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
- 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
Ordered as RAVEN
Keel Laid (Date unknown) as Maritime Commission type (C2-T) hull
Acquired by U.S. Navy April 16 1941
Launched August 15 1941
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.
- Bellatrix Covers Page 1 (1942-45)
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 |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
|---|
1st Commissioning February 17 1942 to April 1 1946
|
Locy Type |
1942-02-20 |
 |
 |
As AK-20
Censored wartime (WWII) use
First Day Postal Service
|
Locy Type |
1943-04-09 |
 |
 |
As AKA-3
|
Locy Type |
1945-11-20 |
 |
 |
As AKA-3
Type 3 killers added to strike
2nd Commissioning May 15 1952 to June 3 1955
|
Locy Type |
1952-04-07 |
 |
 |
As AKA-3
|
Locy Type |
1952-07-07 |
 |
 |
As AKA-3
|
Locy Type |
1952-07-07 |
 |
|
As AKA-3
Other Information
BELLATRIX received five battle stars in World War II and one battle star for Korean War service
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."
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
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