USS ALHENA        AK-26 / AKA-9

This Web Site is dedicated as a tribute to my father              and to the men who served and to those who gave their lives                               aboard USS Alhena during World War ll

 A two ocean veteran, USS Alhena steamed from Ireland to the shores of Japan during WWII.

On June 19, 1940, the keel for the 7,101 ton civilian freighter SS Robin Kettering was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract  MC hull 74, as a C2-S cargo ship, at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at Sparrows Point, Maryland. On January 18, 1941 the Robin Kettering, sponsored by Mrs. William Sanford Lewis, was launched.

The ship was purchased by the United States Navy on May 13, 1941 from Robin Line of the Seas Shipping Co., Inc., of New York City and converted to USS Alhena at the Tietjen-Lang Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey.

On June 15, 1941 the steamship Robin Kettering was commissioned USS Alhena AK-26 at Hoboken, New Jersey, with Commander Charles B. Hunt, USN as her first commanding officer. The ship was named for the star Alhena in the constellation Gemini.

Following her commissioning, several weeks were required to make the necessary conversions to fit the ship for Naval Service. Following the final fitting out and shakedown training, the cargo ship began operating among ports on the East Coast of Canada and the United States. However due to the urgencies of the times, her conversion was still incomplete when Alhena began her first voyage. The ship arrived in Boston on December 13, 1941 to take on cargo for Argentia, Newfoundland. She departed for Newfoundland, encountered heavy seas and sustained minor damage topside. After completion of the voyage to Newfoundland at the end of December, she proceeded to Brooklyn, New York to refill her holds then departed for Norfolk, Virginia in mid January to take on more cargo and have the topside damage repaired. Alhena then returned to New York City to embark troops before getting underway on February 5, 1942, for the British Isles. On February 6, Alhena was officially assigned to the Naval Transportation Service.

From January to March 1942 Alhena made voyages to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Reykjavik, Iceland and the new strategic Naval Operating Base at Argentia, Newfoundland. Alhena transported supplies 

and building materials for the construction process. On February 27, 1942, Alhena reached Belfast, Northern Ireland, remained there approximately two weeks discharging passengers, equipment and supplies. She departed Belfast and made a stop at Clydebank, Scotland on March 14. She departed Scotland on March 16 bound for  the United States, arriving in New York March 25, 1942. All of these voyages were charted through German U-Boat infested waters without incident.

On April 9, 1942, Alhena left New York en route to Panama, The Canal Zone. She passed through the Panama Canal on April 19 then set a course for the Tonga Islands. On April 23, Alhena crossed the Equator at coordinates  95° 46' West Longitude, and Latitude 00° 00'. The traditional Shellback ceremony was held, initiating all of the polywog crewmembers. Alhena reached Nuku´alofa Harbor, Tongatabu on May 9, disembarked an Army anti-aircraft unit and Navy personnel. Alhena then departed Tongatabu two weeks later and returned to San Diego, California on June 5, 1942. While in San Diego, Alhena's hull was painted in a horizontal three tone camouflage pattern, repairs and alterations were made to the ship and additional armament added. The 2nd Marine Division (reinforced), with their equipment and supplies were taken aboard. Task Force Negat, Task Group Three, part of the air support group for the invasion force made up of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp CV-7 and her escorts served as convoy screen for USS Alhena, USS Crescent City AP-40, USS President Adams AP-38, USS President Hayes AP-39 and USS President Jackson AP-37. 

On July 1, the convoy departed San Diego for Tongatabu, Tonga. Task Group Three and the amphibious transports with their Marines arrived at Nuku´alofa Harbor, Tongatabu on July 18, 1942 only to be hit by a 67 knot gale the next day, but suffered no serious damage. On July 7, Task Group One of Task Force Negat in which the USS Saratoga CV-3 was the principal ship, departed Pearl Harbor for an unknown destination in the South Pacific. A few days later Task Group Two of the Task Force of which USS Enterprise CV-6 and the newly built USS North Carolina BB-55 were the major ships, departed Pearl Harbor for the South Pacific as well. Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Kelly Turner in his flagship USS McCawley AP-10  and Task Force Tare, an amphibious force made up of 12 troop transports, cargo ships and combatant escort ships departed Aotea Quay, Wellington, New Zealand on July 22, setting an easterly course. 

