|
USS Pegasus (AK-48) was built in 1939 as SS ''Rita Maersk'' by Helsingør Jernskibs og Maskinbyggeri A/A, Helsingør, Denmark. Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, she sailed to the United States where she operated under charter from the Maritime Commission as ''Rita Maersk'' and later as ''Larwin''. After completing two cruises, she was laid up at Boston, Massachusetts, until 18 September 1941 when she was acquired by the United States Navy from the Maritime Commission. Renamed USS ''Pegasus'' on 15 October 1941, the cargo ship was converted for U.S. Navy use by Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation, New York City, and commissioned at New York on 3 December 1941, Lt. Comdr. William Fly in command. == World War II North Atlantic operations== Following an abbreviated shakedown, ''Pegasus'' loaded military cargo including 600 depth charges and sailed in convoy for Iceland on 27 December. Despite fierce seas and the menace of German U-boats, she reached Reykjavík, Iceland, early in January 1942. There, raging winter storms driven by winds in excess of imperiled the ship and her cargo, and she did not return to the U.S. East Coast until late February. On 24 March ''Pegasus'' joined her second Iceland-bound convoy, and during the spring and summer months of 1942 she completed three round trips to Iceland and back. Her holds and decks carried supplies for the Allied effort in the North Atlantic. Although she escaped the German submarines, she saw several merchantmen, including two on 31 August, fall prey to torpedo attacks. == Central America operations== ''Pegasus'' returned to Boston, Massachusetts, on 11 October; and, after completing repairs to her main engine, she sailed on 16 November to begin extended operations in the Caribbean. Laden with dynamite and Seabee construction material, she arrived St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on 11 December. She continued to New Orleans, Louisiana, a week later and loaded construction supplies for Puerto Rico. Between 18 January 1943 and mid-May she made four runs to Puerto Rico and back; thence, during June and July she hauled U.S. Navy cargo to Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone. Ordered to New York, she loaded ammunition and military stores and transported them to Cuba early in September. The busy cargo ship resumed her cargo shuttle runs between the Gulf Coast and ports in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal Zone in October. During the next ten months she hauled thousands of tons of war material to American bases in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. While en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in mid-May 1944, she sustained extensive damage to her cargo after a fire broke out in her fire room. She discharged cargo at Key West, Florida, and quickly resumed duty. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Pegasus (AK-48)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|