USS Mount Hood (AE-11)

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History
United States
NameUSS Mount Hood (AE-11)
NamesakeMount Hood
Builder
Laid down28 September 1943 as SS Marco Polo
Launched28 November 1943
Sponsored byMrs. A. J. Reynolds
Acquired28 January 1944
Commissioned1 July 1944
Stricken11 December 1944
FateExploded on 10 November 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeMount Hood-class ammunition ship (Type C2-S-AJ1)
Displacement13,910 long tons (14,130 t)
Length459 ft 2 in (140 m)
Beam63 ft (19.2 m)
Draft28 ft 3 in (8.6 m)
Propulsion
  • Geared turbine
  • 1 × shaft
  • 6,000 shp (4.5 MW)
Speed16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity7,700 long tons (7,800 t) deadweight
Complement267 officers and enlisted
Armament

USS Mount Hood (AE-11) was the lead ship of her class of ammunition ships for the United States Navy in World War II. She was the first ship named after Mount Hood, a volcano in the Cascade Range in the US state of Oregon. On 10 November 1944, shortly after 18 men had departed for shore leave, the rest of the crew were killed when the ship exploded in Seeadler Harbor at Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. The ship was obliterated while also sinking or severely damaging 22 smaller craft nearby.