View source for USS Sheliak

{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
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|Ship image=USS Sheliak (AKA-62) at anchor, circa in 1945.jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name= USS ''Sheliak''
|Ship namesake= The star [[Beta Lyrae|Sheliak]] in the constellation [[Lyra]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder= [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]],  [[Kearny, New Jersey]]
|Ship laid down=19 June 1944
|Ship launched=17 October 1944
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=1 December 1944
|Ship decommissioned=10 May 1946
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|Ship reclassified=
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|Ship struck=21 May 1946
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|Ship honours=1 [[battle star]] (World War II)
|Ship fate=*Sold into commercial service, 1948
*Scrapped, 1969
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= {{sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship}}
|Ship type= [[Type C2 ship|Type C2-S-B1]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|6715|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length= {{convert|459|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|63|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|26|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship speed= {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=399
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|Ship armament=*1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun]] mount
*4 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm gun mounts]]
*18 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm gun mounts]]
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'''USS ''Sheliak'' (AKA-62)''' was an {{sclass|Andromeda|attack cargo ship}} in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. In 1948, she was sold into commercial service and was scrapped in 1969.

==History==
''Sheliak'' (AKA-62) was named after [[Beta Lyrae]], a binary star system in the constellation [[Lyra]]. She was laid down on 19 June 1944 under [[Maritime Commission]] contract (MC hull 214) by the [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.]], [[Kearny, N.J.]]; launched on 17 October 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Nellie Blanch Regan; and commissioned on 1 December 1944. She was one of a handful of AKA's manned by a [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] crew.

===Pacific War===
''Sheliak'' arrived in [[Hampton Roads]] on 14 December 1944 and underwent shakedown training there from 15 to 21 December. After repairs at [[Norfolk, Virginia]], she arrived at [[Bayonne, New Jersey]], on 28 December to load cargo for the [[Pacific]]. Departing Bayonne on 4 January 1945, ''Sheliak'' delivered her cargo to [[Pearl Harbor]] on 25 January. From 2 to 5 February, she underwent training at Pearl Harbor; and, from 5 to 13 February, she received 1,827&nbsp;tons of [[Tenth United States Army|Tenth Army]] equipment, plus other cargo and 201 troops. Departing Pearl Harbor on 15 February, ''Sheliak'' arrived at [[Tulagi]] on 25 February and underwent pre-invasion training there. Departing Tulagi on 15 March, she arrived at [[Ulithi]] on the 21st and sailed from there for the [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa invasion]] on 27 March. ''Sheliak'' arrived off the beach at [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] on 1 April; and, for the first seven days, provided cargo on call to troops ashore. After general unloading was ordered, she put the Tenth Army cargo ashore between 8 and 17 April. During these operations, she shot down one Japanese aircraft on 15 April.

''Sheliak'' departed Okinawa on 19 April; and, sailing via Ulithi and Pearl Harbor, arrived at [[San Francisco]] on 14 May. There, her crew altered her cargo spaces to carry [[ammunition]]; and, between 28 May and 5 July, she made two round-trips carrying ammunition from [[Port Chicago, California]] to Pearl Harbor. She was unloading her third cargo of ammunition at Pearl Harbor when the [[Surrender of Japan|Pacific War ended]], and she returned the ammunition still on board to San Francisco. On 1 October, the cargo ship delivered 18 landing craft to [[Monterey, California]]; and, on 15 October, she sailed from San Francisco with general cargo and passengers for various Pacific bases. She called at Pearl Harbor, [[Manus Island|Manus]], [[Samar (island)|Samar]], [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]], and [[Guam]] before returning to San Francisco on 22 February 1946. On 15 March, she sailed from San Francisco and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 3 April for deactivation.

===Decommissioning and fate===
''Sheliak'' was decommissioned on 10 May 1946, transferred to the [[War Shipping Administration]] the following day, and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 21 May. Sold into mercantile service as  SS ''Pioneer Isle'' in 1948, she was renamed ''Australian Isle'' in 1965 and ''Transluna'' in 1969 before being scrapped later that year.

==Awards==
''Sheliak'' received one [[Battle Star]] for her [[World War II]] service.

==References==
*{{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/sheliak.html}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|USS Sheliak (AKA-62)}}
* {{navsource|10/02/02062|USS Sheliak (AKA-62)}}
* [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}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheliak (AKA-62)}}
[[Category:Andromeda-class attack cargo ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States]]