USS Lesuth

USS Lesuth (AK-125) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Lesuth was named after the star Lesuth in the constellation Scorpius. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.

Bow on view of USS Lesuth (AK-125) off San Francisco, 11 November 1943.
History
United States
Name	William M. Gwin
Namesake	William M. Gwin
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	American President Lines (APL)
Ordered	as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 1638
Builder	California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California
Yard number	171
Way number	4
Laid down	24 March 1943
Launched	17 April 1943
Sponsored by	Miss M. B. Follis
In service	29 April 1943
Fate	transferred to the US Navy, 9 October 1943
United States
Name	Lesuth
Namesake	The star Lesuth
Acquired	9 October 1943
Commissioned	1 November 1943
Decommissioned	16 August 1946
Renamed	Lesuth, 11 October 1943
Refit	converted for Naval service at United Engineering, Alameda, California
Stricken	17 July 1947
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-125 Code letters: NHCF
Honors and awards	1 × battle star
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 31 July 1964, withdrawn, 20 August 1964
General characteristics
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	15 officers 222 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

Construction

Lesuth was laid down 24 March 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull No. 1638, as the Liberty ship SS William M. Gwin, by California Shipbuilding Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California; launched 17 April 1943; sponsored by Miss M. B. Follis; acquired by the Navy 9 October 1943; renamed Lesuth 11 October 1943; converted at United Engineering, Alameda, California; and commissioned 1 November 1943.

Service history

After loading cargo, Lesuth departed San Pedro, California, 14 November, arriving Pago Pago, Samoa, on 30 November. Four days later she arrived Funafuti, Ellice Islands and for the next 3 months engaged in training exercises in the South Pacific.

Serving South Pacific island bases

From Funafuti she steamed to the Marshall Islands, arriving Kwajalein 6 March 1944, as a unit of Service Squadron 8. Lesuth remained in the Marshall Islands until she departed Kwajalein 6 August, for Guadalcanal. She loaded cargo in the Solomons and Russell Islands, then sailed from Manus 14 September, en route to the Palau-Western Caroline campaign.

Supporting the Philippine invasion

The Palau Islands were of strategic importance as an advance base for the invasion of Leyte. The initial landings took place 15 September, 5 days before Lesuth arrived off Kossol Passage. For the next 2 months she remained off Peleliu unloading cargo needed for the Philippine assault. Sailing to Tulagi and Guadalcanal in late November, the cargo ship departed on 26 November for San Francisco, California.

After overhaul, Lesuth rejoined Service Squadron 8 at Eniwetok 11 February 1945. Later that month she sailed for the Philippines, arriving San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on 28 February. Following 6 weeks of cargo operations off Leyte, she steamed to the United States during May and June, for additional supplies, then returned to Ulithi 25 July.

End-of-war activity

When the Japanese surrender ended World War II, Lesuth was used to carry provisions to the occupation troops in the Far East. From September 1945 to May 1946, she made cargo runs to Japan, the Philippines, Okinawa, and Saipan, finally departing Saipan 5 May. Arriving San Francisco, California, on 24 May, Lesuth remained there until 2 July, when she sailed for Pearl Harbor.

Post-war decommissioning

She decommissioned at Pearl Harbor 16 August 1946. Lesuth was returned to MARCOM 29 May 1947, and was struck from the Navy list 17 July.

Fate

She was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, until purchased by Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, on 31 July 1964, for $49,660. She was physically removed from the Reserve Fleet on 8 August 1964.

Awards

Lesuth received one battle star for World War II service. Her crew was eligible for the following medals:

• American Campaign Medal
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
• World War II Victory Medal
• Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
• Philippines Liberation Medal

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Online resources

• "Lesuth". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 16 February 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• "California Shipbuilding, Los Angeles CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
• "USS Lesuth (AK-125)". Navsource.org. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
• "LESUTH (AK-125)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 16 February 2017.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Lesuth (AK-125) at NavSource Naval History