Launched at the yard of the Pusey and Jones Corporation at Wilmington, Delaware, USA as the Cavalier on behalf of the Philadelphia and Norfolk Shipping Company of Philadelphia in 1938, purchased by the YS navy on 9 June 1941, rebuild as a coastal minelayer at the yard of the Bethelem Steel Company, Atlantic Works, East Boston in Massachusetts, commissioned on 2 December 1941 as the USS Monadnock (Cmc-4), reclassified as the CM-9 on 1 May 1945 and as the ACM-10 on 10 July 1945, decommissioned on 3 June 1946, stricken on 3 July of the same year, handed over to the Maritime Commission on 20 June 1947. Sold to a Panamanian company in 1949 and taken into service as the steamship Karukara, after a second sell to the Naviera Aznar S.A. Of Bilbao, Spain 3 years later she was steamed as the bananas transport Monte de la Esperanza for more as 20 years on the line Canary Island-United Kingdom, again sold and taken into the service of the Spanish Marine Institute as the hospital ship Esperanza del Mar for the fishery and in 2000 finally sunk as an artificial reef off the Spanish coast.
With a displacement of 3110 long tons/3,160 tons (according to Jane’s 3,638 tons in 1944/1945) were the dimensions 292’ x 48’6”x 13’6” or 89 x 14,78 x 4,11 metres (according to Jane’s in 1944/1945 280¼’x 48½ x 13½’. The geared turbines supplied 5,000 shp allowing a speed of 17,5 knots. According to www.navource.org 2 Babcock and Wilcox superheating steam boilers and one General Electric geared turbine supplying 4,000 shp. Her crew numbered 201 men. (according to Jane’s 350 men in 1944/1945).
The armament consisted of 2-3”guns. According to www.navsource.org 2-3”guns, later was the gun fore ward replaced by a 40mm quad gun and further more armed with 2x2-40mm guns, 10-20mm guns and 2 depth charge racks.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Monadnock_(ACM-10)
Jane’s Fighting ships 1944/1945.
http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/0609.htm
