Arequipa AF-31

Arequipa

A minor planet discovered on 7 December 1912 by J. H. Metcalf and named in honor of the Peruvian city where Harvard Observatory had an observing station.

(AF-31: dp. 7,435; 1. 338'6"; b. 50'; dr. 21'1"; s. 11.5 k.; cpl. 98; a. 13"; cl. Adria; Y. R 1-M-AV3)

Arequipa (AF-31) was laid down on 17 January 1944 under a Maritime Commisison contract (MC hull 2195) by Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc., at Beaumont, Tex.; launched on 4 May 1944; sponsored by Mrs. L. Osius; transferred to the Navy on 19 December 1944; towed to Todd Shipyards in Galveston for conversion; and commissioned on 14 January 1945, Lt. Ralph E. Deckwa in command.

After a brief shakedown in the Gulf of Mexico followed by a short availability, the store ship departed Galveston on 31 January and steamed to Mobile, Ala., to receive her initial load. She departed the United States on 7 February as part of Service Squadron 9 and shuttled provisions to various ships and shore activities throughout the Pacific, primarily in the Philippine Islands, the Admiralty Islands, and the Netherlands East Indies.

Before the end of October 1945, Arequipa had serviced 905 ships and 41 shore activities and travelled over 35,000 miles. On 19 December, she went into drydock at Manicani Island in Leyte Gulf.

Following overhaul, Arequipa returned to the United States and picked up provisions in San Francisco for delivery to ports throughout le Pacific Islands, Japan, and China. From May 1946 until November 1954, the stores ship delivered supplies, almost without interruption except for periodic repair and overhaul.

Arequipa underwent a preinactivation overhaul at Pearl Harbor from November 1954 to June 1955 and then steamed to San Diego to join the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was decommissioned on 25 August 1955, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 September 1961. She was sold in December 1972 to Star-Kist Food Inc., of Terminal Island, Calif, for non-transportation
use.