On July 21, Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher, Tactical Commander of Task Group 61 sent messages to all commanders concerned that the three carrier groups of Task Force Negat and the amphibious force, Task Force Tare, would rendezvous at 1400 Zone, minus 12 time, Sunday, July 26, in position 23º 15´ South Latitude, 180º 00´ Longitude. At the rendezvous co-ordinates, a conference of commanding officers would be held aboard the USS Saratoga, flag ship of Vice Admiral Fletcher. The rendezvous occurred at the International Date Line and the Tropic of Capricorn approximately 367 miles southeast of the Fiji Islands. Alhena along with the entire force numbering 76 ships would then proceed north to Koro Island in the Fiji Islands for amphibious landing exercises. The exercises were intended as a rehearsal  for Operation Watchtower, the American assault to retake Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands from the Japanese. An assault in which the United States forces would take the offensive for the first time in World War ll. The objective of the assault on Guadalcanal was to deny the Japanese the use of a just completed aircraft runway at Lunga Point, renamed Henderson Field after Guadalcanal was retaken. The aircraft runway was intended for use by Japanese long range bombers and fighter aircraft as a staging area to continue their dominance of islands in the South Pacific and points East.

The landing exercises were as accurate and complete a simulation of the prospective landings on the Solomons as could be provided. The rehearsal extended from July 28 to July 31 and included provisions for two complete landing exercises - a training that the commanders agreed was critically needed by both Naval personnel and Marines. On July 30 and July 31, the carrier air groups participated in the landing exercises, practicing bombing and strafing of enemy positions. The attack force ships were able to practice the type of gunfire support they would be called upon to render during the Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings.

 At the close of the rehearsal on the afternoon of July 31, Rear Admiral Turner convened a meeting of the task group commanders in the Australian cruiser HMAS Australia, at which time he reviewed his operation plans in detail. Similarly, Major General Alexander Vandegrift, Commander of the First Marine Division explained his plan for the capture of Japanese land positions. Since the rehearsal was less than successful and had demonstrated that a large percentage of the assault boats would probably be rendered useless by engine or mechanical failure, an assault boat pool system was worked out for the Tulagi Guadalcanal landings. In General Vandegrift's opinion, the rehearsal was a waste of time and effort as he stated, "a complete bust".

The Marines had a frustrating rehearsal of the Guadalcanal invasion. Reef conditions on Koro made landings difficult and very hazardous to irreplaceable landing craft. This made it impossible to conduct the practice landings in a realistic way. The exercise was cancelled after only a third of the Marine force landed.

At the conclusion of the rehearsal, the expeditionary force now sailing as Task Force 62, Alhena and the other amphibious transports refueled from the oilers USS Kanawha AO-1 and USS Platte AO-24 and replenished their ammunition from the ammunition ship USS Rainier AE-5. Alhena sailed with Transport Group X-Ray 62.1 for Guadalcanal. At 1630 on July 31, the ships weighed anchor, formed a circular cruising disposition, maintaining radio and radar silence and visual silence at night. This formation was well balanced against both submarine attack and surprise air attack. The formation departed Koro Island and made the 1,000 mile westward passage to a position 16º 34´ South, 159º 00´ East, approximately 400 miles south of the Russell Islands. The Task Force then proceeded toward Guadalcanal with its assault force of approximately 19,000 marines. The weather was cloudy and overcast, ideal conditions for the surprise attack. On August 6, Vice Admiral Fletcher's carrier force and their escorts sailing as Task Force 61, departed from the transports as they approached the Solomon Islands to take position south of Guadalcanal. At 0310 on August 7, the assault force was directly west of Cape Esperance with an interval of six miles between Transport Group X-Ray and Transport Group Yoke at a speed of 12 knots. Transport Group X-Ray steamed in two parallel columns of eight and seven ships each with a distance of 750 yards between ships and an interval of 1,000 yards between columns.

At 0535, USS Enterprise launched the first of eight Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter aircraft and nine Douglas Dauntless dive bombers in the pre-dawn darkness along with aircraft from USS Saratoga and USS Wasp to destroy Japanese installations on Tulagi and Guadalcanal. They destroyed wooden buildings, tents, trucks and boats with tracer and incendiary fire.

