BELLATRIX AKA 3

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Bellatrix Class Cargo Ship Keel Laid (Date unknown) as Maritime Commission type (C2-T) hull Acquired by U.S. Navy April 16 1941 Launched August 15 1941 USS BELLATRIX AK-20 Commissioned February 17 1942 USS BELLATRIX AKA-3 Redesignated Attack Cargo Ship (AKA) February 1 1943 Decommissioned April 1 1946 Struck from Naval Register May 1 1946 Returned to Maritime Commission June 30 1946 Reacquired by U.S. Navy August 27 1951 Recommissioned May 16 1952 - Decommissioned June 3 1955 Stuck from Naval Register June 6 1960 Reinstated on Naval Vessel Register March 15 1963 Stuck from Naval Register November 14 1963 BAP INDEPENDENCIA D-130 (Peruvian Naval Service) Transferred on loan to Peru July 1963 Sold 1991 for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Bellatrix Covers Page 1     (1942-52)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

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Post Office Established February 20 1942 - Disestablished January 31 1946

 

Locy Type FDPS 3z Feb 20, 1942

1942-02-20

As AK-20
First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT) "FREE"

1942-10

As AK-20
Censored wartime (WWII) use

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1943-04-09

As AKA-3

 

Locy Type 9efu (name and BR. in parens) "BUY A WAR / BOND TODAY"

1945-11-20

As AKA-3
Type 3 killers added to strike

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Post Office Reestablished March 27 1952 - Disestablished 1955

 

Locy Type FDPS 2 Mar 27, 1952

1952-03-27

As AKA-3
First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2

1952-04-07

As AKA-3

 

Locy Type 2

1952-07-07

As AKA-3

 

Locy Type 9efu

1952-07-07

As AKA-3

 

Other Information

BELLATRIX earned 5 Battle Stars for World War II
* Sicilian occupation
July 9-15 1943
* Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings
August 7-9 1942
* Capture and defense of Guadalcanal
September 8-9, 14-15 and October 25 1942
* Gilbert Islands operation
Attack and occupation of Tarawa, November 20 to December 7 1943
* Marianas operation
Capture and occupation of Saipan, June 16-22 1944

Earned one Battle Star for Korean War service
* Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
October 17-18 1952

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (1) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal

NAMESAKE - A bright white helium star, with a magnitude of 1.7, in the northern constellation Orion. It is Latin for "female warrior."

 

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