USS Ottawa ( AKA - 101 ) USS " Ottawa " ( AKA - 101 ) was a of the United States Navy named after counties in the states of Kansas , Michigan , Ohio and Oklahoma . She served as a commissioned ship for 23 months . Like all AKAs , " Ottawa " was designed to carry military cargo and landing craft , and to use the latter to land weapons , supplies , and Marines on enemy shores during amphibious operations . The second " Ottawa " was laid down as a Type C2 - S - AJ3 ship on 5 October 1944 under a Maritime Commission Contract ( MC hull 1698 ) by North Carolina Shipbuilding Co . , Wilmington , North Carolina ; launched on 29 November 1944 , sponsored by Mrs . William S . Pritchard ; acquired and commissioned at the Charleston Navy Yard on 8 February 1945 , Lt . Comdr . Jackson Mizell , USNR , in command . Service history . World War II , 1945 . After outfitting at Charleston , " Ottawa " conducted shakedown training out of Norfolk , Virginia , completing those evolutions on 28 February 1945 . With Navy cargo loaded at Norfolk , the ship sailed on 11 March 1945 , escorted by the high speed transport , and reached the Canal Zone on 17 March . Transiting the Panama Canal on 17 – 18 March , she reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet on the latter date , and pushed on for Pearl Harbor , arriving there on 1 April . After discharging her cargo at Pearl , she transported a cargo of marine ammunition from Honolulu to Maui , then departed on 21 April for the California ports of San Pedro , Port Hueneme and San Francisco , and Seattle , Washington , to load explosives and construction equipment , returning to Pearl Harbor on 23 May . " Ottawa " proceeded alone from Pearl to Eniwetok , Marshalls , and Ulithi , Carolines , then departed the latter in convoy on 27 June 1945 bound for Okinawa . Completing discharge of cargo on 12 July , she then sailed via Ulithi and Manus for Espiritu Santo , arriving there on 28 July to load Army and Navy vehicles for delivery to Guam and Saipan . The ship departed Espiritu Santo , New Hebrides , on 8 August and reached Apra Harbor , Guam , Marianas , on 15 August - V - J Day . After discharging her cargo at Guam , she proceeded to Saipan and completed unloading there on 28 August . Post - war activities , 1945 – 1946 . Following a ten - day buoy availability to clean her boilers , " Ottawa " embarked elements of the 2nd Marines and their equipment and departed Saipan on 18 September 1945 for Nagasaki and the occupation of Japan . After disembarking the Marines and their gear at Nagasaki , she sailed for the Philippines in convoy on 26 September , reaching Subic Bay on 4 October . Proceeding immediately thence in convoy SL - 48 , she arrived off Lingayen later the same day . After having exchanged landing boats at Subic and Lingayen , she steamed to Manila in convoy LM - 10 ( 5 – 6 October ) , to provision . " Ottawa " then returned to Lingayen on 11 – 12 October . Embarking soldiers of the 6th Army and their equipment , earmarked for Nagoya , Japan , she sailed on 23 October in convoy LN - 2 , reaching her destination on 28 October . After discharging occupation troops and gear , " Ottawa " embarked Army and Navy passengers for transportation back to the U . S . , departing Nagoya on 11 November 1945 . Arriving at Lingayen Gulf four days later to load boats and embark more passengers , " Ottawa " shifted to Subic Bay for water , provisions , more boats and passengers , then sailed for home on 18 November . After pausing briefly at Pearl Harbor en route ( 2 – 3 December ) , the ship reached San Francisco on 9 December . Assigned to Joint Task Force ( JTF ) 1 in place of , " Ottawa " , her crew reduced to 67 men , then loaded construction material at Port Hueneme , California , and with a contingent of Construction Battalion men embarked , sailed for Bikini Atoll , arriving there on 20 March 1946 . Together with sistership in the Transport Unit ( Task Unit 1 . 3 . 1 ) , " Ottawa " served as barracks and materiel stores ships for the 200 Seabees embarked between them and deployed in " Operation Crossroads " . On 30 June , " Ottawa " departed the lagoon and , from a vantage point in excess of 15 miles from " Ground Zero " witnessed the air detonation ( Test Able ) the following day , then returned to the lagoon later the same day ( 1 July ) . She performed routine duties in the lagoon at Bikini until the afternoon of 24 July , when she again departed to observe the shallow underwater detonation ( Test Baker ) from a vantage point 25 miles to the east . Following the Baker blast , " Ottawa " proceeded to Rongelap Atoll , about 65 miles east of Bikini , and with the exception of a two and a half - hour visit to Bikini on 28 July , did not return to the waters inside Bikini lagoon for any length of time until the last day of July . Wrapping up her work in those waters with JTF - 1 on 2 August , she sailed that day for Port Hueneme , arriving there on 14 August and being released from " Crossroads " simultaneously . " Ottawa " then shuttled between San Francisco , Port Hueneme , and San Pedro into the autumn of 1946 , ultimately departing the last port on 28 October 1946 for Panama . Arriving at Balboa on 9 November , she cleared Cristobal on 16 November . Proceeding via Jacksonville , Florida , and Bayonne , New Jersey , the ship ultimately reported to Commander , 5th Naval District , for final disposition , reaching Norfolk on 19 December . Decommissioning and sale . Reporting to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard on the last day of 1946 , " Ottawa " was decommissioned there on 10 January 1947 . Returned to the Maritime Commission on 28 January , she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 14 March 1947 . Acquired by Luckenbach Steamship Lines , Inc . , and renamed " Andrea F . Luckenbach " , she served under the Luckenbach house flag until lost due to stranding three miles off Kohala Point , Kauai , Territory of Hawaii , on 11 March 1951 .