Tabora (AKA-45)
1945-1946
Minor planet number 721 of the solar system. Discovered in 1911, the new body was named in 1913 during a conference held in Hamburg, Germany, on board the steamship Tabora of the Deutsche Ost Afrika Linie.
(AKA-45: displacement 6,740 (full load); length 426'; beam 58'; draft 15'6"; speed 17 knots; complement 303; armament 1 5-inch, 8 40 millimeter, 12 20 millimeter; class Artemis; type S4-SE2-BE-1)
Tabora (AKA-45) was laid down on 4 March 1945 under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1906) at Providence, R.I., by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.; launched on 3 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur W. Devine; and commissioned on 29 May 1945, Lt. Cmdr. Olaf C. Erickson, USNR, in command.
Tabora departed Boston on 9 June 1945 and, after nine days of shakedown training out of Hampton Roads, Va., headed for France. She arrived at Marseilles on 7 July and, the following week, got underway for Panama. She reached Cristobal on the 28th. Two days later, Tabora transited the Panama Canal and steamed toward the Marshall Islands. She arrived at Eniwetok on 22 August and, the next day, pushed on toward the Philippines. Upon arriving at San Fernando, Leyte, on the last day of August, the ship was assigned to the Fifth Fleet.
Tabora loaded troops and vehicles of the 33d Infantry Division and sailed on 20 September 1945 for Japan. She arrived at Wakayama, Honshu, on the 25th, unloaded; and, the next day, began the return trip to the Philippines. She transported more occupation troops to Matsuyama, Shikoku, in mid-October. On the 24th, Tabora was assigned to "Magic Carpet" duty, returning veterans to the United States. On the last day of October, she got underway for Buckner Bay; embarked 340 marines; and sailed for San Francisco.
Tabora continued shuttling troops from Pacific bases to the United States until early 1946 when she was scheduled for inactivation. Tabora was decommissioned on 29 May 1946, returned to the Maritime Commission on 30 June, and stricken from the Navy list on 3 July 1946.
