USS Ryer

Career (United States)
Name:	USS Ryer
Namesake:	Ryer Island off the coast of California
Builder:	Kewaunee Ship Building Co., Kewaunee, Wisconsin
Laid down:	1944 in Wisconsin
Completed:	as U.S. Army FS-361, 28 February 1944
Acquired:	by the U.S. Navy, 22 February 1947
Commissioned:	8 June 1947 as USS Ryer (AG-138)
Decommissioned:	4 August 1955, at Astoria, Oregon
Reclassified:	AKL-9, 31 March 1949
Struck:	1 July 1961
Homeport:	Guam
Identification:	IMO number: 6415752
Honours and awards:	six battle stars for service in the Korean War
Fate:	sold, 25 January 1962
Notes:	later known as Ahti, Caldrill 1, and West 1
General characteristics
Type:	Camano-class cargo ship
Displacement:	520 tons light 935 tons full load
Length:	177 ft (54 m)
Beam:	33 ft (10 m)
Draft:	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion:	two 500hp GM Cleveland Division 6-278A 6-cyl V6 diesel engines, twin screws
Speed:	12 knots
Complement:	26 officers and enlisted

USS Ryer (AG-138/AKL-9) was a Camano-class cargo ship constructed for the U.S. Army as the Freight and Supply Ship USA FS-361 shortly before the end of World War II. On delivery the ship was U.S. Coast Guard crewed and assigned to serve the Southwest Pacific area during the war. The ship was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1947, configured as a transport and cargo ship, named and was Commissioned, Miscellaneous Auxiliary, USS Ryer (AG-138), 8 June 1947 and reclassified Light Cargo Ship, (AKL-9), 31 March 1949.

After that, it was converted to drill ship Caldrill I, one of the first equipped with dynamic positioning (DP), and to West I as fish processing vessel that on its last trip became part of an insurance fraud by Thomas Edward Utter, described in Trail of the Fox by Lawrence Eric Taylor.

U.S. Army

FS-361 was built in 1944 for the U.S. Army by the Sturgeon Bay Ship Building & Dry Docking Co. of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin designated FS-361 on 28 February 1944 and launched September 1944. The ship was Coast Guard crewed and assigned to the Southwest Pacific area during the war.

U.S. Navy

The ship transferred to the Navy 22 February 1947; named Ryer and designated AG-138 on 3 April 1947; and commissioned on 8 June 1947. Redesignated AKL-9 on 31 March 1949, USS Ryer was used by the Navy until the summer of 1950 on logistic support and surveillance missions in the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, the Bonin Islands, and the Marshall Islands. During the Korean War, she carried ammunition between Sasebo, Nagasaki and various Korean ports, including Pusan and Inchon, from September 1950 to September 1951. From Korean duty, the ship returned to logistic support and surveillance duties in Micronesia, with her home port at Guam. She continued this service until returning to the United States for decommissioning.

Final decommissioning

Ryer was placed in commission, in reserve, on 18 June 1955 and out of commission, in reserve, at Astoria, Oregon, on 4 August 1955. At Astoria until struck from the Navy List at San Diego, California, on 1 July 1961, she was delivered to her purchaser, Pacific Tow-Boat & Salvage Co., Long Beach, California, on 25 January 1962.

Honors and awards

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Ryer earned six battle stars for service in the Korean War:

Korean War Campaigns
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
North Korean Aggression 18 September to 2 November 1950	First UN Counter Offensive 7 February to 24 March 1951 9 to 14 and 20 to 21 April 1951
Communist China Aggression 3 to 22 November 1950	Communist China Spring Offensive 2 and 5 to 6 May 1951 27 to 28 June 1951 1 to 3 July 1951
Inchon Landing 15 to 17 September 1950	UN Summer-Fall Offensive 29 to 30 July 1951 5 to 6 and 28 to 29 August 1951 20 September 1951

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – FS-361 – AG-138 / AKL-9 Ryer