USNS Private Leonard C. Brostrom (T-AK-255)

USNS Private Leonard C. Brostrom (T-AK–255) was a cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

that was converted into a heavy lift

Heavy lift

- Definition :The transportation, handling and installation of heavy items which are indivisible, and of weights generally accepted to be in the range of 1 ton to over 1000 tons and of widths/heights of more than 100 meters that are too large to fit into normal containers or onto conventional...

cargo ship in the early 1950s. She was built in 1943 for the United States Maritime Commission

United States Maritime Commission

The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...

as SS Marine Eagle, a Type C4-S-B1
Type C4 ship
The Type C4 class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The design was originally developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941, but in late 1941 the plans were taken over by the MARCOM.Seventy-five ships were built as cargo and...

tank carrier, by Sun Shipbuilding during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. In 1948, she was transferred to the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

as USAT Private Leonard C. Brostrom after Leonard C. Brostrom

Leonard C. Brostrom

Leonard C. Brostrom was a soldier in the United States Army who died during the Philippines Campaign of 1944-45 during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during this campaign...

, a recipient of the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

. In 1950, the ship was transferred to the Military Sea Transport Service of the U.S. Navy as a United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.-Overview:...

staffed by a civilian crew. After ending her naval service, she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

in October 1980 and was sold for scrapping in June 1982.

Career

Marine Eagle (MC hull 735) was laid down by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

, under a United States Maritime Commission

United States Maritime Commission

contract on 5 December 1942; launched 10 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. R. M. Stevenson; and delivered to the Maritime Commission, thence to the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company

American-Hawaiian Steamship Company

The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 to carry cargos of sugar from Hawaii to the United States and manufactured goods on return trips...

for operation on 18 September 1943.

Marine Eagle, the only C4

Type C4 ship

The Type C4 class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The design was originally developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941, but in late 1941 the plans were taken over by the MARCOM.Seventy-five ships were built as cargo and...

completed as originally intended, as a tank carrier, operated between New York and European ports until July 1945. During those 18 months she completed nine eastbound Atlantic crossings to the United Kingdom and, after the Normandy invasion

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

, French and Belgian ports. Departing Antwerp on 10 July 1945, she sailed to Panama, instead of New York, then headed out across the Pacific. For the next nine months she carried cargo to the Philippines, then, in March 1946, returned to the west coast. In May, she steamed to Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, for inactivation overhaul, after which she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

(NDRF) at Olympia, Washington

Olympia, Washington

Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...

, on 29 October.

The ship was reactivated on 27 March 1948, and transferred to the Army Transportation Service and renamed Private Leonard C. Brostrom, a Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

recipient for his actions in the Philippines in October 1944. After two years service, however, the ship was returned, on 3 March 1950, to the NDRF at Olympia.

Private Leonard C. Brostrom was reactivated again, 9 August 1950, transferred to Navy custody and designated T–AK–255. Originally assigned to Military Sea Transport Service, Atlantic, she was converted for heavy lift

Heavy lift

in 1953–54 by the Bethlehem Steel Company of Brooklyn, New York. Transferred to the Pacific after conversion, the cargo ship sailed to the Far East to begin cargo operations under ComMSTSFE. Private Leonard C. Brostrom continued heavy lift operations through the 1970s, carrying such diverse cargos as a 101 long tons (102.6 t) turbo-electric power plant, several 85 long tons (86.4 t) diesel-electric locomotives (85 t. ea.), a 116 long tons (117.9 t) turbine-generator car, and a 110 long tons (111.8 t) IMODCO

SBM Offshore

SBM Offshore N.V. is a Dutch-based global group of companies selling systems and services to the offshore oil and gas industry. Its constituent companies started their offshore activities in the early 1950s and SBM subsequently became a pioneer in single point mooring systems...

tanker mooring buoy from Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

to Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

.

Private Leonard C. Brostrom was removed from service in 1980 and entered into the NDRF at Suisun Bay, California on 29 May. She was sold for scrapping on 8 June 1982

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