USS Pegasus ( AK - 48 ) USS Pegasus ( AK - 48 ) was built in 1939 as SS " Rita Maersk by Helsingør Jernskibs og Maskinbyggeri A / A , Helsingør , Denmark . Following the outbreak of World War II in Europe , she sailed to the United States where she operated under charter from the Maritime Commission as " Rita Maersk " and later as " Larwin " . After completing two cruises , she was laid up at Boston , Massachusetts , until 18 September 1941 when she was acquired by the United States Navy from the Maritime Commission . Renamed USS " Pegasus on 15 October 1941 , the cargo ship was converted for U . S . Navy use by Sullivan Dry Dock and Repair Company , New York City , and commissioned at New York on 3 December 1941 , Lt . Comdr . William Fly in command . World War II North Atlantic operations . Following an abbreviated shakedown , " Pegasus " loaded military cargo including 600 depth charges and sailed in convoy for Iceland on 27 December . Despite fierce seas and the menace of German U - boats , she reached Reykjavík , Iceland , early in January 1942 . There , raging winter storms driven by winds in excess of imperiled the ship and her cargo , and she did not return to the U . S . East Coast until late February . On 24 March " Pegasus " joined her second Iceland - bound convoy , and during the spring and summer months of 1942 she completed three round trips to Iceland and back . Her holds and decks carried supplies for the Allied effort in the North $ 3 . Although she escaped the German submarines , she saw several merchantmen , including two on 31 August , fall prey to torpedo attacks . Central America operations . " Pegasus " returned to Boston , Massachusetts , on 11 October ; and , after completing repairs to her main engine , she sailed on 16 November to begin extended operations in the Caribbean . Laden with dynamite and Seabee construction material , she arrived St . Thomas , Virgin Islands , on 11 December . She continued to New Orleans , Louisiana , a week later and loaded construction supplies for Puerto Rico . Between 18 January 1943 and mid - May she made four runs to Puerto Rico and back ; thence , during June and July she hauled U . S . Navy cargo to Cristobal , Panama Canal Zone . Ordered to New York , she loaded ammunition and military stores and transported them to Cuba early in September . The busy cargo ship resumed her cargo shuttle runs between the Gulf Coast and ports in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal Zone in October . During the next ten months she hauled thousands of tons of war material to American bases in Cuba , Puerto Rico , and the Virgin Islands . While en route to San Juan , Puerto Rico , in mid - May 1944 , she sustained extensive damage to her cargo after a fire broke out in her fire room . She discharged cargo at Key West , Florida , and quickly resumed duty . Engine failure , rough seas , and return to stateside . " Pegasus " returned to the Panama Canal Zone in July , and on the 22nd , she transited the Canal with a cargo of Navy supplies for bases at Balboa , Panama . Yet another assignment sent her to the Panama Canal Zone on 17 August ; thence , she sailed for Guantánamo Bay , Cuba , on 23 August . On the 25th her engine failed . She drifted for almost two days until taken in tow by the tug . Following temporary repairs in Cuba , she reached Norfolk , Virginia , on 17 September for a three month overhaul . She resumed duty on 30 December with a run to Puerto Rico where she encountered a severe tropical storm . While returning to Norfolk , Virginia , via the Florida coast , she encountered another storm off Cape Hatteras early in February 1945 . She sustained further damage to her engine , but reached Norfolk at reduced speed on 3 February . Pacific Theatre operations . During the next two months " Pegasus " underwent extensive overhaul . On 5 April she was assigned to Service Squadron 10 for duty in the western Pacific Ocean as a dry cargo station ship . She departed Norfolk , Virginia , on 18 April , transited the Panama Canal on 27 April , and steamed via San Diego , California , to Pearl Harbor . She was reclassified IX – 222 on 15 May . Between 7 and 20 June , she was towed to Eniwetok by ; thence she sailed 25 June for the Philippines . Steaming via Ulithi , she arrived Leyte Gulf on 18 July . End - of - War operations . " Pegasus " supplied ships of the Pacific Fleet during the closing weeks of the war as well as after the Japanese surrender . She operated in Leyte Gulf for the rest of the year and into 1946 and discharged thousands of tons of ships ’ stores . She departed the Philippines in February and sailed for the U . S . West Coast , arriving San Francisco , California , on 4 March . End - of - War Decommissioning . " Pegasus " decommissioned at San Francisco , California , on 19 April 1946 and was returned to the War Shipping Administration the same day . Her name was struck from the Naval Register on 1 May 1946 .