As the Transport Group X-Ray passed 6,000 yards off Lunga Point on Guadalcanal, where there were known to be anti-aircraft batteries, British Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley, Commander of the Cruiser Force had planned for the cruiser USS Quincy CA-39 to come forward from a position in the rear to take responsibility for silencing any enemy fire from that area. At 0613 on the morning of August 7, 1942, the silence was broken as the eight inch guns of the USS Quincy, USS Vincennes CA-44 and USS Astoria CA-34 began a planned bombardment of Red Beach and the area from Lunga Point west and had also begun firing on the coast in the vicinity of Kukum. At 0650, Rear Admiral Kelly Turner's flagship USS McCawley AP-10 hoisted the traditional signal flag "Land the landing force" to signal Alhena and the other transports of Task Group X-ray to begin the deployment of Marine assault units and begin unloading operations from the predetermined debarkation point 9,000 yards from Red Beach on the island of Guadalcanal. Good weather and calm seas permitted the use of cargo net gangways on both sides of the transports simultaneously, and the unloading operation was rapid, smooth and efficient. At 0637, the transports from Task Group Yoke were given the signal, land the landing force, to began the debarkation of Marines at Blue Beach on Tulagi, as well as Gayutu and Florida Island. 

At 1430 on the afternoon of August 7, high level Japanese bombers attacked the anchored transports and the landing force. Half of the F4F Wildcat fighters that challenged the Japanese force were lost, but the Japanese lost five Betty bombers, nine Val dive bombers and two Zeros. On the afternoon of August 8, forty-five low level bombers attacked the invasion force again. In the ensuing battle, all forty-five Japanese planes were shot down. Alhena came through undamaged and was credited for downing three Japanese aircraft. In spite of the heavy enemy air attacks, Alhena carried out her unloading task successfully and got underway with other transports via Lengo Channel at 1530 on August 9 for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, where she arrived  the next morning to begin taking on another load of cargo for the Solomon campaign.

In the early morning hours of August 10, 1942 a Japanese task force of three cruisers commanded by Rear Admiral Gunichi Mikawa had engaged and sunk four allied cruisers, the USS Quincy, USS Vincennes, USS Astoria  and HMAS Canberra in the night Battle of Savo Island.

On the night of August 20, Alhena and USS Fomalhaut AK-22 escorted by USS Blue DD-387, USS Henley DD-391 and USS Helm DD-388 as convoy screens departed for Tulagi, continuing to support the campaign to sustain the United States' presence in the Solomon Islands. Upon approaching Lengo Channel, USS Blue and USS Henley peeled off to reach Iron Bottom Sound in time to stop an anticipated Japanese landing. At 0330 the two destroyers were near the center of the Sound steaming back and forth at ten knots, radars searching for the enemy through a moonless night. USS Blue while steaming east and approximately 400 yards ahead of Henley, at 0355 received both a radar and sonar contact on a fairly high speed vessel only 5000 yards away off the starboard beam. As Blue continued on the same course and speed, readying guns and torpedo tubes, the contact's range closed to 3200 yards. At 0359 the unknown contact's intent was violently revealed by an orange-red explosion of a torpedo which sliced off several feet of Blue's stern, immobilizing the propeller shafts, tossing men and gear as much as 50 feet in the air, killing 9 and wounding 21. The unseen contact was the Japanese destroyer Kawakaze, which had just landed reinforcements. Alhena and Fomalhaut arrived at Tulagi on August 22, the first transports to arrive, landed the 2nd Marines and began unloading badly needed supplies and equipment. USS Henley stood by Blue and at daylight towed the crippled destroyer toward Lunga Roads, and was directed to take her into Tulagi Harbor. Because the Japanese were known to be en route to Guadalcanal in strength, the destroyer squadron commander recommended scuttling the Blue. Admiral Turner concurred with the recommendation to scuttle the Blue and after several attempts to save the ship, the Blue was ultimately scuttled in Iron Bottom Sound at 2221 on August 23. On August 24, 1942 Alhena evacuated wounded Marines and prisoners of war, then sailed south to Espiritu Santo without further incident.

