USS Circe (AKA-25)

History
United States
Name	USS Circe
Namesake	The asteroid Circe
Builder	Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Launched	4 August 1944
Commissioned	10 November 1944
Decommissioned	20 May 1946
Honours and awards	1 battle star (WWII)
Fate	Transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal, 26 June 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Artemis-class attack cargo ship
Type	S4–SE2–BE1
Displacement	4,087 long tons (4,153 t) light 7,000 long tons (7,112 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	302 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber gun mount 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts 10 × 20 mm gun mounts

USS Circe (AKA-25) was an Artemis-class attack cargo ship named after the asteroid 34 Circe, which in turn was named after Circe, a goddess or sorceress in Greek mythology. USS Circe served as a commissioned ship for 18 months.

Circe (AKA-25) was launched 4 August 1944 by Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence, R.I., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. R. E. Dougherty; acquired by the Navy 10 November 1944; and commissioned the same day.

Circe reached Pearl Harbor from the East Coast 3 January 1945. Twenty days later she put to sea with Marine reinforcements and explosives for Guadalcanal, and through February, ferried troops in the Guadalcanal area. After practice landings in Savo Sound, she reported at Ulithi 21 March to stage for the assault of Okinawa.

Between 1 April 1945 and 6 April, Circe was part of the vast armada off Okinawa, closing the coast in daylight to offload men and equipment, and retiring seaward at night. She called at Saipan and Pearl Harbor on her passage to San Francisco, where from 19 May to 27 May she loaded cargo for a voyage to Pearl Harbor. Sailing again from San Francisco 24 June, she carried pilots and ground crews to Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Saipan, and Tinian, returning with men thus relieved to Pearl Harbor 13 August.

Clearing Pearl Harbor 25 September 1945, Circe supported the occupation on cargo duty which took her to ports in Japan and Korea, returning with homeward bound servicemen to San Francisco 20 December 1945.

There she was decommissioned 20 May 1946, and transferred to the War Shipping Administration for disposal 26 June 1946.

Circe received one battle star for World War II service.

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

• NavSource Online: AKA-25 Circe
• 51 Years of AKAs