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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Pegasus |
| Builder | Helsingør Jernskibs og Maskinbyggeri, Helsingør, Denmark |
| Launched | 1939, as Rita Maersk |
| Completed | 27 December 1939 |
| Acquired | by the US Navy, 18 September 1941 |
| Commissioned | 3 December 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 19 April 1946 |
| Renamed | USS Pegasus, 15 October 1941 |
| Reclassified | IX-222 (Miscellaneous Unclassified), 15 May 1945 |
| Fate | Returned to the Maritime Commission, 19 April 1946, sold commercial, scrapped January 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Displacement | 1,930 long tons (1,961 t) light |
| Length | 299 ft 1 in (91.16 m) |
| Beam | 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 156 |
| Armament |
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USS Pegasus was built in 1939 as SS Rita Maersk by Helsingør Jernskibs og Maskinbyggeri A/A, Helsingør, Denmark. Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe, she sailed to the United States where she operated under charter from the Maritime Commission as Rita Maersk and later as Larwin. After completing two cruises, she was laid up at Boston, Massachusetts, until 18 September 1941 when she was acquired by the United States Navy from the Maritime Commission. Renamed USS Pegasus on 15 October 1941, the cargo ship was converted for U.S. Navy use by Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation, New York City, and commissioned at New York on 3 December 1941.