For the next month Alhena was engaged in short, dangerous supply runs between Noumea, New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo and Havana Harbor, on the island of Éfaté, New Hebrides. This pattern of operations was interrupted on September 24, 1942 when Alhena left Espiritu Santo bound for for the Solomon Islands. Alhena anchored off Guadalcanal in Sealark Channel on September 26 and began a routine of unloading  cargo ashore during the day and retiring seaward each night. Because Japanese warships regularly operated in Sealark Channel at night, Rear Admiral Turner specified on September 24 that vessels carrying supplies to Lunga Point were to unload only during daylight hours and retire eastward out of the channel at night and return at dawn. The arrival of U. S. fighter planes at Henderson Field permitted the large transports to enter Sealark Channel in daylight with some degree of safety. The work proceeded successfully in spite of heavy Japanese air harassment for weeks until the task was completed on September 29, 1942. During these encounters, Alhena's gun crews shot down approximately  20 Japanese aircraft.

At 1229, on September 29, 1942 while sailing from Guadalcanal to Espiritu Santo with Marine wounded and a cargo of empty fuel drums, Alhena was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-4 approximately 12 miles southwest of Cape Sidney on San Cristobal Island ( Makira Island ), Solomon Islands at coordinates 10º 47´ South Latitude, 161º 16´ East Longitude. Alhena was hit in the stern, in the vicinity of the number five hold.  A Japanese Long Lance torpedo created a 45 foot hole on both sides of the stern, causing extensive damage to the after part of the ship and ignited fires that the crew fought for three hours to bring under control. Casualties to the crew included one missing, five dead and seventeen men wounded, one critically. Twelve Marines were wounded and twenty-four were thought to be missing after the number five hatch cover was blown over the side. The missing Marines had been last seen on the hatch cover and were presumed dead. Several were killed while asleep in their bunks directly above the location of the torpedo hit. Alhena was unable to make headway and drifted throughout the night and the next day. The crew worked in relays for several days to complete temporary repairs on the rudder so Alhena could be towed. During this time the dead were buried at sea and repairs were made, including the shoring of the number four bulkhead. On October 1, 1942 Alhena was taken under tow by the destroyer USS Monssen DD-436 while the destroyer Meredith DD-434 circled the Monssen and Alhena as a submarine screen and defended against any Japanese air attacks. Monssen continued towing Alhena on a southerly course until the fleet tug Navajo AT-64 arrived and assumed the towing responsibility the next day. On October 7, Navajo with Alhena arrived in Espiritu Santo where Navajo assisted with temporary repairs. On October 16, Navajo once again took Alhena in tow and departed for Noumea, New Caledonia arriving on October 20. The repair work continued until November 8, 1942.

On November 8, 1942, Alhena got underway under her own power for Sydney, Australia escorted by USS Navajo, arriving there on November 20. Alhena was dry-docked at Sydney for major repairs. She remained there until June 1943, undergoing final repairs and conversion to an attack cargo ship. As a result of her new configuration, Alhena was re-designated AKA-9 on November 26, 1942. Finally,  eight months after being torpedoed, Alhena returned to duty in the South Pacific. During her stay in Australia, command of the ship was passed from Commander C. B. Hunt to Commander H. W. Bradbury, the former Executive Officer of Alhena. The ship left Sydney on June 10, 1943 and set a course for Noumea. During the next few months, the ship was engaged in transportation of supplies between Noumea and Guadalcanal and also made port calls at Auckland, New Zealand to take on cargo. 

0n October 28, 1943, Alhena sailed from Havana Harbor, Éfaté as part of Task Force 31, with the 3rd Marine Division, 1st Marine Amphibious Corps embarked, for Bougainville in operation Cherry Blossom. In the early morning darkness on Monday, November 1, 1943, Alhena along with three AKA's and eight APA's, landed 14,321 Marines at Cape Torokina, Empress Augusta Bay on the Island of Bougainville, the largest of the Solomon Islands. The landings, planned for the west side of the island, completely surprised the Japanese who expected the attack would come from the East and the South. Alhena once again came under Japanese air attack several times, without sustaining any damage and successfully disembarked troops and supplies. On November 2, 1943 a Japanese naval force of cruisers and destroyers entered Empress Augusta Bay trying to destroy the American transports only to be challenged by the transport's screens. The Japanese naval force retreated during the night battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Following this operation, Alhena resumed the transportation of supplies between Noumea and Guadalcanal and continued that duty until departing Guadalcanal on March 24, 1944, bound for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  Alhena was then assigned to the Central Pacific War Zone. Also in March in a change of command ceremony, Commander R. C. Erickson assumed command of Alhena from Commander H. W. Bradbury.

