imported>Monkbot: /* top */ task 22: convert table-based ship infobox to {{Infobox ship}};

2025-12-14T18:12:21Z

top: task 22: convert table-based ship infobox to {{Infobox ship}};

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{{Short description|Andromeda-class attack cargo ship}}
{{other ships|USS Algol}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
|image= USS Algol (AKA-54) underway off the coast of Southern California on 22 September 1944.jpg
|image_caption= USS ''Algol'' (AKA-54), underway off the coast of southern California, 22 September 1944.
US Navy photo taken from a [[Marine Corps Air Station Tustin|NAS Santa Ana]], based [[ZP-31|Blimp Squadron ZP-31]] [[Airship]] by ENS. Borg.
}}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
|hide_header=
|country=United States
|flag= {{USN flag|1970}}
|name=
*''James Barnes'' (1942–1943)
*''Algol'' (1943–1977)
|namesake=The star [[Algol]] in the constellation [[Perseus (constellation)|Perseus]]
|ordered=as type ([[Type C2 ship|C2-S-B1]]) hull, [[Maritime Commission|MC]] hull 1153
|builder=[[Moore Dry Dock Company]], [[Oakland, California]]
|laid_down=10 December 1942
|launched=17 February 1943
|acquired=
|commissioned=27 November 1943 (reduced commission)
|decommissioned=3 December 1943
|renamed=''Algol'', 30 August 1943
}}

|section3={{Infobox ship/career
|hide_header=yes
|recommissioned=21 July 1944 (full commission)
|decommissioned=2 January 1958
}}

|section4={{Infobox ship/career
|hide_header=yes
|recommissioned=17 November 1961
|decommissioned=23 July 1970
|in_service=
|out_of_service=
|struck=1 January 1977
|reclassified= LKA-54, 1 January 1969
|homeport=
|identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Amphibious warfare type|Hull symbol]]: AKA-54 (1944-1969)
*Hull symbol: LKA-54 (1969–1977)
*[[International Code of Signals|Code letters]]: NHHF
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|Foxtrot}}
|motto=
|nickname=
|honors=
*2 [[battle star]]s (World War II)
*5 battle stars (Korea)
|fate= Sunk as part of the [[Shark River (New Jersey)|New Jersey Shark River]] artificial reef, 18 November 1991
|notes=
}}

|section5={{Infobox ship/characteristics
|hide_header=
|header_caption=
|class= {{sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship}}
|displacement=
*{{cvt|6556|LT}} light
*{{cvt|13910|LT}} full load
|length= {{cvt|459|ft|2|in}}
|beam= {{cvt|63|ft}}
|draft= {{cvt|26|ft|4|in}}
|depth=
|hold_depth=
|power=
*2 × [[Foster–Wheeler D-type]] {{cvt|450|psi}} {{cvt|750|F}} [[steam boiler]]s
*{{cvt|6000|shp}}
|propulsion=
*1 × [[General Electric]] [[Steam turbine#Marine propulsion|steam turbine]]
*General Electric [[Transmission (mechanics)|double reduction main gears]]
*1 × [[Propeller]]
|speed= {{cvt|16|kn|lk=in}}
|range=
|boats=
*8 × [[Landing Craft Mechanized|LCM]]s
*1 × [[LCPL]]
*15 × [[LCVP (United States)|LCVP]]s
|tonnage= {{DWT|4,450}}
|troops=
|complement=247
|armament=
*1 × [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|{{cvt|5|in|0}}/38 caliber]] [[dual-purpose gun]]
*4 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|{{cvt|40|mm|1}} Bofors]] [[anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) mounts
*18 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}} Oerlikon cannons]] AA
|armor=
|notes=
}}
}}
'''USS ''Algol'' (AKA-54)''' was an {{sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship}}. She was the first ship of the [[United States Navy]] by this name, after [[Algol]], a fixed star in the constellation [[Perseus (constellation)|Perseus]]. ''Algol'' served as a commissioned ship for 22 years and 1 month.

