- References
- External links
{{other ships|USS Bellatrix}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}{{Infobox ship image| Ship image= | Ship caption=USS Bellatrix (AKA-3)
}}{{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship country=United States | 1954}} | Ship name= USS Bellatrix | Ship namesake= a star, in the constellation Orion | Ship owner= | Ship operator= | Ship registry= | Ship route= | Ship ordered= | Ship awarded= | Ship builder=Tampa Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. | Ship original cost= | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= Unknown | Ship launched= 15 August 1941 | Ship sponsor= | Ship christened= | Ship completed= | Ship acquired= | Ship commissioned= 17 February 1942 | Ship recommissioned= 16 May 1952 (after being decommissioned on 1 April 1946) | Ship decommissioned = 3 June 1955 | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship in service= | Ship out of service= | Ship renamed= | Ship reclassified= 1 February 1943 | Ship refit= | Ship struck= | Ship reinstated= | Ship homeport= | Ship identification= | Ship motto= | Ship nickname= | Ship honours=Six battle stars | Ship honors= | Ship captured= | Ship fate= Transferred to Peruvian Navy on 20 July 1963. | Ship status= | Ship notes= | Ship badge=
}}{{Infobox ship career | Hide header=title | Ship country=Peru | Ship flag= | Ship class= | Ship name=BAP Independencia | Ship ordered= | Ship awarded= | Ship builder= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched= | Ship christened= | Ship acquired= | Ship commissioned=1963 | Ship recommissioned= | Ship decommissioned=1991 | Ship in service= | Ship out of service= | Ship renamed= | Ship reclassified= | Ship refit= | Ship captured= | Ship struck= | Ship reinstated= | Ship fate=Scrapped in October, 1991, but sank on the way to breakers. | Ship status= | Ship homeport=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship class= | Ship type= | Ship tonnage= | Ship displacement=8045 tons (8175 metric tons) | Ship tons burthen= | 459.08|ft|m|abbr=on}} | 63|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height= | 26.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship draft= | Ship depth= | Ship hold depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship ice class= | Ship power= | Ship propulsion=Diesel engine, 6900 hp (5.15 MW), single propeller | Ship sail plan= | Ship speed=16 knots (30 km/h) | Ship range= | Ship endurance= | Ship test depth= | Ship boats= | Ship capacity=5830 tons (16,500 m³) | Ship troops= | Ship complement=369 | Ship crew= | Ship time to activate= | Ship sensors= | Ship EW= | 5|in|mm|abbr=on}} DP- 4 {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}} DP
- 14 × 2 20 mm guns
| Ship armour= | Ship armor= | Ship aircraft= | Ship aircraft facilities= | Ship notes=
}} | USS Bellatrix (AK-20/AKA-3) was an Arcturus-class attack cargo ship in the United States Navy during World War II and the Korean War. The ship was named after the star Bellatrix in the constellation Orion. The name means "warrioress," and the star is usually named as the 22nd brightest star in the northern hemisphere. Bellatrix was constructed in Tampa, Florida as a C2-T class merchant marine cargo ship for the Maritime Commission under the name Raven. In April 1941, the War Shipping Administration transferred control of the unfinished Raven to the U.S. Navy. She was reclassified as an AKA-3 attack cargo ship, and launched in August under the command of W.F. Dietrich. Bellatrix served in the Pacific during 1942, and participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal by delivering troops and supplies to the initial attack on 7 August. She made two subsequent shipments to the island, bringing both cargo and reinforcements. In 1943 she became part of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, participating in the Allied invasion of Sicily. A subsequent shipment to the Gilbert Islands was terminated due to engine failure; Bellatrix returned to San Francisco for repairs. In 1944, the repaired Bellatrix joined General Holland "Howling Mad" Smith's amphibious fleet moving to take the island of Saipan. On 16 July, she delivered her cargo, soldiers from the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division, just two days before the defeat of the Japanese General, Yoshitsugu Saito. The Battle of Saipan was Bellatrixs last World War II deployment. She was decommissioned in April 1946, and returned to the Maritime Commission three months later. Bellatrix was reacquired by the navy for the Korean War. She was recommissioned 16 May 1952, and performed cargo deliveries and training missions until 1955. Decommissioned a second time, Bellatrix subsequently spent eight years in the Pacific Reserve Fleet before being transferred to Peru in 1963. In 1991 she was sold for scrap, but sank in transit to the port of scrapping. She had been in service for almost fifty years. References- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b4/bellatrix-i.htm}}
External links- Naval Historical Center Photo entry
- {{navsource|10/02003|Bellatrix}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060620071629/http://ussrankin.org/id352.htm 51 Years of AKAs]
{{Arcturus class attack cargo ship}}{{Type C2-T ships}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellatrix (Aka-3)}} 7 : Arcturus-class attack cargo ships|Type C2-T ships of the United States Navy|Ships built in Tampa, Florida|1941 ships|World War II auxiliary ships of the United States|World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States|Korean War amphibious warfare vessels of the United States |