USS Arcturus ( AKA - 1 ) USS " Arcturus " ( AK - 18 / AKA - 1 ) was an named after " Arcturus , " a star in the constellation " Boötes " . She served as a commissioned ship for 5 years and 5 months . Service history . " Arcturus " was laid down as " Mormachawk " on 26 July 1938 under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 19 ) by the Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co . , Hull 176 at Chester , Pennsylvania . The ship was launched on 18 May 1939 , sponsored by Miss Mollie Foulks Lee , and delivered to Moore McCormack Lines , Inc . on 27 July 1939 . Acquired by the Navy on 20 September 1940 , she was converted to a cargo ship at the Philadelphia Navy Yard , and commissioned on 26 October 1940 as " Arcturus " ( AK - 18 ) , with Comdr . Russell C . Bartman in command . North Africa . The cargo ship began her Navy career with two years of general auxiliary duty operating out of ports along the east coast as far north as NS Argentia , Newfoundland , and south to San Juan , Puerto Rico . In October 1942 , " Arcturus " received orders to load landing craft and join the Western Naval Task Force ( Task Force ( TF ) 34 ) in the invasion of North Africa . The cargo ship was assigned to Transport Division ( TransDiv ) 9 of the Center Attack Group and sailed from Hampton Roads on 24 October . " Arcturus " arrived off Fedhala , French Morocco , just before midnight on 7 November , with the landing scheduled for daybreak on the 8th . The ship ' s boats moved troops ashore at H - hour , but to facilitate unloading her cargo , she moved into the harbor later in the day just long enough to unload at the one usable pier . " Arcturus " was still anchored off Fedhala on 12 November when German submarine U - 13Q attacked . " Arcturus " escaped , but three other auxiliaries were destroyed . The cargo ship ' s boats rescued survivors before the Center Group got underway to avoid more submarine attacks . The ships entered Casablanca on 15 November , and " Arcturus " completed unloading her cargo of small arms ammunition . The ship joined a convoy on 17 November and returned to the United States , where she entered the Norfolk Navy Yard at Portsmouth , Virginia , for an overhaul that lasted until 18 December . " Arcturus " got underway from Norfolk on 27 December and joined a convoy carrying urgently needed supplies to the southwestern Pacific . Stopping first at Nouméa , New Caledonia , on 27 January 1943 and then at Brisbane , Australia , four days later , " Arcturus " returned to the east coast immediately . Redesignated as an attack cargo ship AKA - 1 on 1 February , she then underwent a repair availability at the Boston Navy Yard , from 13 March until 4 April . The ship then trained off the east coast with TF 85 in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily . Invasion of Sicily . " Arcturus " crossed the Atlantic and formed up at Oran , Algeria , with the transports and escorts of " Cent " force under Rear Admiral Alan G . Kirk . By 8 July , the convoy was underway for Scoglitti , Sicily , where TF 85 was to land as part of a three - pronged attack . H - hour was set for 0245 on 10 July , but delays in organizing the convoy postponed the landing for one hour . As the first waves of boats moved toward the beaches , enemy torpedo bombers attacked . For almost an hour , torpedoes and bombs fell throughout the transport area , but neither " Arcturus " nor any other ship suffered hits . Landing craft casualties were great , however , because of the heavy surf , lack of recognizable landmarks , and inexperienced boat crews . During the night of 11 July and 12 July , another enemy air attack resulted in chaos as the transports and screening ships tried to defend themselves . American transport planes flew over immediately after the attack and were shot up badly by friendly fire . Unloading continued , and by the 13th , " Arcturus " was on her way back to Oran with the rest of the empty transports . Salerno . The cargo ship remained at Oran while plans were firmed up for the landings at Salerno . On 5 September , " Arcturus " got underway with TF . 81 , the Southern Attack Force , under the command of Rear Admiral John L . Hall . In spite of repeated enemy air attacks , the convoys arrived off the Gulf of Salerno late on 8 September . By 0335 the next day , the first wave of boats was landing at Paestum . Unfortunately , in the hope of completely surprising the Germans , no prelanding bombardment preceded the boats , and many men in the landing craft were killed . The unloading progressed slowly as " Arcturus " s boats helped move troops and supplies shoreward . One of her boats was lost in crossfire from German machine gun emplacements , with seven men killed and four wounded . By the evening of 10 September , unloading was complete . " Arcturus " and 14 other empty cargo and transport ships sailed for Oran with an escort of 10 destroyers . Shortly after midnight , screening destroyer sighted a torpedo wake and pursued what was later determined