USS Serpens (AK-97)

USS Serpens (AK-97)

USS Serpens (AK-97) was a United States Coast Guard-manned Crater-class cargo ship in the service of the United States Navy in World War II. It was the first ship of the Navy to have this name. It is named after Serpens, a constellation in the northern hemisphere.

Serpens was laid down on 10 March 1943 as the liberty ship SS Benjamin N. Cardozo (MCE hull 739) by California Shipbuilding Corporation, Wilmington, California, under a Maritime Commission contract; launched on 5 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. H.P. Needham; transferred to the Navy on 19 April 1943, renamed Serpens and designated AK-97; and commissioned at San Diego on 28 May 1943, Lt. Comdr. M.J. Johnson, USCGR, in command.