The USS Antelope (IX-109) was originally constructed as the SS M. H. De Young, an American Liberty ship built in 1943 by Permanente Metals Corp. in Richmond, California. The vessel measured 442 feet 8 inches (134.92 meters) in overall length, with a waterline length of approximately 427 feet (130.15 meters). She had a beam of 57 feet (17.37 meters), a depth of 34 feet 8 inches (10.57 meters), and a draft of 27 feet 9 inches (8.46 meters). Her gross registered tonnage was 7,210 GRT, with a net tonnage of 4,880 NRT, and a deadweight tonnage of 10,856 DWT. Powered by a triple expansion steam engine built by Worthington Pump & Machinery Corporation, the ship's engine featured cylinders of 24.5, 37, and 70 inches in diameter, with a 70-inch stroke. This engine drove a single screw propeller, enabling a maximum speed of approximately 11 knots (20 km/h). The ship was launched on July 6, 1943, and delivered to the Maritime Commission shortly thereafter. Soon after her completion, the SS M. H. De Young was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-19 on August 14, 1943, about 1,000 miles east of Nouméa, New Caledonia. She was brought into Espíritu Santo in the New Hebrides for partial repairs and was subsequently acquired by the U.S. Navy under a bareboat charter on October 4, 1943. Renamed USS Antelope (IX-109), she had her engines removed and served as a non-self-propelled dry cargo storage vessel throughout World War II, assigned to Service Squadron 8. While detailed records of her service are limited, Antelope's initial station appears to have been Espíritu Santo, with her last known location at Subic Bay in the Philippines. She may have also provided support at Leyte following the Battle of Leyte. Her role was primarily as a storage ship, supporting fleet operations in the Pacific theater. After the war, Antelope was deemed beyond economical repair, decommissioned on May 3, 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Commission. She was stricken from the Navy Register in May 1946 and sold for scrapping to the Asia Development Corp. in Shanghai in 1948. The vessel was dismantled by 1950, marking the end of her maritime service.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.