to be a German E - boat . She lost it , and , as she rejoined the convoy , was hit by a torpedo from another E - boat and sank within one minute . The rest of the ships in the convoy proceeded to Oran without incident . " Arcturus " remained at anchor off the coast of Algeria until November when she steamed to the recently captured and cleared port of Naples for amphibious training . In December , the cargo ship joined a westbound convoy and sailed for the United States . High winds and heavy Atlantic seas tossed " Arcturus " unmercifully , causing a fire in the pyrotechnic locker and the loss of 5 inch ammunition on the after gundeck . For two days , the convoy fought the seas , but at last the storm broke , and the ships arrived safely in the United States , " Arcturus " put into the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 January 1944 and commenced a brief overhaul . Landings in southern France . The cargo ship set sail on 27 February to rejoin the war effort in the Mediterranean . After several rehearsals at Salerno for the amphibious landings in southern France , " Arcturus " joined TF 85 , the " Delta " Force in this operation , and stood off the designated beaches at La Nartelle on 15 August , awaiting H - hour , 0800 . The assault progressed like a textbook drill due to excellent gunfire support , air cover , and experienced boat crews . The landing was unopposed . There were no casualties and no loss of landing craft Just as " Arcturus " weighed anchor to retire from the transport area , she received orders to take on wounded , mainly German prisoners of war . The cargo ship slipped out under cover of darkness and rejoined her convoy en route to Naples to discharge her passengers . Until late October , " Arcturus " carried cargo from Naples and Oran to Marseilles and St . Tropez as the Allies advanced up the Rhone River valley . Released from this assignment on 21 October , the cargo ship returned to the United States for overhaul at the Philadelphia Navy Yard beginning on 10 November . Battle of Okinawa . " Arcturus " completed overhaul in mid - December and set course to join the action in the Pacific theater . Transiting the Panama Canal on 9 January 1945 , the cargo ship arrived at Pearl Harbor on 23 January and immediately unloaded her cargo . As soon as a new load was stowed on board , " Arcturus " got underway for Tulagi and Guadalcanal for training , rehearsals , and loading . She then steamed to Ulithi where she joined Transport Group " Baker " of the Northern Attack Force for the invasion of Okinawa . On 26 March , the ships stood out of Ulithi lagoon and set course for Okinawa . " Arcturus " anchored at her assigned location in the transport area off the Hagushi beaches in the early hours of 1 April , but waited five days before she could unload her cargo of gasoline and small arms ammunition . The transports and cargo ships retired seaward at night to minimize the clangor from kamikaze attacks . Many other ships were hit , but in her 14 days in the transport area , " Arcturus " suffered no damage . The cargo ship ' s gun crews were credited with two assists in shooting down enemy attackers . On 15 April , " Arcturus " received orders to Saipan where she was routed on to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco , arriving at the latter port on 18 May . After loading cargo and supplies , " Arcturus " returned to the western Pacific to resupply the troops advancing on Okinawa . After a brief stop at Eniwetok on 11 June , the cargo ship dropped anchor at Okinawa on 5 August . Enemy air attacks continued , but less frequently and with decreasing intensity . On 15 August , when Japan capitulated , " Arcturus " was still at Okinawa . She was then assigned to ferry occupation forces to Korea and China . On 5 September , the ship departed Okinawa in a convoy carrying Army troops and cargo to Jinsen , Korea . The convoy arrived at Jinsen on 8 September , and the occupation troops were joyfully received by the Koreans . " Arcturus " returned to Okinawa to load more cargo and troops but had to steam seaward to avoid a typhoon . Finally , on 19 September , she was again loaded with Marines and vehicles in convoy to Tientsin , China , where she anchored on 30 September . " Arcturus " ferried troops and equipment from Manila and Zamboanga in the Philippine Islands to China before receiving orders stateside . Decommissioning and sale . The cargo ship got underway on 4 December from Shanghai , China , for Seattle , Washington , where she arrived on 22 December . No longer needed for service , " Arcturus " steamed to Portsmouth , Virginia , where she was decommissioned on 3 April 1946 . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 5 June 1946 . She was transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal , and was sold to a Panamanian company on 24 June 1947 . She began merchant service as SS " Star Arcturus " , and was scrapped in 1971 . " Arcturus " was awarded five battle star s for her World War II service .