>From the "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships," 

(1981) Vol. 7, p.274





TRIANGULUM





	A constellation in the northern triangle of the Zodiac.





AK-102

Displacement:  14,550 t.

Length:  441’6”

Beam:  56’11”

Draft:  28’4”

Speed:  12.5 k. (trials)

Complement:  206

Armament:  1 5”; 4 40mm

Class:  CRATER

Maritime Commission Standard Type:  EC2-S-C1





	TRIANGULUM (AK-102) was laid down under Maritime 

Commission contract (MCE hull 1669) on 14 May 1943 as EUGENE 

B. DASKAM at Wilmington, Calif., by the California 

Shipbuilding Corp.; renamed TRIANGULUM on 27 May 1943; 

launched on 6 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. D. H. Mann; 

acquired by the Navy on 19 June 1943 from the War Shipping 

Administration on a "bareboat" basis; converted to Navy use 

at the Destroyer Base, San Diego; and commissioned on 

30 July 1943, Comdr. Eugene J. Kingsland, USNR, in command.



	Assigned to the Naval Transportation Service, the 

auxiliary cargo ship moved up the coast to load cargo at San 

Francisco and stood out to sea with a convoy on 28 August, 

bound for the New Hebrides.  She arrived at Espiritu Santo 

on 2 October and, for the next five months, shuttled troops 

and cargo between ports in Australia and New Guinea.



	TRIANGULUM embarked part of a battalion of Army combat 

engineers at Lae and sortied on 14 April 1944 with Task 

Group (TG) 77.1, the Western Attack Group, for the invasion 

of Hollandia.  On the morning of 22 April, she began landing 

her 700 troops on the beaches of Humboldt Bay.  The ship 

completed discharging cargo by 1800 the next day and 

departed in a convoy bound via Buna, for Milne Bay.  She 

then resumed her supply runs between Australia and New 

Guinea.



	The ship loaded combat cargo at Manus and got underway 

for Hollandia on 7 November to rendezvous with a convoy 

proceeding to the Philippines.  She arrived at Leyte Gulf on 

the 19th and began discharging supplies.  During her visit 

there, Japanese planes frequently attacked Allied shipping; 

and, during a raid on Thanksgiving Day, four of her men were 

wounded by friendly antiaircraft fire.  On 4 December, she 

departed the area for Australia and, after calling at 

Hollandia, arrived at Brisbane on 17 December 1944.  

TRIANGULUM shuttled supplies from Australia to South Pacific 

bases, mostly in New Guinea, for the next year.  The supply 

runs were broken by three voyages to the Philippines:  in 

January, May, and August 1945.  On 8 November, she stood out 

of Leyte to load cargo at Hollandia, Biak, Milne Bay, and 

Manus to be transported to the United States.



	On the last day of 1945, the ship arrived at San 

Francisco where she was stripped for inactivation and 

ordered to join the Reserve Fleet in Hawaii.  TRIANGULUM 

arrived at Pearl Harbor on 23 February 1946 and was 

decommissioned there on 15 April.  In May 1947, she was 

towed back to San Francisco and returned to the Maritime 

Commission on 2 July.  TRIANGULUM was struck from the Navy 

list on 17 July 1947.



	TRIANGULUM received two battle stars for World War II 

service.





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com