ALCHIBA AKA 6

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Arcturus Class Cargo Ship
Keel Laid 15 August 1938 as Maritime Commission type (C2) hull


1. MORMACDOVE (Commercial Service)
Operated by The Moore-McCormack Lines
Acquired by US Navy 2 June 1941


2. USS ALCHIBA AK-23
Commissioned 15 June 1941


3. USS ALCHIBA AKA-6
Redesignated Attack Cargo Ship (AKA) 1 February 1943
Decommissioned 14 January 1946

Struck from Naval Register 25 February 1946
Transferred to Maritime Commission 19 July 1946
Sold 1948 by Maritime Commission and refitted for merchant service


4. TJIPANAS (Commercial Service)
Entered service 1948


5. TONG JIT (Commercial Service)
Sold 1967

Sold 1973 and scrapped

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Alchiba AK-23 / AKA-6 Covers Page 1    (1941-1946)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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Post Office Established 8 September 1941 - Disestablished 28 December 1945

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-OTO) "FIRST DAY / CANCELLATION"

1941-09-08

AK-23. First Day of Postal Service, cachet by Al Cohen

 

Locy Type FDPS 9v

1941-09-08

AK-23. First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-12-20

AKA-6

 

Locy Type 3 (A-OTO)

1941-10-03

AK-23. Add-on cachet by Bruce D. Liddell

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1941-12-12

AK-23. Censored sailors mail.

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT) "FREE / POSTAGE"

1943-02-11

AKA-6. Censored sailor mail.

 

Locy Type 9v

1941-10-11

AK-23. Favor strike on block of four stamps

 

Locy Type 9efw

1941-10-11

AK-23. Favor strike on block of four stamps

 

Locy Type 9x

1941-10-11

AK-23. Favor strike on block of four stamps

 

Locy Type LDC 3 (A-OTO)

1946-01-14

AKA-6. Last Day in Commission

 

Other Information

USS ALCHIBA earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the American Defense Service Medal (w/ "A" device), the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/ 3 Battle stars) and the World War II Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Named for a star, frequently spelled Al Chiba, in the constellation Carvi.

The ships sponsor was Miss Alice W. Clement.

 

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