Lioba was laid down under
United States Maritime Commission contract 23 June 1944 by
Pennsylvania Shipyard,
Beaumont, Texas; launched 27 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. W. B. Porter; acquired by the Navy 17 February 1945; and commissioned 6 March 1945.
World War II service After
shakedown in the
Gulf of Mexico, the refrigerated cargo ship departed
Mobile, Alabama, 30 March 1945, for
Pearl Harbor en route to
Ulithi and
Okinawa with mail and cargo for the fighting men pushing towards
Japan and victory. Arriving
Okinawa 4 June,
Lioba supplied fresh meat and provisions to navy ships anchored off
Hagushi Beach. Departing a week later, she steamed for New Zealand, arrived 19 June, loaded cargo at
Auckland and
Napier, New Zealand, and sailed 1 August for
Pearl Harbor.
Post-war activity Arriving 8 August, she celebrated V-J Day unloading cargo, and departed 24 August for
San Francisco, California. A week later the hard working
reefer, loaded with 1,600 tons of fleet issue cargo, again steamed for the western Pacific. After discharging chilled and dry provisions for occupation forces at
Guam,
Saipan,
Tinian and
Tokyo, she returned to San Francisco 20 January 1946. Departing 10 February,
Lioba made one more cargo run to
Yokosuka and the Pacific Islands, returned to San Francisco 10 May, and sailed 2 days later for the
U.S. East Coast. Arriving
Hampton Roads 30 May, for the remainder of 1946 she steamed along the Atlantic coast and in the
Caribbean, visiting
Boston, Massachusetts,
Bayonne, New Jersey,
Charleston, South Carolina,
Puerto Rico, and
Trinidad.
North Atlantic operations For the next 9 years, as the U.S. Navy provided the key bulwark for a
Europe threatened by
communism,
Lioba operated with the
Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, supporting the Navy's effort to keep the peace in the North
Atlantic Ocean and
Mediterranean. The ship departed
Boston, Massachusetts, 10 January 1947 for the first of 11
Mediterranean cruises, transporting provisions to the
U.S. 6th Fleet at
Golfe Juan,
France, and
Naples, Italy. Sandwiched between Mediterranean duty,
Lioba completed three training cruises to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and carried fresh meat and supplies to other Navy outposts in the
Caribbean.
Decommissioning and fate Lioba departed
Naples, Italy, 10 April 1955 for her final passage to the United States, arriving
Norfolk, Virginia, the 24th. On 30 July she steamed to
Charleston, South Carolina, where she decommissioned 14 October 1955, and entered the
Atlantic Reserve Fleet. She remained there until transferred to the
United States Maritime Commission and struck from the
Navy list 1 July 1960. She entered the
National Defense Reserve Fleet and was berthed in the
James River, Virginia, into 1969. Final Disposition, scrapped in 1973. ==Military awards and honors==