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

(1969) Vol. 4, p.314.





MELUCTA





	A star.





AK-131

Displacement:  14,550 t.

Length:  441'6"

Beam:  56'11"

Draft:  28'4"

Speed:  12.5 k.

Complement:  213

Armament:  1 5"; 1 3"; 8 20mm

Class:  CRATER

Maritime Commission Standard Type:  EC2-S-C1





	MELUCTA (AK-131) was laid down as THOMAS A. McGINLEY 

under Maritime Commission contract by St. Johns River 

Shipbuilding Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., 21 January 1944; 

launched 20 March 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas A. 

McGinley; acquired as MELUCTA by the Navy from the War 

Shipping Administration under bareboat charter 31 March 

1944; converted from a freighter by Gibbs Gas Engine Co., 

Jacksonville, Fla.; and commissined 22 July 1944.



	Following shakedown off Norfolk, Va., MELUCTA was 

assigned to the Naval Transport Service 17 August for 

cargo-carrying duties along the east coast into the fall.  

By 10 November, she was en route to the Marshalls, towing 

concrete barge CINNABAR (IX-163) to Pearl Harbor before 

continuing on to Ebon.



	The cargo ship operated in the South Pacific for the 

next year.  MELUCTA steamed to San Francisco in May 1943 for 

repairs and reloading, departing the first week of June.  In 

mid-October, she got underway for the East Coast via the 

Canal Zone, arriving Norfolk 28 November.



	MELUCTA decommissioned there 13 December and was 

delivered to WSA 5 days later.  Renamed THOMAS A. McGINLEY, 

she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet in James 

River, Va., where she remained into 1969.





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com