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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
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WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo # NH 84195:  USS Pegasus in San Francisco Bay, California, circa March 1946

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Pegasus (AK-48, later IX-222), 1941-1946

USS Pegasus, a 1930-ton (light displacement) cargo ship, was built at Elsinore, Denmark, in 1939 as the 1889 gross ton freighter Rita Maersk. In mid-September 1941, when named Lawrin, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy, renamed Pegasus a month later and, following conversion work at New York City, was placed in commission early in December 1941. Late in that month she began the first of several voyages to Iceland, carrying supplies and ammunition for U.S. forces based there. In November 1942 Pegasus was shifted to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, her primary operating areas until the end of 1944.

After machinery repairs and other shipyard work, in late April 1945 Pegasus passed through the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet. Assigned to duty as a station cargo ship, she was redesignated IX-222 in mid-May, and later went to the Philippines. World War II fighting ended just a month after Pegasus' mid-July 1945 arrival in Leyte Gulf. She remained there until February 1946, supporting final wartime operations and U.S. Naval activities during the first several months of the post-war era. Early in March 1946 USS Pegasus returned to the U.S. West Coast. Placed out of commission in April 1946, she was laid up in Suisun Bay, California, until July of that year, when she was transferred to Danish registry.

This page features the only view we have concerning USS Pegasus (AK-48, later IX-222).


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 #: NH 84195

USS Pegasus
(IX-222, ex AK-48)

Underway in San Francisco Bay, California, circa March 1946.
Note the long "homeward bound" pennant flying from her mainmast peak.

Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 585 pixels

 


In addition to the images presented above, the National Archives appears to hold at least one other view of USS Pegasus (AK-48). The following list features this image:

The image listed below is NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections.
DO NOT try to obtain it using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."



  • Photo #: 80-G-451505
    USS Pegasus (AK-48) underway at sea, 5 February 1943.
    Starboard broadside (slightly toward the stern) aerial view. Pegasus is painted in a horizontal two-tone camouflage scheme, presumably Measure 12 or Measure 22.


  • NOTE: Another National Archives' image, Photo #: 80-G-26519, is identified on its catalog card as showing USS Pegasus alongside a wharf at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 3 February 1943. However, the ship in this view is definitely not Pegasus, but rather appears to be a freighter of World War I era construction. The ship is painted dark overall.

    Reproductions of these images should be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system for pictures not held by the Naval Historical Center.

    The images listed in this box are NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections. DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


  • If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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    Page made 31 December 2005