USS Polana (AKA-35)

USS Polana (AKA-35)
History
Laid down:	11 December 1944
Launched:	17 January 1945
Commissioned:	21 February 1945
Decommissioned:	21 March 1946
Struck:	26 June 1946
Fate:	Unknown
General Characteristics
Builder:	Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.
Hull type:	S4-SE2-BE1
Displacement:	4,087 tons light, 7,080 tons loaded
Length:	426 ft (129.8 m)
Beam:	58 ft (17.7 m)
Draft:	16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion:	Steam turbo-electric drive; two boilers, two propellers, 6,000 shp (4.5 MW)
Speed:	16.9 knots (31.3 km/h)
Complement:	321 (20 officers, 301 men), plus 255 embarked troops
Armament:	1 × 5"/38 caliber DP gun, 4 × twin 40 mm AA guns, 16 × 20 mm AA guns
Boats:	14 LCVP, 8 LCM

USS Polana (AKA-35) was an Artemis class attack cargo ship named after the minor planet 142 Polana, which in turn was named after the city of Pola (now Pula, Croatia), from which it was discovered. She served as a commissioned ship for 13 months.

History

Polana (AKA-35), an attack cargo ship, was laid down 11 December 1944 as MC hull 1896 by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I.; launched 17 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Felix Gygax; completed and accepted at the Boston Navy Yard; and commissioned 21 February 1945, LCDR K. D. Gallinger in command.

After shakedown along the Atlantic coast and in Chesapeake waters, Polana steamed for Newport, R.I. to assume duties as an Amphibious Force training ship. Operating between Newport and Norfolk, she trained several pre-commissioning details through the first week of May.

Standing out of Hampton Roads, Va. 10 May, Polana transisted the Panama Canal and continued on to Pearl Harbor, arriving 31 May. Assigned to Commander, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, she commenced a series of cargo runs that took her from Pearl Harbor 16 June enroute Eniwetok, where she moored 24 June–25 June.

From this point Polana’s assignments entailed a series of inter-island cargo runs that included extensive steaming and long hours of cargo handling. Guam served as a base of operations from the end of June as she delivered cargo at Tinian 30 June and at Saipan 6 July–9 July. Through the summer she also called at New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo, and at various Philippine ports. She stood out of San Pedro Bay in convoy 1 September for Yokohama, Japan, arriving 8 September to offload occupation troops and supplies.

The fall found her assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty, and through the winter she continued cargo runs between the Philippines, Japan, Okinawa, and Tsingtao, China. She departed Guam 7 December and reached San Francisco 21 December. After the New Year she sailed to the East Coast, arriving Norfolk 7 February 1946. She decommissioned 21 March at Portsmouth, Va., was struck from the Navy List 1 May and delivered to the Maritime Commission 26 June 1946 at Lee Hall, Va.

References

• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (Primary source for this article)

External links

• Naval Historical Center: USS Polana
• NavSource Online: AKA-35 Polana
• 51 Years of AKAs