The American war strategy in the western Pacific was developed around the premise that the Japanese would never surrender and that Japan would fight to the last man particularly if the home islands were invaded. It was anticipated that such an invasion by allied forces, if it were to occur, would result in the loss of one million American lives. In planning for this eventuality the Marianas needed to be retaken because the air bases were essential in order to accommodate the new B-29 Superfortress, a bomber that was just beginning to be mass produced in early 1944 and which had a flying range equal to the distance from Saipan, Tinian and Guam to Japan and return. The airfields in the Marianas were needed from which to launch air attacks against Japan in preparation for an invasion of the country itself should it become necessary. Plans for the invasion of Saipan were scheduled for June 15, 1944. An armada of 535 ships carrying 127,570 U. S. military personnel of which two-thirds were marines of the 2nd and 4th Divisions converged on Saipan. Seven battleships and eleven destroyers escorting the transports shelled Saipan and Tinian for two days before the landings and fired 15,000 rounds of 16 and 5 inch shells. On the second day this invasion force was joined by eight more battleships, six heavy cruisers and five light cruisers. The islands were ringed by American warships with their guns blazing. 

Following a port call at Funafuti, Ellice Islands, Alhena arrived at Pearl Harbor April 9, 1944. In a change of command ceremony, Commander R. C. Erickson was relieved by Commander Malcolm Sylvester. Throughout April and May the ship was engaged in maneuvers in the Hawaiian area and loading operations in preparation for the impending assault on Saipan. On May 30, 1944, Alhena sailed with units of the 2nd Marine Division embarked from Hawaii for Saipan. On June 7, Alhena entered Eniwetok Lagoon en route to Saipan as a part of Vice Admiral Kelly Turner's Task Force 52, Northern Attack Force. Alhena arrived off Saipan in the early morning hours of June 15 and at 0542, Admiral Turner had given the traditional signal to land the landing force. Alhena and the amphibious force had landed the Marine assault force along four miles of beach at Chalan Kanoa on the west coast of Saipan to begin Operation Forager, the invasion of Saipan, Tinian and Guam. Despite enduring two Japanese air attacks during the unloading operations at Saipan, the unloading process was completed on June 23. Alhena then departed Saipan and returned to Pearl Harbor on July 4, 1944. Alhena refueled and departed Hawaii the next day for San Francisco arriving in San Francisco Bay on July 11. Shortly thereafter, Alhena began a three month refitting and overhaul period. During that shipyard stay, sixty percent of Alhena's original crew was transferred to other ships and installations. 

On October 13, after the overhaul was completed, Alhena departed San Francisco carrying cargo for the Admiralty Islands and to take on supplies and prepare for the invasion of Okinawa. Alhena arrived at Manus on October 29, 1944. At 0855 on November 10, while at anchor in Seeadler Harbor waiting to off load cargo, Alhena was damaged by the explosion of the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood AE-11. Several cases of 50-caliber ammunition were blown from the Mount Hood, landing on the main deck of Alhena. The impact of the ammunition on the deck caused the ammunition to explode causing many injuries. Alhena was extensively damaged above decks and unable to participate in the invasion of Okinawa as planned. Three crewmen were killed and seventy injured, twenty-five critically. One of the wounded crew was Alhena's doctor, who sustained a broken leg when a part of the Mount Hood's boiler was blown through three bulkheads, ending up in the doctor's stateroom and breaking his leg. The doctor refused treatment for his own wounds until he had assisted the other casualties. The wounded were transferred ashore where several died over the next few days. Further operations were delayed for six weeks while repairs were made. The other ships anchored in Seeadler Harbor that day, damaged by the blast, flying ammunition and shrapnel were the USS Mindanao ARG-3, seven YMS motor minesweepers nested alongside the Mindanao, the USS Argonne AG-31 and the USS Oberrender DE-344.

