USS Bellatrix (AKA-3)

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

History
United States
Name	USS Bellatrix
Namesake	a star, in the constellation Orion
Builder	Tampa Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.
Laid down	Unknown
Launched	15 August 1941
Commissioned	17 February 1942
Recommissioned	16 May 1952 (after being decommissioned on 1 April 1946)
Decommissioned	3 June 1955
Reclassified	1 February 1943
Honours and awards	Six battle stars
Fate	Transferred to Peruvian Navy on 20 July 1963.
Peru
Name	BAP Independencia
Commissioned	1963
Decommissioned	1991
Fate	Scrapped in October, 1991, but sank on the way to breakers.
General characteristics
Displacement	8045 tons (8175 metric tons)
Length	459.08 ft (139.93 m)
Beam	63 ft (19 m)
Draught	26.5 ft (8.1 m)
Propulsion	Diesel engine, 6900 hp (5.15 MW), single propeller
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity	5830 tons (16,500 m³)
Complement	369
Armament	1 5 in (130 mm) DP 4 3 in (76 mm) DP 14 × 2 20 mm guns

USS Bellatrix (AK-20/AKA-3) was an Arcturus-class attack cargo ship in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The ship was named after the star Bellatrix in the constellation Orion. The name means "warrioress," and the star is usually named as the 22nd brightest star in the northern hemisphere.

Bellatrix was constructed in Tampa, Florida as a C2-T class merchant marine cargo ship for the Maritime Commission under the name Raven. In April 1941, the War Shipping Administration transferred control of the unfinished Raven to the U.S. Navy. She was reclassified as an AKA-3 attack cargo ship, and launched in August under the command of W.F. Dietrich.

USS Bellatrix (AK-20) off Tampa, Florida, in 1942.

Bellatrix served in the Pacific during 1942, and participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal by delivering troops and supplies to the initial attack on 7 August. She made two subsequent shipments to the island, bringing both cargo and reinforcements. In 1943 she became part of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, participating in the Allied invasion of Sicily. A subsequent shipment to the Gilbert Islands was terminated due to engine failure; Bellatrix returned to San Francisco for repairs.

In 1944, the repaired Bellatrix joined General Holland "Howling Mad" Smith's amphibious fleet moving to take the island of Saipan. On 16 July, she delivered her cargo, soldiers from the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division, just two days before the defeat of the Japanese General, Yoshitsugu Saito.

The Battle of Saipan was Bellatrix's last World War II deployment. She was decommissioned in April 1946, and returned to the Maritime Commission three months later.

Bellatrix was reacquired by the navy for the Korean War. She was recommissioned 16 May 1952, and performed cargo deliveries and training missions until 1955. Decommissioned a second time, Bellatrix subsequently spent eight years in the Pacific Reserve Fleet before being transferred to Peru in 1963. In 1991 she was sold for scrap, but sank in transit to the port of scrapping. She had been in service for almost fifty years.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Naval Historical Center Photo entry
• Photo gallery of Bellatrix at NavSource Naval History
• 51 Years of AKAs