USS Talamanca

USS Talamanca (AF-15) was the United Fruit Company cargo and passenger liner Talamanca that served as a United States Navy Mizar-class stores ship in World War II.

Talamanca was the lead ship of six fast, turbo-electric transmission ships built primarily for banana transport for the United Fruit Company subsidiary shipping line, United Mail Steamship Company. The new ships were larger than previous fruit carriers and designed for substantial passenger service and to take advantage of new mail carriage subsidies. As a result of the later they were described by the company as its "Mail class" ships. In early commercial service three of the ships served on the Atlantic coast to Panama and three on the Pacific coast to Panama with inter coastal connections made at Panamanian ports.

All of the ships, including Talamanca were delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for wartime operation. United Fruit retained ownership of all the ships which operated under bareboat charter by WSA with five of the ships sub bareboat chartered to the Navy which operated them as commissioned naval vessels. Talamanca was delivered to WSA and the Navy on 16 December 1941, converted for naval use and commissioned USS Talamanca with the designation AF-15 on 28 January 1942. The ship operated in the Pacific throughout the war. At the end of her naval service the ship again transported bananas, loaded during a stop at Puerto Armuelles, