World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseOn 25 Jun 1941, civilian passenger ship Seatrain was acquired by the United States Navy and converted into a transport and aircraft ferry by Tietjin & Land Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. She was named Kitty Hawk on 8 Jul 1941. She was commissioned on 26 Nov at New York Navy Yard with Commander E. C. Rogers in command. After shakedown cruise, she departed from New York, United States on 16 Dec 1941, carrying aircraft to replace those lost at the Pearl Harbor attack. She arrived at Hawaii, United States on 8 Feb 1942, unloaded the aircraft, and departed for the continental United States on 25 Feb. On 17 May, she returned to Pearl Harbor, carrying men and equipment of the US 3rd Marine Defense Battalion and aircraft of US Marine Air Groups 21 and 45 for Midway, arriving on 26 May. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 Jun, and then departed for San Diego, California, United States, arriving on 13 Jun. On 31 Jul, she returned to Pearl Harbor with men, equipment, and aircraft of the US Marine Air Group 23. On 28 Aug, she arrived at Port Vila, Efate, New Hebrides, where she transferred 40 aircraft by crane to carrier Long Island; the aircraft were prepared and launched into combat near Guadalcanal very shortly after. On 4 Oct, she set sail for San Francisco, California, United States to embark US Army aircraft, then arrived at Pearl Harbor on 20 Oct. On 10 Nov, she picked up men from the air group of carrier Hornet, which had just been sunk, and delivered them to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides on 22 Nov. On 7 Dec, she arrived at San Diego with 359 passengers. On 4 Jan 1943, she departed with men and aircraft of US Marine Air Group 12, arriving at Espiritu Santo on 22 Jan, but Japanese air raids prevented her from unloading; she sailed to Pallikulo Bay and then Undine Bay to unload, instead. She returned to San Diego on 20 Feb. Between 20 Feb 1943 and 25 Jun 1944, she made seven visits to Hawaii and seven visits to the South Pacific. On 5 Aug, she arrived at San Francisco for overhaul. On 29 Aug, she boarded passengers, cargo, and aircraft at San Diego and set sail for the South Pacific, making port call at Finschhafen, New Guinea; Seeadler Harbor, Manus, Admiralty Islands; Guadalcanal; and Espiritu Santo. She returned to San Diego on 12 Oct 1944. On 12 Nov, she arrived at Manus to pick up men of a radio control drone unit, and then brought them back to Maui, Hawaii to disembark them. After minor repairs at San Diego, Kitty Hawk set sail for the South Pacific on 7 Jan 1945. She would sail between California and the South Pacific until Jun 1945. When Japan surrendered in Aug 1945, she was at Pearl Harbor. After transporting cargo to the Marshall, Mariana, and Philippine Islands, she sailed for the east coast of the United States on 24 Nov. She reached Bayonne, New Jersey, United States on 15 Dec. She was decommissioned from military service at New York on 24 Jan 1946 and given back to her original civilian owner, Seatrain Lines, Incorporated.

Merchant Vessel Kitty Hawk (AKV-1) Interactive Map

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Kitty Hawk Operational Timeline

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