Mormaclark, a 7476-ton freighter, was launched in July 1939 at Chester, Pennsylvania, for commercial employment. Less than two years later, in late May 1941, she was purchased by the U.S. Navy. Renamed Betelgeuse, she was placed in commission a few week later and served through World War II.
This page features our only views of the freighter Mormaclark, which became USS Betelgeuse (AK-28) in 1941.
For views of this ship while she was in the U.S. Navy, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 19-N-24240 SS Mormaclark (U.S. Freighter, 1939) At the Brewer Ship Yard, Staten Island, New York, 6 June 1941, undergoing conversion to a Navy ship. She was commissioned as USS Betelgeuse (AK-28) on 14 June 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 525 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
![]() |
Photo #: 19-N-24239 SS Mormaclark (U.S. Freighter, 1939) At the Brewer Ship Yard, Staten Island, New York, 6 June 1941, undergoing conversion to a Navy ship. She was commissioned as USS Betelgeuse (AK-28) on 14 June 1941. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 520 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
![]() |
For views of this ship while she was in the U.S. Navy, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 13 February 2002