Alatna (T-AOT-81) underway.
History
United States
Name	Alatna
Builder	Bethlehem Steel, Baltimore, Maryland
Laid down	15 March 1956
Launched	6 September 1956
Sponsored by	Mrs. Wilma Miles
Acquired	17 July 1957
In service	July 1957
Out of service	8 August 1972
Identification	IMO number: 7606516
Fate	Disposed of by MARAD sale, 16 December 2006, to Teroaka Company of Japan
General characteristics
Type	T1-M2-4A arctic tanker hull
Displacement	2,367 t.(lt) 5,720 t.(fl)
Length	302 ft (92 m)
Beam	61 ft (19 m)
Draft	23 ft (7.0 m)
Propulsion	Diesel electric, two shafts, 3,200hp
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h)
Capacity	30,000-bbls
Complement	51

USNS Alatna, was a gasoline T1 tanker specially constructed for service in polar regions, was launched on 6 September 1956 at Staten Island, New York, by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, sponsored by Mrs. Wilma Miles, and placed in service with the Military Sea Transportation Service in July 1957.

Manned by a civil service crew, Alatna carried petroleum products from ports along the Atlantic and gulf coasts and in the Caribbean Sea to scattered American outposts in both polar regions. For more than 15 years, the tanker and her crew struggled against snow, wind, and ice to support American military bases in the Arctic and American scientists in the Antarctic. On 8 August 1972, Alatna was placed out of service and laid up with the Maritime Commission's National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California.

The Alatna Valley in the Antarctic was named after this ship.

References

• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive T-AOG / T-AOT-81 Alatna

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.