USNS Capt Arlo L Olson (T-AK 245, C1-M-AV1) Class

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USNS Capt Arlo L Olson (T-AK 245).
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Class: CAPT ARLO L OLSON (T-AK 245, C1-M-AV1)
Design: MC C1-M-AV1
Displacement (tons): 2,410 light, 7,440 full
Dimensions (feet): 339' oa, 320' wl x 50' e/wl x 21' max nav
Armament: none
Accommodations: 11 officers, 27 unlicensed
Speed (kts.): 10
Propulsion (HP): 1,700
Machinery: Diesel, 1 screw

Construction:

AK	Name	Acq	Builder	Keel	Launch	Svc
245	CAPT ARLO L OLSON	1 Mar 1950	J A Jones, Brunswick	2 Mar 1945	8 May 1945	1 Mar 1950
246	COL WILLIAM J O'BRIEN	1 Mar 1950	Consolidated Steel, Long Beach	17 Jan 1945	13 Feb 1945	1 Mar 1950
247	PVT JOHN F THORSON	1 Mar 1950	Southeastern SB	8 Jan 1945	26 Feb 1945	1 Mar 1950
248	SGT GEORGE PETERSON	1 Mar 1950	Leathem D Smith SB	9 Mar 1945	13 May 1945	1 Mar 1950
249	SHORT SPLICE	1 Mar 1950	Consolidated Steel, Wilm.	15 Jan 1945	3 Mar 1945	1 Mar 1950
250	PVT FRANK J PETRARCA	1 Jul 1950	Consolidated Steel, Long Beach	18 Apr 1945	7 Aug 1945	1 Jul 1950

Disposition:

AK	Name	T	Inact/Cust	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale/Depart
245	CAPT ARLO L OLSON	T	25 Oct 1956/C	22 May 1958	22 May 1958	MA/T	4 Mar 1971
246	COL WILLIAM J O'BRIEN	T	Aug 1973	1 Sep 1973	19 Nov 1973	MA/S	--
247	PVT JOHN F THORSON	T	2 Aug 1954	1 Oct 1958	1 Aug 1960	MA/S	--
248	SGT GEORGE PETERSON	T	ca Mar 1959	22 Mar 1959	27 Mar 1959	MA/T	15 Dec 1971
249	SHORT SPLICE	T	15 Jun 1973	15 Jun 1973	31 Aug 1973	MA/S	--
250	PVT FRANK J PETRARCA	T	21 Nov 1973/C	15 Oct 1973	16 Nov 1977	MA/T	--

Class Notes:
In mid-1943 the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked the Maritime Commission to add to its building program a new type of coastal cargo ship. Unlike in Europe where the advance against Germany was overland, the advance against Japan could take place only by the successive reoccupation of hundreds of islands. Since the beginning of the war the Army had been building large numbers of small coastal cargo ships (its FS type), tugs, and barges for island use in the Southwest Pacific, but in 1943 it became clear that a larger type of inter-island vessel was needed to continue the advance to the Japanese homeland. A new diesel-propelled cargo ship with a displacement of about 7,500 tons and draft of about 18ft was designed and designated C1-M-AV1, and orders were placed for 86 vessels in August-September 1943 out of an initial program of 100 vessels. Eventually construction of over 300 C1-M-AV1's was authorized and slightly over 200 were delivered to the Maritime Commission before the end of the war and contract adjustments intervened. 65 early C1-M-AV1s became the Navy's ALAMOSA (AK 156) class and 17 of the refrigerated R1-M-AV3 variant became the ADRIA (AF 30) class. After World War II the Army began to acquire ships of the C1-M-AV1 and R1-M-AV3 types for its post-war permanent fleet. As of 31 August 1948 it had 21 of them excluding eight ex-Navy units in SCAJAP, of which four were fitted as small troop transports (see APC 116-119) and five were reefers (see AF 53). All were Army-owned except for one cargo C1-M-AV1 (HONDA KNOT, converting to a mortuary ship) and all five R1-M-AV3s, which were under bareboat charter. By 28 February 1950 the Army's holdings of the C1-M-AV1 and R1-M-AV3 types had fallen to 12 ships, including four passenger (which became APC 116-119), six cargo (AK 245-250), and two refrigerated (AF 44 and AF 53).

