USS Mount Hood (AE-11)

History
United States
Name	USS Mount Hood (AE-11)
Namesake	Mount Hood
Builder	North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. Wilmington, North Carolina
Laid down	28 September 1943 as SS Marco Polo
Launched	28 November 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. A. J. Reynolds
Acquired	28 January 1944
Commissioned	1 July 1944
Stricken	11 December 1944
Fate	Exploded on 10 November 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Mount Hood-class ammunition ship (Type C2-S-AJ1)
Displacement	13,910 long tons (14,130 t)
Length	459 ft 2 in (140 m)
Beam	63 ft (19.2 m)
Draft	28 ft 3 in (8.6 m)
Propulsion	Geared turbine 1 × shaft 6,000 shp (4.5 MW)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity	7,700 long tons (7,800 t) deadweight
Complement	267 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 5"/38 caliber dual-purpose gun 4 × 3"/50 caliber dual purpose guns 4 × 40 mm AA guns (2x2) 10 × 20 mm AA gun mounts

USS Mount Hood (AE-11) was the lead ship of her class of ammunition ships for the United States Navy in World War II. She was the first ship named after Mount Hood, a volcano in the Cascade Range in the US state of Oregon. On 10 November 1944, shortly after 18 men had departed for shore leave, the rest of the crew were killed when the ship exploded in Seeadler Harbor at Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. The ship was obliterated while also sinking or severely damaging 22 smaller craft nearby.