USS Tabora (AKA-45)

USS Tabora (AKA-45)
History
Laid down:	4 March 1945
Launched:	3 May 1945
Commissioned:	29 May 1945
Decommissioned:	29 May 1946
Struck:	3 July 1946
Fate:	Unknown
General Characteristics
Hull type:	S4-SE2-BE1
Displacement:	7,000 tons
Length:	426 ft
Beam:	58 ft
Draft:	16 ft
Speed:	17 knots
Complement:	303
Armament:	1 × 5"/38 caliber dual purpose gun mount, 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts

USS Tabora (AKA-45) was an Artemis class attack cargo ship named after the minor planet 721 Tabora. Discovered in 1911, the new body was named in 1913 during a conference held in Hamburg, Germany, on board the ocean liner Tabora of the Deutsche Ost Afrika Linie. She served as a commissioned ship for 12 months.

History

Tabora (AKA-45) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1906) on 4 March 1945 at Providence, R.I., by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.; launched on 3 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur W. Devine; and commissioned on 29 May 1945, LCDR Olaf C. Erickson, USNR, in command.

Tabora departed Boston on 9 June and—after nine days of shakedown training out of Hampton Roads, Va.—headed for France. She arrived at Marseilles on 7 July and, the following week, got underway for Panama. She reached Cristobal on the 28th. Two days later, Tabora transited the canal and steamed toward the Marshall Islands. She arrived at Eniwetok on 22 August and, the next day, pushed on toward the Philippines. Upon arriving at San Fernando, Leyte, on the last day of August, the ship was assigned to the 5th Fleet.

Tabora loaded troops and vehicles of the 33d Infantry Division and sailed on 20 September for Japan. She arrived at Wakayama, Honshū, on the 25th; unloaded; and, the next day, began the return trip to the Philippines. She transported another load of occupation troops to Matsuyama, Shikoku, in mid-October. On the 24th, Tabora was assigned to "Magic-Carpet" duty, returning veterans to the United States. On the last day of October, she got underway for Buckner Bay; loaded 340 marines; and sailed for San Francisco.

Tabora continued shuttling troops from Pacific bases to the United States until early 1946 when she was scheduled for inactivation. Tabora was decommissioned on 29 May, returned to the Maritime Commission on 30 June, and struck from the Navy list on 3 July 1946.

References

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

External links

• Naval Historical Center: USS Tabora
• NavSource Online: AKA-45 Tabora
• 51 Years of AKAs