Good to know info, thanks Tom.

She was the sister of AFRICAN SUN, AFRICAN NEPTUNE, AFRICAN MERCURY, AFRICAN COMET AND AFRICAN METEOR. They are MARAD ships renamed the CAPE AVINOF, CAPE ARCHWAY, CAPE ANN, CAPE ALAVA, AND CAPE ALEXANDER respectively. I made my first trip as a brand new 3rd Assistant Engineer back in 1977 on the African Dawn. Hete to see her go.

IDNo: 5400085 Year: 1963
Name: AFRICAN DAWN Keel: 28.5.62
Type: Cargo ship (ref) Launch Date: 16.12.62
Flag: USA Date of completion: 26.6.63

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tons: 11309 Link: 2415
DWT: 12726 Yard No: 480
Length overall: 174.4 Ship Design: C4-S-58a
LPP: 164.9 Country of build: USA
Beam: 22.9 Builder: Litton Ingalls
Material of build: Location of yard: Pascagoula East
Number of
screws/Mchy/
Speed(kn): 1ST-20
80 DAWN

Disposal Data:
for disposal 9.09 from Suisun Bay

Thanks for the clarification. Interesting, African Dawn became just Dawn and then mothballed.

No, this is not correct. This vessel is not a tanker. She is the former fast steam turbine cargo vessel AFRICAN DAWN, built around 1965.

(IX - 186: dp. 15,381 (f.); l. 438'5"; b. 57'; dr. 27'6"; s. 9 k.; cpl. 107; a. 1 4", 1 3")



The third Dawn was built in 1920 by Moore Shipbuilding Co., Oakland, Calif., as Vacuum; transferred to the Navy 25 December 1944 at Brisbane, Australia; and commissioned the next day, Lieutenant Commander H. V. Perron in command.

Dawn sailed from Brisbane, Australia, 7 January 1945 to complete her outfitting at Hollandia, New Guinea, from 17 to 24 January. She carried gasoline to Leyte, arriving 2 February, and provided floating gasoline storage in the Philippines until 11 November when she got underway for San Diego, arriving 1 January 1946. A week later she sailed for Norfolk, arriving 8 February. Dawn was decommissioned 12 April 1946 and returned to the War Shipping Administration the same day.



Transcribed by Yves HUBERT