AK 245-249 were among the Army ships operating out of continental US ports that were to be acquired on 1 Mar 1950 for which Navy names, classification, and hull numbers were approved on 21 Feb 1950. AK 250 was among the Army ships then operating under commands in the Far East that were to be transferred to the Navy about 1 July 1950 for which names, classification, and hull numbers were approved on 7 Jun 1950. AK 246 and AK 249, were given heavy lift gear in 1954, AK 250 was retired in 1959 but reactivated in 1960, and the other three were permanently out of naval service by the end of 1959.

Ship Notes:

AK	Name	MC	Notes
245	CAPT ARLO L OLS0N	2478	Ex merc. BELL RINGER, completed 11 Aug 1945. To Army 13 Aug 1946. To MA temporary custody 25 Oct 1956, permanent custody 22 May 1958. To buyer 26 Mar 1971.
246	COL WILLIAM J O'BRIEN	2323	Ex merc. MAIDEN'S EYE, completed 10 Apr 1945. To Army 11 Jul 1946. Converted 1954 by Todd, Brooklyn, to a heavy lift ship with two 80-ton capacity booms. (The installation resembled that on PVT LEONARD C BROSTROM and MARINE FIDDLER but was smaller.) Scheduled to complete discharge at Piraeus 5 Aug 1973 when available for transfer to MA for disposal. In good condition but obsolete and due for ABS special survey no. 6. Sold by MA at Piraeus, Greece, to buyer in Elefisis Bay 27 Dec 1973.
247	PVT JOHN F THORSON	2486	Ex merc. BECKET BEND, completed 6 Jul 1945. To Army 25 Jul 1946. To USN reserve at Charleston, S.C. 2 Aug 1954. Sold by MA with AK 157 and AK 162. To buyer 29 Aug 1960 at the Charleston Naval Base. Misspelled THORNSON on Navy naming notice.
248	SGT GEORGE PETERSON	2172	Ex merc. COASTAL GUIDE, ex-USS WASHTENAW (AK 218), cancelled, ex-COASTAL GUIDE, completed 17 Dec 1945 at Beaumont, Tex. Operated commercially until to Army 23 Jun 1948. Served in the MSTS Gulf Subarea until inactivated in early 1959. To buyer 17 Feb 1972 for non-transportation use, converted into private yacht MARSHA LYNN. Sold 1979 to TransAlaska Fisheries Corp., a subsidiary of a corporation created by Congress to compensate Alaska Natives for loss of land, and converted to fish factory ship AL-IND-ESK-A SEA ("Aleuts, Indians, and Eskimos of Alaska in Seattle"). Caught fire from a welder's torch 20 October 1982 while undergoing repairs in Port Gardner, Everett, Washington, and sank 22 October 1982.
249	SHORT SPLICE	2464	Ex merc. SHORT SPLICE, completed 18 May 1945. To Army 17 Jul 1946. Converted 1954 by Todd, Brooklyn, to a heavy lift ship with two 80-ton capacity booms. Operated by a Korean crew after arriving in the Far East 3 Nov 1966. To buyer at Yokosuka 18 Sep 1973.
250	PVT FRANK J PETRARCA	2329	Ex merc. LONG SPLICE, completed 20 Sep 1945. To Army 29 Aug 1946. Stricken and to MA (title) 9 Apr 1959. From MA (title) 7 Apr 1960 and reactivated after private industry was unable to support construction on Canton Island of a telemetry tracking station to support Project Mercury. In 1962 she participated in a cost and feasibility study of year round ocean service in Alaskan waters. In 1966 she delivered supplies to McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, to support Deep Freeze ‘66. With sister FENTRESS (AK 180) she was converted to a partial containership (60 containers, 20' x 8' x 8') in 1971 to resupply Adak and Kodiak. In RRS status at San Francisco in Oct 1973 when (with AK 180) declared excess to requirements. In good condition but obsolete and due for an ABS special survey. To MA custody 21 Nov 1973. To buyer 28 Dec 1977.