USS Delphinus (AF-24)

Cargo ship of the United States Navy

For other ships with the same name, see USS Delphinus.

History
United States
Name| USS Delphinus
Builder| Workman, Clark and Co., Ltd., Belfast
Laid down| 1915, as SS San Mateo
Launched| 5 May 1915
Acquired| 11 August 1942
Commissioned| 11 August 1942
Decommissioned| 8 May 1946
Renamed| Delphinus, 22 August 1942
Fate| Returned to the War Shipping Administration, 8 May 1946
General characteristics
Type| Store ship
Displacement| 5,230 long tons (5,314 t) full load
Length| 328 ft (100 m)
Beam| 44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
Draft| 23 ft (7.0 m)
Propulsion| Reciprocating engines, single screw, 2,500 shp (1,864 kW)
Speed| 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Complement| 107
Armament|

* 1 × 4"/50 caliber guns
* 1 × 3"/50 caliber guns
* 6 × 20 mm guns

USS Delphinus (AF-24) was built in 1915 as SS San Mateo by Workman Clark and Co., Ltd., Belfast, Northern Ireland; acquired by the U.S. Navy 11 August 1942; and commissioned the same day as San Mateo. She was assigned the name Delphinus on 22 August 1942.

## World War II Pacific operations[edit]

Departing San Francisco, California, 12 September 1942, Delphinus arrived at Auckland, New Zealand, 4 October. She operated from this base until the end of 1945, carrying chilled and frozen provisions to forward bases in the South Pacific and to the Society, Fiji, and Samoan Islands.

After calling at Manila in January 1946, Delphinus sailed for the west coast, arriving at San Francisco, California, 23 February. For a brief period she carried cargo along the west coast and to Pearl Harbor, then sailed to New Orleans, Louisiana.

## End-of-War Decommissioning[edit]

Delphinus was decommissioned on 8 May 1946 in New Orleans, and was delivered to the War Shipping Administration the same day.

## References[edit]

* This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
* NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive AF-24 Delphinus