She was laid down on 10 December 1942, as ''James Barnes'', a [[United States Maritime Commission]] [[Type C2 ship|Type C2-S-B1]] hull, under United States Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1153), at [[Moore Dry Dock Company]], in [[Oakland, California]]. She was launched on 17 February 1943, renamed ''Algol'' on 30 August 1943, and placed in reduced commission on 27 November 1943 for transit to [[Willamette Iron and Steel Works|Willamette Shipyard]], [[Portland, Oregon]], for completion as an [[attack cargo ship]]. She was decommissioned at Portland on 3 December 1943, and recommissioned USS ''Algol'' (AKA-54), on 21 July 1944 at Willamette Shipyard.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

==Service history==
===World War II===
====1944====
''Algol'' completed [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] training along the California coast by 3 September. She then put into [[Oakland]] and began loading cargo. She departed Oakland on 4 October bound for the western Pacific. Steaming via [[Enewetak|Eniwetok Atoll]], she arrived at [[Saipan]] in the [[Mariana Islands]] late in October. After unloading her cargo at Saipan, ''Algol'' got underway for [[New Guinea]] on 31 October. The attack cargo ship put into [[Jayapura|Hollandia]] on 6 November and remained there two days before pushing on to [[Nouméa]], [[New Caledonia]], where she stopped between 24 November and 17 December. On 17 December, ''Algol'' headed for [[Guadalcanal]] where she participated in landing exercises in preparation for the [[Invasion of Lingayen Gulf|assault on Luzon]] at [[Lingayen Gulf]]. At the end of the year, she moved up to the staging area at [[Manus Island|Manus]] in the [[Admiralty Islands]].{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

====1945====
On 2 January 1945, the attack cargo ship put to sea as an element of Task Unit (TU) 78.11.7. Along the way, many reports came in of submarines, torpedoes, and unidentified aircraft. However, no verified attacks occurred. ''Algol'' and her colleagues arrived safely in Lingayen Gulf on 11 January. Her boats and boat crews went immediately to help unload {{USS|President Monroe|AP-104|2}}. The attack transport began her own unloading the following day. She completed cargo operations on 13 January and got underway for [[Leyte]] on the 15th. During that voyage, she also towed ''President Monroe'' which had suffered a main propulsion plant casualty. The two ships arrived in San Pedro Bay on 20 January. There, she immediately began loading for a second invasion of Luzon. When she arrived off the coast of [[Zambales]] province on the western coast of Luzon just north of [[Subic Bay]], she and the other ships found things very peaceful. And so, it was. The entire area was in the friendly hands of Filipino guerrillas. The pre-landing bombardment was cancelled, and troops and cargo moved ashore easily.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

Upon her return to Leyte on 3 February, ''Algol'' spent about six weeks catching up on minor ship repairs, and her crew enjoyed more frequent liberty. By mid-March, however, it was time to get back in the war, and she began preparations for the assault on the [[Ryukyu Islands]]. On 27 March, the attack cargo ship departed Leyte with cargo and elements of the [[184th Infantry Regiment (United States)|184th Regimental Combat Team]] (RCT), [[7th Infantry Division (United States)|7th Infantry Division]], embarked. She arrived off [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] early in the morning of 1 April and began unloading soon after the invasion started. That night, instead of retiring with the other transports and cargo ships, ''Algol'' moved into the inner transport area to serve as a tender for the landing craft.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

The ship remained at Okinawa until 10 April at which time she shaped a course for [[Guam]] in company with TU 51.29.12. From Guam, ''Algol'' continued east to [[Hawaii]] and thence to [[San Diego]], California, where she arrived on 4 May. A three-week availability followed. On 28 May, the attack cargo ship embarked upon a voyage to Hawaii, from which she returned to the west coast at [[San Francisco]] on 18 June. She put to sea once again on 6 July bound for the western Pacific. After stops at Eniwetok and [[Ulithi]] en route, the ship arrived at [[Kerama Islands|Kerama Retto]] off Okinawa on 9 September. From there, she moved down to the northern Solomons, arriving at [[Cape Torokina]], [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]], on 4 October. There, she loaded cargo and equipment for Marine Air Group (MAG) 25 for transportation to China. ''Algol'' arrived in [[Qingdao|Tsingtao]], China, early in November, unloaded her cargo, and departed that port at the end of the third week in November.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

