USS Aries ( AK - 51 ) The USS " Aries " ( AK - 51 ) ( 1918 - 1952 ) was a United States Navy cargo ship built as " Lake Geneva " under a United States Shipping Board ( USSB ) contract in 1918 at Duluth , Minnesota , by the McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company , to augment American logistics capability during World War I . The freighter was delivered to the Navy at Montreal , Quebec , Canada , on 21 September 1918 and was placed in commission the following day for service in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service with Lieutenant Commander Francis A . Brannen , USNRF , in command . Aries was named for the constellation . After fitting out , the freighter sailed for France late in October and arrived at St . Nazaire on 11 November , the day Germany signed the armistice ending the fighting of World War I . " Lake Geneva " was then assigned to European waters . Based at Cardiff , Wales , she carried coal from that port and from Belfast , Ireland , to French ports . After continuing this duty through the spring of 1919 , she sailed for Charleston , South Carolina , carrying some 1 , 500 tons of Army ordnance material . However , while en route to that port , she was diverted to Newport News , Virginia , where she arrived on 12 July . Between the Wars . After discharging her cargo , " Lake Geneva " was slated for demobilization . She was decommissioned on 17 July 1919 and then returned to the USSB , in whose hands she remained until the mid - 1920s . She was then sold to the Bison Steam Ship Company , of Tonawanda , New York , and renamed " John J . O ' Hagan " in honor of the manager of the firm which had purchased her . She operated out of Buffalo , New York carrying coal and iron ore on the Great Lakes . World War II Service . Shortly before the United States entered World War II , the Federal Government repurchased the ship . She was transferred from the Maritime Commission to the US Navy on 22 September 1941 . Renamed " Manomet " on 15 October 1941 and designated AG - 37 , the freighter was prepared for naval service at East Boston , Massachusetts , by the General Ship and Engine Works . During this work , " Manomet " was renamed " Aries " on 7 January 1942 and simultaneously re - designated AK - 51 . She was delivered on 23 May 1942 to the Marine Lines of New York City , which operated her on a contract basis for the Naval Transportation Service until early July . Returned to Navy custody on 11 July 1942 , " Aries " was placed in commission on 18 July 1942 at the Bethlehem Steel Company in Brooklyn , New York and Lieutenant Philip S . Deane , Jr . , USNR , assumed temporary command for Lieutenant Commander L . Sederholt , USNR , who reported a week later . After taking on cargo , ammunition , and supplies , the cargo ship stood out to sea and joined a convoy bound for Iceland . She stopped at Halifax , Nova Scotia , for three days before resuming her voyage to Iceland . On 18 August , she reached Reykjavík and discharged equipment and supplies ashore . For the next 12 months , " Aries " operated in Icelandic waters under the orders of Commanding Officer , Naval Operating Base , Iceland , transporting US Army cargo between the Icelandic ports of Reykjavík , Akranes , Keflavík , Hvalfjörður , Budareyri , Seyðisfjörður , and Akureyri . The ship left Iceland on 21 August 1943 , on a course for the United States , and reached Boston , Massachusetts on 3 September . She then entered a shipyard for alterations and repairs . On 5 December , the vessel joined a southbound convoy and sailed to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . She left Cuba on 5 January 1944 , proceeded to the Panama Canal Zone , and moored at Balboa for repairs to her main engine before setting a course for San Diego , California . Upon reaching San Diego on 12 February , the vessel underwent more repairs to her main engine . Late in April , she entered the Mare Island Navy Yard at Vallejo , California , for replacement of the main engine . After a series of sea trials , the ship got underway on 6 September , bound for Pearl Harbor and arrived there on the 18th . She was drydocked briefly for the installation of a new propeller before sailing for the South Pacific on 6 October . " Aries " reached Manus in the Admiralty Islands , on 28 October and commenced provisioning warships of the 3rd Fleet . After emptying her holds , the vessel took on more cargo and weighed anchor on 10 December . She made Ulithi five days later and began unloading operations . The ship had completed this task by 7 January 1945 and , a week later , sailed for Guam . She unloaded cargo there and was back at Ulithi on 25 January . The vessel remained at the atoll conducting intraharbor cargo operations until 25 April . She then began preparations for the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines . On 20 May , the ship set a course for San Pedro Bay . She arrived there on the 24th and commenced discharging her cargo . In mid - June , the vessel began taking on various equipment and supplies for transit to Ulithi . She got underway on 2 July , arrived back at Ulithi on the 8th , and was assigned duty as a station ship , her role through the end of hostilities on 15 August . After VJ Day . " Aries " left Ulithi on the 22nd and proceeded to Apra Harbor , Guam . There , she took on goods for shipment to Leyte . The vessel reached Philippine waters on 5 September and remained off Leyte engaged in cargo operations through early October . The vessel departed the area on the 7th and dropped anchor at Eniwetok 10 days later . After filling her cargo holds , she set a course for Japan , arrived in Tokyo Bay on 6 November , and began discharging her supplies in support of occupation forces ashore . On 30 November , the cargo ship left Japanese waters and set a course for the United States . She paused en route at Midway on 11 December and finally reached San Francisco on the 24th . The ship then discharged all her cargo and ammunition in preparation for deactivation . Final Disposition . She later moved to Oakland , California , where she was decommissioned on 28 March 1946 . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 17 April 1946 . The vessel was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 1 July 1946 . She was sold on 5 May 1947 to Captain A . S . Oko for operation as a bulk carrier . She was scrapped in 1952 .