USS Xenia

History
Name	USS Xenia
Builder	Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down	4 May 1945
Launched	27 June 1945
Commissioned	28 July 1945
Decommissioned	13 May 1946
Stricken	30 November 1946
Fate	Sold to Chile, 1946
Chile
Name	Presidente Errazuriz
Acquired	1946
Decommissioned	1962
Fate	Most likely scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Type	S4–SE2–BE1
Displacement	4,087 long tons (4,153 t) light 7,080 long tons (7,194 t) full
Length	426 ft (130 m)
Beam	58 ft (18 m)
Draft	16 ft (4.9 m)
Speed	16.9 knots (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph)
Complement	303 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber gun mount 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts 10 × 20 mm gun mounts

USS Xenia (AKA-51), an Template:Sclass-, was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1912) on 4 May 1945 at Providence, R.I., by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.; launched on 27 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Roger W. Armstrong; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 28 July 1945, Lt. Comdr. G. B. Service, USNR, in command. She served as a commissioned ship for 9 months.

Service history

Following shakedown, Xenia operated off the east coast with Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, from September 1945 until 17 April 1946, when she reported to the Commandant, 3rd Naval District, New York, N.Y., for disposal.

Decommissioned on 13 May 1946, Xenia was struck from the Navy list on 30 November 1946 and subsequently transferred to the government of Chile. Renamed Presidente Errazuriz (named after Federico Errázuriz Echaurren), she served the Chilean Navy, for a time serving as fleet flagship, until 1962.

Name background

The name, Xenia, may be in reference to the asteroid number 625, which was discovered by August Kopff in Heidelberg, Germany, on 11 February 1907.

The word Xenia in Greek is a term for hospitality or present. Shortly after the ship was commissioned, the town of Xenia, Ohio demonstrated how well it deserved the name which it shares with the planet and the warship by offering to adopt the attack cargo ship.

References

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

External links

• NavSource Online: AKA-51 Xenia
• 51 Years of AKAs