===Pacific and Atlantic, 1946–1949===
For the next two years, she carried passengers and cargo between various points in China, Japan, the islands of the central and western Pacific as well as to and from ports on the [[west coast of the United States]]. In July 1947, she was placed in commission, in reserve, preparatory to decommissioning. However, during the inactivation process, the attack cargo ship was ordered back to active service. By late summer of 1949, she was back in full commission operating out of [[Little Creek, Virginia]], under Commander, Amphibious Forces, [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]]. Near the end of August, ''Algol'' embarked elements of the [[7th Marine Division (United States)|7th Marine Division]] at [[Morehead City, North Carolina]], and sailed for the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. After visiting a number of ports along the shores of that sea and conducting operations with American naval forces in the area, the attack cargo ship returned to Norfolk in February 1950.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

===Korean War===
====1950====
In August 1950, just weeks after the outbreak of the [[Korean War]], she was transferred to the Pacific. The ship embarked elements of the [[1st Marine Division (United States)|1st Marine Division]] at San Diego and set sail for [[Kobe]], [[Japan]], on 31 August. ''Algol'' arrived in Kobe on 16 September but put to sea again the following day to join in the [[Battle of Inchon|Inchon invasion]]. The initial assault at Inchon had gone forward the day before ''Algol''{{'}}s arrival in Japan. Her mission, therefore, was one of resupply and reinforcement. She remained at Inchon, unloading, from 21 to 27 September. On the 28th the attack cargo ship headed back to Japan.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

''Algol'' returned to Inchon on 8 October and embarked Headquarters Company, 1st Ordnance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, for what was to have been an amphibious assault at [[Wonsan]] on the northwestern coast of Korea. However, United Nations (UN) naval gunfire and air activity forced the [[North Korea]]ns back from the coastal plain into the highlands. This enabled [[South Korea|Republic of Korea]] forces ashore to move northward and occupy Wonsan themselves. UN troops, therefore, landed unopposed during the last week in October. Following that, the ship returned to Japan and remained there until early December.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

At that time, the Chinese intervened in force and sent the UN forces reeling southward. ''Algol'' went to [[Nampho|Chinnampo]] where she assisted in the evacuation of UN troops during the first week in December. The following week, she moved to Inchon to help evacuate troops at that location.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

====1951–1952====
Those operations lasted until the beginning of the second week in January 1951. For the next two months, the attack cargo ship visited a number of ports in both Japan and Korea. Early in March, she participated in an amphibious feint at Chinnampo and then headed back to Japan. In late April and early May, ''Algol'' visited [[Hong Kong]]. There, she embarked the [[28th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|British 28th Brigade]] and transported it to Inchon. After that mission, she returned to Japan where she conducted amphibious exercises until 17 June. On that day, the ship shaped a course back to the United States. She arrived in San Diego, California, on 30 June.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

Between July 1951 and March 1952, she conducted training missions along the coast of southern California and between there and the Hawaiian Islands. She completed a yard period in Pearl Harbor in March 1952 and put to sea on her way to the Far East. She arrived in Japan late that month and took part in amphibious exercises off the island of [[Hokkaidō]]. ''Algol'' visited [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa|Yokosuka]] early in April and, from there, moved to Hong Kong for a two-week port call. May brought a visit to Subic Bay in the Philippines followed by more training exercises at [[Otaru, Hokkaidō|Otaru, Japan]]. Exercises with units of the [[United States Seventh Fleet|7th Fleet]] punctuated by visits to a number of Oriental ports occupied her time for most of the remainder of 1952. By December, the attack cargo ship was on her way back to the west coast. She arrived in [[Long Beach, California]], on 15 December 1952.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

===Pacific Fleet, 1953–1958===
Training and amphibious exercises – broken only by a repair period at the [[Todd Pacific Shipyards|Todd Shipyard]] at [[Alameda, California]], that summer – filled her time throughout the year 1953 and into the second month of 1954. On 19 February 1954, ''Algol'' departed the west coast bound for Japan. She entered port at Yokosuka on 9 March. In April, the ship participated in exercises at [[Iwo Jima]], and June brought another series of exercises at Okinawa. The usual round of port visits and exercises followed. Early in August, she concluded a two-week visit at Hong Kong and headed – via Subic Bay – to [[Da Nang|Tourane]] and [[Hai Phong]] in [[North Vietnam]]. At those ports, the attack cargo ship embarked non-communist refugees and carried them south to [[Ho Chi Minh City|Saigon]] in [[South Vietnam]]. "[[Operation Passage to Freedom]]" came on the heels of the [[First Indochina War|defeat of the French]] by the [[Viet Minh]] and the [[Partition of Vietnam|division of the Vietnamese portion]] of Indochina into the communist north and the republican south. She made three voyages between the north and the south by 12 September at which time she headed back to Yokosuka. On 21 September, ''Algol'' shaped a course back to the United States. She entered San Francisco, California, on 7 October 1954.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

