USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7) Class

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USS Panamint (AGC-13) on 28 December 1944.
Click on this photograph for links to larger images of this class.

Class:        MOUNT McKINLEY (AGC-7)
Design:        MC C2-S-AJ1
Displacement (tons):        7,234 light, 12,750 lim.
Dimensions (feet):        459.2' oa, 435.0' pp x 63.0' e x 24.0' lim.
Original Armament:        2-5"/38 2-40mmT 18-20mm (1944: AGC 7-9)
Later armaments:        2-5"/38 4-40mmT 14<18-20mm (1944-45: AGC 7-14); 2-5"/38 4-40mmT 10>4-20mmT (1945-51: AGC 7-13, 15-17);
4-40T 4-20T (1946-7: AGC-15 on experimental duty);
1-5”/38 4-40mmT 8-20mmT (1951-52: AGC-15);
1-5”/38 3-40mmT 4-20mmT (1952-55: AGC 7-8); 1-5”/38 3-40mmT 4-20mmT (1952-56: AGC 11-12, 15); 1-5”/38 3-40mmT (1957-61: AGC-7, 11-12);
1-5”/38 2-40mmT 4-20mmT (1952-56: AGC 15-17); 1-5”/38 2-40mmT (1957-67: AGC-7, 11-12, 16-17)
Complement:        544 (1944)
Speed (kts.):        16.4
Propulsion (HP):        6,000
Machinery:        G.E. turbine, 1 screw

Construction:

AGC	Name	Acq.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
7	MOUNT McKINLEY	14 Dec 43	North Carolina SB	31 Jul 43	27 Sep 43	1 May 44
8	MOUNT OLYMPUS	22 Dec 43	North Carolina SB	3 Aug 43	3 Oct 43	24 May 44
9	WASATCH	31 Dec 43	North Carolina SB	7 Aug 43	8 Oct 43	20 May 44
10	AUBURN	31 Jan 44	North Carolina SB	14 Aug 43	19 Oct 43	20 Jul 44
11	ELDORADO	1 Feb 44	North Carolina SB	20 Aug 43	26 Oct 43	25 Aug 44
12	ESTES	22 Feb 44	North Carolina SB	25 Aug 43	1 Nov 43	9 Oct 44
13	PANAMINT	29 Feb 44	North Carolina SB	1 Sep 43	11 Nov 43	14 Oct 44
14	TETON	16 Mar 44	North Carolina SB	9 Nov 43	5 Feb 44	18 Oct 44
15	ADIRONDACK	4 Feb 45	North Carolina SB	18 Nov 44	13 Jan 45	2 Sep 45
16	POCONO	15 Feb 45	North Carolina SB	30 Nov 44	25 Jan 45	29 Dec 45
17	TACONIC	6 Mar 45	North Carolina SB	19 Dec 44	10 Feb 45	17 Jan 46

Disposition:

AGC	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
7	MOUNT McKINLEY	26 Mar 70	30 Jul 76	1 Sep 71	MA/T	22 Sep 77
8	MOUNT OLYMPUS	4 Apr 56	1 Jun 61	30 Jun 66	MA/T	22 Jan 73
9	WASATCH	30 Aug 46	1 Jan 60	7 Sep 60	MA/S	18 Aug 60
10	AUBURN	7 May 47	1 Jul 60	7 Mar 61	MA/S	17 Feb 61
11	ELDORADO	16 Nov 72	16 Nov 72	10 Aug 73	MA/S	10 Aug 73
12	ESTES	31 Oct 69	30 Jul 76	1 Sep 71	MA/T	16 Nov 77
13	PANAMINT	24 Mar 47	1 Jul 60	20 Mar 61	MA/S	17 Feb 61
14	TETON	30 Aug 46	1 Jun 61	26 Mar 62	MA/S	26 Feb 62
15	ADIRONDACK	9 Nov 55	1 Jun 61	1 Sep 62	MA/T	7 Nov 72
16	POCONO	16 Sep 71	1 Dec 76	1 Jul 73	MA/T	9 Dec 81
17	TACONIC	17 Dec 69	1 Dec 76	1 Sep 71	MA/T	18 Mar 82

