USS Caelum (AK-106) underway probably in San Francisco Bay.
History
United States
Name	Wyatt Earp Caelum
Namesake	Wyatt Earp The constellation Caelum
Ordered	as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 1860 [1]
Builder	California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California
Yard number	231 [1]
Way number	5 [1]
Laid down	30 June 1943
Launched	25 July 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. H. N. MacKusick
Acquired	10 August 1943
Commissioned	22 October 1943
Decommissioned	30 July 1946
Stricken	15 August 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-106 Code letters: NHLT
Honors and awards	1 × battle star
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 19 October 1961, removed, 26 October 1961, scrapping completed, 2 January 1962
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Crater-class cargo ship
Type	Type EC2-S-C1
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)
Installed power	2 × Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 220psi 450° 2,500  shp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Joshua Hendy vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 1 × shaft
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	25 officers 196 enlisted
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 Caelum (AK-106) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Caelum was named after the constellation Caelum. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

Construction

Caelum was laid down 30 June 1943, under Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull No. 1860, as the Liberty ship SS Wyatt Earp, by California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; launched 25 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. N. MacKusick; transferred to the Navy 10 August 1943; commissioned 22 October 1943 and reported to the US Pacific Fleet. ^[3]

Service history

Assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Caelum carried cargo between Pearl Harbor and Tarawa, Majuro, Eniwetok, Kwajalein, and Ulithi, in her first year of service. Her tireless operations included participation in the occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro in February 1944, and from June through October 1944, she was assigned to Service Squadron 10. ^[3]

Supporting invasion forces

A San Francisco overhaul late in 1944, was followed by Caelum's assignment from 20 January 1945, as station ship at Ulithi, and from 8 May, at Guam. At these bases she controlled and issued cargo and provisions to the ships which carried out the massive operations in the Palaus, Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and the task forces which pounded Japanese bases from the air. ^[3]

End-of-war activity

Returning to the States for overhaul in June and July 1945, Caelum towed YF-741 to Ulithi in August, and sailed on to support the occupation of Korea in September, and to provide logistic services to ships at Shanghai in early October. From 9 November, when she arrived at Samar, Philippine Islands, the cargo ship sailed from this and various Chinese ports until clearing for the United States 15 April 1946. ^[3]

Post-war decommissioning

Decommissioned at Seattle, Washington on 30 July 1946, Caelum was returned to the Maritime Commission the next day. ^[3] She was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Washington. ^[4]

Fate

On 19 October 1961, she was sold to Hyman-Michaels Company, for $82,011.11, to be scrapped. ^[4] Her scrapping was completed 2 January 1962, at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO). ^[2]

Awards

Caelum received one battle star for World War II service. ^[3]

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Caelum (AK-106) at NavSource Naval History