Midland (AK-195)
1945
Named for counties in the central part of the state of Michigan and the western part of the state of Texas.
(AK‑195: displacement 7,450 (limiting); length 338'6"; beam 50'0"; draft21'1", (limiting); speed 11.5 knots; complement 85; armament 1 3-inch, 6 20 millimeter; class Alamosa; type Cl‑M‑AVI)
Midland (AK‑195) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (M. C. Hull 2126) at Superior, Wisc., by Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc., on 29 July 1944; launched on 23 December 1944; sponsored by Mrs. William G. Mitsch; converted by the New Orleans Naval Station; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on loan‑charter on 17 August 1945; placed in service the same day to be ferried from Beaumont to Galveston, Texas, and placed out of service upon arrival the 18th; and commissioned on 27 September 1945, Lt. Loyd K. Barry, D-V(G), USNR, in command.
Because of the reduced need for cargo ships following the end of World War II, Midland decommissioned at New Orleans, La., on 13 November 1945 and was returned to the War Shipping Administration the same day for service under the Maritime Commission as Coastal Harbinger.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
27 August 2024
