USS Torry (AKL-11) was a Camano-class cargo ship of the United States Navy. During World War II, she previously served as the United States Army Transport FS-394. After being acquired by the United States Navy, the ship was commissioned as USS Torry (AG-140), but was later reclassified as a light cargo ship. On 29 January 1952, she was transferred to the Department of the Interior and was sold to Socony-Mobil in 1961. The ship was successively sold to several companies before becoming a fishing vessel and was scuttled in 2015 off the coast of Delaware as an artificial reef.

History
United States
NameUSS Torry
NamesakeTorry, an island off Lake Okeechobee
BuilderIngalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Decatur, Alabama
Laid down1944
Launched1944
Completed1944
Acquired22 February 1947
Commissioned5 July 1947
In service1944
ReclassifiedAKL-11, 31 March 1949
Stricken29 January 1952
Fatetransferred to Department of the Interior, 29 January 1952
General characteristics
Class and typeCamano-class cargo ship
TypeLight Cargo Ship
Tonnage620 GRT
Displacement
  • 414 tons(lt)
  • 940 tons(fl)
Length177 ft
Beam32 ft
Draft10 ft
PropulsionTwo 500 hp GM Cleveland Division 6-278A 6-cyl V6 diesel engines, twin screws
Speed12 knots
Complement26 officers and enlisted

Service history

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FS-394, a Design 381 coastal freighter of the United States Army, was built during 1944 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and commissioned on 14 December in the same year. She was manned by United States Coast Guard personnel and her first commander was Lieutenant H.J. Whitmore, a Coast Guard reservist.[1] FS-394 operated in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. On 22 February 1947, she was acquired by the United States Navy at Subic Bay. The ship was named Torry and designated AG-140 on 3 April 1947. Torry was commissioned at Guam on 5 July 1947. After August, she operated in the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands, performing logistic duties. On 31 March 1949, she was reclassified as AKL-11.[2]

On 24 July 1951, she was loaned to the Department of the Interior at Guam. The transfer was made permanent and Torry was struck on 29 January 1952. Serving with the Department of the Interior, she provided transport in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1961, she was sold to Socony-Mobil and transferred to American MARC in 1963. She was finally transferred to the Western Offshore Drilling and Exploration Company in 1965. At an unknown date, the ship was sold to Omega Protein and was gutted for use as a menhaden fishing vessel. While a fishing vessel, she was renamed Shearwater. The vessel was sold to the state of Delaware for used as an artificial reef and in 2015 was scuttled off the state's coast by Delaware Department of Natural Resources contractors Coleen Marine.[3] **

    • This is wrong. Shearwater was FS-411 / AG-177.

References

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  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

  1. ^ "World War II Coast Guard-Manned U.S. Army Freight and Supply Ship Histories" (PDF). United States Coast Guard. p. 37. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Torry". www.history.navy.mil. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  3. ^ Priolo, Gary (8 January 2016). "FS-394 AG-140/AKL-11 USS Torry". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 2015-11-04.