Later that month, she moved south to her new home port, San Diego. Normal west coast operations, including a series of amphibious exercises, carried her through the remainder of 1954 and well into 1955. In August 1955, the attack cargo ship entered the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] for a regular overhaul. She completed repairs in November and, after refresher training out of San Diego, resumed normal operations out of her home port. That occupation lasted a little more than two years. On 2 January 1958, she was decommissioned and assigned to the [[United States Navy reserve fleets|Bremerton Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet]].{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

===Atlantic Fleet, 1961–1970===
''Algol'' was recommissioned on 17 November 1961 at the [[Northwest Marine Iron Works]] at [[Portland, Oregon]]. After shakedown training out of San Diego, the attack cargo ship departed that port on 12 January 1962 on her way to duty with the [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]]. She was assigned to Amphibious Group (PhibGru) 2, Amphibious Squadron (PhibRon) 4, Atlantic Fleet, and spent most of 1962 operating in the [[Caribbean|West Indies]]. Notable among her assignments in the fall of 1962 was as a support unit for the "quarantine" of Cuba imposed by President [[John F. Kennedy]] during the 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

''Algol'' spent the remaining seven years of her Navy career operating primarily along the [[east coast of the United States]] and in the West Indies. That duty consisted almost solely of amphibious warfare training in conjunction with Marines. The only break in that schedule of operations came at the end of the summer of 1964. At that time, the attack cargo ship deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to participate in the massive amphibious exercise "[[Operation Steel Pike]] I." By early 1965, she returned to more familiar waters and spent the remaining years of her career operating along the eastern seaboard and in the West Indies. During that period, on 1 January 1969, the attack cargo ship was redesignated an amphibious cargo ship and was assigned the hull designation '''LKA-54'''.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

==Decommissioning and fate==
''Algol'' was decommissioned on 23 July 1970 and was transferred to the [[Maritime Administration]]'s [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]] at [[James River]], Virginia. Her name was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy list]] on 1 January 1977. ''Algol'' was sunk as part of [[New Jersey|New Jersey's]] [[Shark River (New Jersey)|Shark River]] [[artificial reef]] on 18 November 1991.{{sfn|DANFS|2015}}

==Awards==

*[[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]] with two [[battle star]]s
*[[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[Navy Occupation Medal]] with "ASIA" and "EUROPE" clasps
*[[China Service Medal]]
*[[National Defense Service Medal]] with star
*[[Korean Service Medal]] with five battle stars
*[[Philippine Liberation Medal]]
*[[United Nations Service Medal]]

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite DANFS
| url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/algol-i.html
| title = Algol I (AKA-54)
| publisher = Naval History and Heritage Command
| date = 16 June 2015
| access-date = 5 November 2016
| link = on
| ref = {{sfnRef|DANFS|2015}}
}}{{PD-notice}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Algol (AKA-54)}}
*{{navsource|10/02/02054|USS Algol AKA-54/LKA-54)}}
*[http://www.ussalgolaka54.org/ USS ''Algol'' website]
*[http://unitpages.military.com/unitpages/unit.do?id=200313 Military.com: USS ''Algol'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060620071629/http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]

{{Andromeda-class attack cargo ship}}
{{Type C2-S-B1 ships}}
{{1991 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
{{Coord|40.1269|-73.6564|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Algol (AKA-54)}}
[[Category:Andromeda-class attack cargo ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Oakland, California]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as artificial reefs]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1991]]

USS Algol (AKA-54) - Revision history

imported>Monkbot: /* top */ task 22: convert table-based ship infobox to {{Infobox ship}};