsource|2014}}
|Ship class= {{sclass|Alamosa|cargo ship}}          
|Ship type=[[Type C1 ship#C1-M|C1-M-AV1]]
|Ship tonnage= {{DWT|5032|long|disp=long|link=}}{{sfn|C1 Cargo Ships|2009}}           
|Ship displacement= {{Alamosa class cargo displacement}}    
|Ship length={{Alamosa class cargo length}} 
|Ship beam= {{Alamosa class cargo beam}}   
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=      
|Ship draft=   {{Alamosa class cargo draft}}  
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|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power= {{Alamosa class cargo power}}
|Ship propulsion= {{Alamosa class propulsion}}
|Ship sail plan=             
|Ship speed=  {{Alamosa class cargo speed}}
|Ship range=
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|Ship boats=             
|Ship capacity= {{Alamosa class cargo capacity}}         
|Ship troops=             
|Ship complement=*15 Officers
*70 Enlisted
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
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|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*1 × [[3-inch/50-caliber gun|{{cvt|3|in|0}}/50]] [[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] [[dual-purpose gun]] (DP)
*6 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}} Oerlikon]] [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) cannons
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}}
|}
'''USS ''Beaverhead'' (AK-161)''' was an {{sclass|Alamosa|cargo ship}} commissioned by the [[U.S. Navy]] for service in [[World War II]]. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

==Service history==
''Beaverhead'' was laid down on 15 June 1944 at [[Richmond, California]], by [[Kaiser Cargo]], Inc., under a [[Maritime Commission]] contract, MC hull 2106; launched on 2 September 1944; sponsored by Mrs. T. H. Purdom, Jr.; and commissioned on 3 January 1945.{{sfn|Mann|2015}} ''Beaverhead'' was fitted out at the Naval Supply Depot at [[Oakland, California]], and then underwent a brief conversion at the Naval [[Sea Frontier]] Base, [[Treasure Island, California]]. ''Beaverhead'' departed the [[San Francisco Bay]] area on 22 January bound for [[San Pedro, Los Angeles]], and [[Shakedown cruise|shakedown]]. At the conclusion of that training, she conducted a post shakedown availability at the San Pedro Harbor Boat Co. between 8 and 14 February.{{sfn|Mann|2015}}

On the 20th, the ship got underway from San Pedro bound for the [[Admiralty Islands]]. She arrived at [[Manus Island|Manus]] on 15 March but remained only until the 18th, moving via [[Jayapura|Hollandia]] in [[New Guinea]] to the [[Philippine Islands]]. She arrived in [[Leyte Gulf]] on 28 March. Over the next eight months, ''Beaverhead'' plied the waters of the Philippines, supplying various American bases. Although operating principally in that archipelago, the ship on occasion, voyaged to [[Borneo]], [[Morotai]], and Manus.{{sfn|Mann|2015}} Ultimately, ''Beaverhead'' sailed for home on 5 December. She transited the [[Panama Canal]] on 19 January 1946 and arrived in [[New York City|New York]] 11 days later. She moved to [[Norfolk, Virginia]], during the second week in February and was decommissioned there on 8 March 1946. The ship was turned over to the [[Maritime Commission]] for disposal on 13 March 1946, and her name was struck from the [[Navy list]] on 28 March 1946.{{sfn|Mann|2015}} She was subsequently sold in February 1947.{{sfn|MARAD}}

''Beaverhead'' was sold to the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] shipping firm of [[Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij, N.V.]], on 28 March 1947, for $693,862, and renamed ''Hera''.{{sfn|MARAD}} In 1963 she was sold to [[Bahamas Line]], [[Panama]], and renamed ''Omar Express''.{{sfn|Swiggum|Kohli|2006}} She was converted in 1967, to a self-unloading [[cement]] carrier, at the [[Avondale Shipyard]], in [[Avondale, Louisiana]], and renamed ''Cementos Ponce''. In 1976 she was renamed ''Vanessa''. She was finally scrapped at [[Veracruz]], Mexico, sometime between 1982 and 1984.{{sfn|Navsource|2014}}

== Military awards and honors ==
''Beaverheads''{{'}}s crew was eligible for the following medals and campaign ribbons:{{sfn|Navsource|2014}}
* [[American Campaign Medal]]
* [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]
* [[World War II Victory Medal]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite DANFS 
  | last = Mann
  | first = Raymond A.
  | url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/b/beaverhead-i.html
  | title = Beaverhead
  | publisher = Naval History and Heritage Command 
  | date = 24 June 2015
  | access-date = 12 November 2016
  }}{{PD-notice}}
* {{cite web
  | url = http://shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/2c1cargoships.htm
  | title = C1 Cargo Ships
  | publisher =  ShipbuildingHistory.com
  | date = 28 August 2009
  | access-date = 12 November 2016
  | ref = {{sfnRef|C1 Cargo Ships|2009}}
  }}
* {{cite web 
  | url = http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/13/130161.htm 
  | title=USS Beaverhead (AK-161) 
  | publisher=Navsource.org 
  | date=29 August 2014
  | access-date=12 November 2016
  | ref={{sfnRef|Navsource|2014}}
  }}
* {{cite web 
  | url = https://www.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/444
  | title = Beaverhead
  | publisher = United States Department of Transportation
  | access-date = 12 November 2016
  | ref = {{sfnRef|MARAD}}
  }}
* {{cite web 
  | last1=Swiggum
  | first1=S.
  | last2=Kohli
  | first2=M.
  | url = http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/knsm.shtml
  | title = Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij, Amsterdam / Royal Netherlands Steamship Co. 
  | publisher = TheShipsList
  | date= 10 June 2006
  | access-date = 18 November 2016
  }}

==External links==
*{{navsource|9/13/130161|USS Beaverhead (AK-161)}}

{{portal bar|Netherlands|Saudi Arabia}}

{{Alamosa class cargo ships}}
{{Kaiser, Permanente Metals, Richmond Shipyards}}
{{Type C1-M ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaverhead (AK-161}}
[[Category:Alamosa-class cargo ships]]
[[Category:Beaverhead County, Montana]]
[[Category:Ships built in Richmond, California]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]