Photos and the story

Alhena

Type	Cargo ship (AK)
Hull	AK-26
Builder	Bethlehem, Sparrows Point
Launched	1941-01-18
Commissioned	1941-06-15
Fate	Afloat. Cargo ship. She unloaded off Guadalcanal from 7 to 9 August 1942. On the night of 29 September 1942 a torpedo from I-16 hit her. She was not sunk. Redesignated AKA-9 on 26 November 1942.
Command	Hunt, Charles B. In command, 7 August 1942

Laid down, displacement, length, beam, draft, speed, and complement are not stored for each hull, so this table leaves them out.

USS Alhena (AK-26) was a United States Navy cargo ship. Bethlehem at Sparrows Point built her. She was launched on 18 January 1941 and commissioned on 15 June 1941.

The designation AK-26 marked her as a cargo ship, a hull whose work was to carry freight for the fleet.

She took part in the landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi. On 7 August 1942 she was off Guadalcanal in Transport Division D, with Charles B. Hunt in command. Her unloading ran from 7 August through 9 August 1942. On the night of 29 September 1942 a torpedo from I-16 hit Alhena. She remained afloat. On 26 November 1942 the Navy redesignated her AKA-9. Alhena survived.

The pictures on this page are the originals.