USS Lebanon (AK-191) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship built for the United States Navy during the final stages of World War II. Constructed under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2122) by Walter Butler Shipbuilding Co. in Superior, Wisconsin, she was laid down on 15 May 1944 and launched on 14 October 1944, with Mrs. Charles E. Denny serving as her sponsor. The vessel was acquired by the Navy on 25 August 1945 and commissioned at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 26 September 1945. Designed as a cargo ship, USS Lebanon was intended to support naval logistics and supply operations. However, her service within the Navy was brief, as she was decommissioned on 15 November 1946, less than a year after her commissioning, due to the diminished need for cargo ships following the end of World War II. On the same day, she was returned to the Maritime Commission and was immediately chartered to the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company, Inc., where she was renamed Coastal Archer. As Coastal Archer, she served several commercial shipping companies from 1945 to 1948, primarily engaged in coastal shipping activities. After her commercial service, she was placed in the reserve fleet, effectively mothballed until her sale in 1956. On 13 July 1956, she was sold to Brazil with the stipulation that she be used for coastal shipping. She was delivered to Brazilian interests on 22 August 1956. Her final fate and disposition remain unknown. The USS Lebanon (AK-191), though short-lived in military service, exemplifies the rapid transition of wartime-built cargo ships into commercial and international roles in the post-war period, highlighting the versatility and evolving utilization of naval auxiliary vessels from wartime to peacetime operations.

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