Reviewed by Timothy Dike
The USS Alamosa (AK-156) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (C1-M-AV1 type) on 15 November 1943 at Richmond, Calif., by Kaiser Cargo, Inc.; launched on 14 April 1944 and acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 10 August 1944.

After a brief fitting out period in the San Francisco Bay area, Alamosa sailed for Portland, Oreg. There the ship entered the Commercial Iron Works yards and was decommissioned on 25 August for conversion to an ammunition issue ship. She was recommissioned on 25 September and got underway on 6 October for shakedown out of San Pedro, Calif. After taking on ammunition at Mare Island, Alamosa set sail on November [...] for the Marshall Islands.

Upon arriving at Eniwetok on 7 December, Alamosa was assigned to Service Squadron 8. For the duration of World War II, the vessel carried ammunition and cargo between Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Ulithi, Peleliu, and Leyte.

After the end of hostilities, Alamosa entered drydock at Apra Harbor, Guam, on 1 October 1945. Following the completion of repairs, she got underway again on 7 January 1946, bound for home. She arrived at Seattle, Wash., on 27 January; was decommissioned there on 20 May 1946; and was turned over to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration for disposal. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 14 June 1946. The ship remained in the hands of the Maritime Commission until early 1970 when she disappeared from merchant ship registers. 
Specifications:
Displacement 7,540 tons
Length 338' 6".
Beam 50'
Draft 21'
Speed 11.5 knots.
Complement 79.
Armament one 3" gun mount,  six 20 mm guns.
The hull is pretty well cast. Mine had an extra bit of excess resin commonly referred to as overpour at the waterline. Deck details such as cargo hatches, bollards, winches and lower superstructure are cast on. They are all sharply molded and stand our nicely. Click images
to enlarge
The superstructure parts cast on a thin resin wafer. Quality is pretty good and detail is nice. There is even a Trawler included to sail alongside.
The masts are cast in resin. I would replace the thin uprights with brass rod for strenght. Use the resin parts as a template to cut the replacements. The resin ones can be used if you don't intend to add rigging, but you will have to straighten them first. A length of plastic rod is provided to make the booms.
The Brass PE fret has railings, supports for the various platforms, 20 MM gun shields, tackle for the cargo
Instructions 4 pages of history and plan and elevations. They are OK, but I would like to see the views in more detail. The rigging diagrams will be helpful but mine were a little hard to read due to the low resolution they are reproduced in.
This is kit #63 - USS ALAMOSA C-1 Cargo ship retailing for $50.00. A pretty good price for this unique ship. Just what you need to handle those smaller cargo loads to keep your supply lines open.

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