Class Notes:
FY 1944. When the JCS on 10 Nov 43 directed the conversion of 130 APAs (106-235) and 30 AKAs (64-93), the Navy realized that it would also need additional AGCs for completion as early as possible during 1944. With C2's in short supply at both Federal and Moore, which had provided AGC 1-3 and 5, the Navy turned to C2's then building at a new yard, the North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. CominCh on 23 Nov 43 directed the acquisition of eight C2 hulls, the first three (AGC 7-9) to be converted similar to AGC-5, which was a Task Force Headquarters Ship, and the remaining five (AGC 10-14) to be converted with modifications to make them suitable as Task Group Headquarters Ships. Facilities then being provided in AGC's that were not necessary for a task group flagship, such as photographic reproduction and some communications equipment, were to be deleted from the last five ships and the saving in space allocated to useful troop and cargo lift. The Auxiliary Vessels Board ratified these decisions on 4 Dec 43 and recommended the acquisition of the eight hulls. However the MC on 2 Dec 43 agreed to provide only the first three ships, and it took a letter from JCS on 19 Jan 44 to obtain the other five ships.

On 13 Nov 43 BuShips asked if the Philadelphia Navy Yard could undertake some additional AGC design work, because the North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. C2-S-AJ1's had their main bulkheads in a somewhat different location from those in the Federal and Moore C2-S-B1's for which the yard had already produced plans. Philadelphia indicated that it wanted to have a North Carolina hull in the yard for conversion during the development of the plans. By 27 Nov 43 BuShips had decided that Philadelphia would be the design agent for all eight conversions and that it would receive a vessel some weeks before the first vessel arrived at a commercial conversion yard. The three Task Force ships (AGC 7-9) were to be converted at navy yards while the other five would be converted at repair yards in the New York area. Naval ferrying crews transferred the vessels to the conversion yards, AGC 7, 8, and 14 under their own power and the others under tow. AGC 10-13 were all towed north by the large WSA tug TRINIDAD HEAD (MC V4-M-A1 type) assisted by a smaller tug and one or more escort ships.

AGC 15-17: On 29 May 44 CominCh directed that three C2-S-AJ1 hulls be converted to Amphibious Force Flagships in 1945. These were part of a program for the acquisition of 56 auxiliaries, designed to provide for the orderly growth of the auxiliary fleet and replacement of any losses that might be incurred. JCS asked the MC for the 56 ships on 6 Jun 44, and on 22 Jun 44 the MC agreed to provide all but two tankers. On 5 Jul 44 the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended the acquisition of the 54 ships including AGC 15-17. These were initially to be built by North Carolina and delivered to the Navy incomplete but capable of steaming to their conversion yards, but in December BuShips noted that the hulls were now to be acquired in such an unfinished stage of construction that they would have to be towed to the conversion yards.

On 30 Jun 44 BuShips wrote to CNO that forces afloat in the Pacific, where AGC's were increasingly to be used, had indicated in April that the current AGC design was inadequate for the purposes they had in mind and proposed a considerable increase in AGC facilities and accommodations. The Bureau noted that it had already squeezed everything it could into the current C2 design: personnel accommodations having grown from 130 officers and 738 crew in AGC-1 to 156 officers and 877 crew in AGC-7. There simply wasn't room or stability in a C2 for the 185 officers and 1,000 crew plus the additional deckhouses desired by the Pacific commands, and using a larger hull seemed both unwise because of vulnerability and impossible because of unavailability of hulls. The Bureau therefore recommended a thorough review of the characteristics of C2 size AGC's, focusing on radio, radar, boats, towers, booms, winches, vehicle spaces, guns, internal communications equipment, command spaces, aircraft support control, etc. For example, the Pacific commands did not seem to require aircraft support control, and boats and vehicles could be supplied by other vessels in company. This review presumably led to the numerous differences in external configuration visible in AGC 15-17 compared to their predecessors, including the substitution of a pole mast for the after kingpost pair.