 While awaiting the proposed invasion of Japan, Alhena departed Manus Island for Hollandia to take on cargo, then departed Hollandia in a convoy to support  the  landings at Lingayen, Leyte and Mindoro. From there Alhena sailed to Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands to take on cargo then departed for Guam to embark units of the 3rd Marine Division. Alhena then departed Guam on February 9, 1945 and charted a course for Iwo Jima where the 3rd Marine Division went ashore as part of the invasion force on February 19.  

At 0200 on the morning of February 19, battleship guns signaled the commencement of D-Day. Soon after, 100 bombers attacked the island, followed by another volley from the naval guns. At 0830, Marines disembarked the transports for the beaches of  Iwo Jima. The objective, Mount Suribachi at the southern tip of the island, on which the Japanese were able to defend the beaches.

Three of Alhena's crew were killed when their assault boat with Marines was struck by Japanese shore fire at the beach. After landing the 3rd Marine Division and their equipment, Alhena departed Iwo Jima and proceeded to Noumea. Alhena remained there in port at Noumea in reserve for nearly two months for the impending Okinawa invasion, but did not participate in that invasion. Instead, Alhena made re-supply runs between New Guinea and the Philippines.

In late May 1945, Alhena steamed to Leyte to replenish her own supplies.  In June 1945, while in the Philippines, the ship began preparations for Operation Olympic, the planned invasion of Japan. From June until the end of the war in September 1945, On August 26, Alhena arrived in Subic Bay, Philippines to take on troops for Operation Olympic. Alhena made logistics trips carrying troops, supplies and equipment between Manila, Philippines, Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands and various ports in New Guinea including Finschafen, Hollandia and Oro Bay, Papua New Guinea. While underway for the invasion of Japan between August 26 and September 2, a notice was posted on the ship's bulletin board informing Alhena's crew that hostilities had ceased and that World War II was over.

On September 2, 1945, Alhena anchored at Sagami Wan just outside of Tokyo Bay and was present during the historic Japanese surrender on board the battleship USS Missouri BB-63, thus ending World War II. On September 13, eleven days after the Instrument of Surrender was signed, Alhena anchored in Tokyo Bay. Alhena's crew was given four hour liberty passes to Tokyo.

Immediately following the end of hostilities, Alhena participated in the United States occupation of Japan. On October 13, 1945, Alhena entered Tokyo Bay to help transport liberated American prisoners of war to the Philippines for medical attention and convalescence and to transition them for their final trip home. By this time, most of Alhena's wartime crew was detailed home and replaced. The ship operated in Japanese waters supporting American occupation forces through November 19, 1945. On that same day, Alhena departed Yokosuka, Japan bound for the United States and made a port call at Seattle for repairs before sailing for San Francisco. After remaining in port in San Francisco through the Christmas holidays, she got underway on January 6, 1946 for the Far East. Alhena was carrying a cargo of beer and whiskey for the occupation force in China. Alhena made a port call at Okinawa on January 22 and soon after, continued on to Tsingtao, China. After discharging her cargo of spirits at Tsingtao, she left China on March 2, 1946, bound once again for San Francisco. Alhena arrived in San Francisco on March 18 and underwent a period of voyage repairs. The ship set sail on April 12, 1946 for the East Coast. After transiting the Panama Canal once again,  Alhena arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on May 1. One week later she arrived at Bayonne, New Jersey and was decommissioned there on May 22, 1946. 

Alhena's name was stricken from Navy records on August 15, 1946, transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal on September 12, 1946 then placed in the Upper Hudson River Reserve Fleet. In 1960, the shipping company Isbrantsen Lines acquired a controlling interest in American Export Lines and  acquired four of the old Robin Lines ships, "Cadillac C-2's"  as they were referred to, including Alhena, formerly the Robin Kettering. Captain Carl Shivers the director of Marine Operations for American Export Isbrantsen Lines inspected the four newly purchased ships and chose Alhena as the best ship of the four ships and assigned himself as the new captain. Alhena's name was changed to SS Flying Hawk. The four newly acquired sister ships comprised American Export Isbrantsen Lines "Around the World" service, carrying 12 passengers and general cargo. The SS Flying Hawk was retired from service and scrapped in 1971. USS Alhena received five Battle Stars for World War ll service.

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