USS Alchiba, a 14,125 ton cargo ship, was built at Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1938-40 as the civilian freighter Mormacdove. She was acquired by the Navy in June 1941 and soon placed in commission. During the rest of the year, she operated in the western and north Atlantic, reaching as far east as Iceland. In early 1942, Alchiba went to the Pacific to take cargo to the Society Islands, then returned to the U.S. east coast by way of Chile and the Panama Canal. She was back in the Pacific in mid-June and arrived in New Zealand the next month to become part of the Amphibious Force. In early August she took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal and continued to provide logistics support for the Guadalcanal campaign during the next four months.
On 28 November 1942, while anchored off Guadalcanal's Lunga Point, Alchiba was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-16, setting fire to her forward holds. She was run aground to prevent sinking, and the blazes were extinguished after five days of hard work. However, on 7 December the ship was again torpedoed, probably by a Japanese midget submarine, opening up her after hull and starting more fires. Again, Alchiba's crew controlled the flooding and flames. Her wounds were patched up sufficiently for her to return to the United States for permanent repairs, which lasted until August 1943. Meanwhile, in February 1943, she had been reclassified as an attack cargo ship, with the new hull number AKA-6.
During the rest of 1943 and into March 1944, Alchiba performed logistics duties in the South Pacific, also taking part in the invasion of Bougainville in November 1943. Following an overhaul in mid-1944, the ship was plagued by recurrent engine troubles, was in and out of shipyards for the next year, and completed only one voyage to the south Pacific during this time. In July and August 1945, Alchiba crossed the ocean to deliver cargo to bases in the central and western Pacific. She stayed in the former combat zone until late October and then returned to the U.S., reaching the east coast by way of the Panama Canal in mid-December. USS Alchiba was decommissioned in January 1946. Transferred to the Maritime Commission in July of that year, she was sold to commercial interests in 1948.
This page features all our views of USS Alchiba (AK-23, later AKA-6).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 19-N-24206 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 18 June 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 595 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-24207 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 18 June 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 560 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 19-N-24205 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Off the Boston Navy Yard, Massachusetts, 18 June 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 90KB; 740 x 590 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 97835 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Photographed circa early 1942. Note her camouflage scheme. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 550 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 78540 USS Alchiba (AKA-6) Photographed circa 1945. Courtesy of James Russell. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 575 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-10973 Guadalcanal-Tulagi Landings, 7-9 August 1942 A U.S. Marine Corps M2A4 "Stuart" light tank is hoisted from USS Alchiba (AK-23) into a LCM(2) landing craft, off the Guadalcanal invasion beaches on the first day of landings there, 7 August 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 130KB; 530 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: USMC 52795 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Fighting fires in her forward holds, with the assistance of a tug (probably USS Bobolink, AT-131), while she was aground off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, circa late November 1942. Torpedoed on 28 November by the Japanese submarine I-16 and torpedoed again on 7 December, she was salvaged and repaired. Note smoke venting from the top of her kingposts. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 530 pixels |
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Photo #: USMC 66457 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Afire off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, circa late November 1942, after she had been torpedoed in the forward holds. Alchiba was torpedoed on 28 November by the Japanese submarine I-16. Her crew ran her aground and delivered her cargo while fighting fires, which burned until 2 December. She was torpedoed again on 7 December, but was salvaged and reentered service. Photographed by Sgt. Robert Brenner. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: USMC 52796 USS Alchiba (AK-23) Aground and afire off Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, circa late November 1942. She had been torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-16 on 28 November. Men are handling cargo on the beach, possibly assisting in unloading Alchiba while she was fighting her fires. Note barbed wire fencing in the foreground. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph. Online Image: 86KB; 740 x 520 pixels |
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If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 23 January 2002