Ship Notes:

AGC	Name	MC#	Notes
7	MOUNT McKINLEY	1347	Ex merc. CYCLONE. Delivered 98.4% complete. Ferry commission 15 Dec 43 (arrived at Philadelphia 19 Dec). Converted by NYd Philadelphia. To LCC-7 1 Jan 69. To NDRF 23 Nov 70. To buyer 19 Oct 77.
8	MOUNT OLYMPUS	1348	Ex merc. ECLIPSE. Delivered 97.2% complete. Ferry commission 22 Dec 43-3 Jan 44. Converted by NYd Boston. In USN reserve 1955-61. To NDRF 24 Aug 65, to buyer 16 May 73.
9	WASATCH	1349	Ex merc. FLEETWING. Delivered 97.1% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 31 Dec 43 (arrived at Norfolk 2 Jan44). Converted by NYd Norfolk. In USN reserve 1946-60. To buyer 7 Sep 60, scrapped by 24 Feb 61.
10	AUBURN	1351	Ex merc. KATHAY. Delivered 89.9% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 31 Jan-8 Feb 44. Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Hoboken, N.J. In USN reserve 1946-60. To buyer 7 Mar 61, scrapped by 8 May 63.
11	ELDORADO	1352	Ex merc. MONSOON. Delivered 87.2% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 1-18 Feb 44. Converted by Bethlehem 56th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. To LCC-11 1 Jan 69.
12	ESTES	1353	Ex merc. MORNING STAR. Delivered 87.5% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 22-26 Feb 44. Converted by Todd Shipyards, Brooklyn, N.Y. In USN reserve 1949-51. To LCC-12 1 Jan 69. To NDRF 16 Jul 70, to buyer 30 Dec 77.
13	PANAMINT	1354	Ex merc. NORTHERN LIGHT. Delivered 87.5% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 29 Feb-7 Mar 44. Converted by Todd Shipyards, Hoboken, N.J. Ordered in January 1947 to be put out of commission. Towed 22 Mar 47 from San Pedro to San Diego by ATR-66 and YTB-285. Decommissioned 24 Mar 47 and placed out of commission in reserve 31 Mar 47, according to messages from COMDIEGOGRP. In USN reserve 1946-60 (includes time preparing to inactivate while in commission). To buyer 20 Mar 61, scrapped by 16 Nov 61.
14	TETON	1363	Ex merc. WITCH OF THE WAVE. Delivered 97.9% complete. Ferry commission 16-21 Mar 44. Converted by Atlantic Basin IW, Brooklyn, N.Y. In USN reserve 1946-61 (in service in reserve at San Diego 1957-61). To buyer 26 Mar 62, scrapped by 15 Feb 63.
15	ADIRONDACK	1705	Delivered 98.0% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 4 Feb 45 (arrived at Philadelphia 11 Feb). Converted by NYd Philadelphia. In USN reserve 1949-51 (in service in reserve at Philadelphia 1950-51) and 1955-61. To NDRF 4 Jan 62, to buyer 11 Dec 72.
16	POCONO	1707	Delivered 98.0% complete. In service for ferrying under tow 15 Feb 45 (arrived at Boston 21 Feb). Converted by NYd Boston. In USN reserve 1949-51. To LCC-16 1 Jan 69. To NDRF 1 Feb 72, to buyer 21 Jan 82, scrapped by 6 May 82.
17	TACONIC	1710	Delivered 98.0% complete. In service for ferrying under tow ca. 6-13 Mar 45. Converted by Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, N.Y. To LCC-17 1 Jan 69. To NDRF 22 Jul 70, to buyer 26 Apr 82, scrapped by 14 Feb 83.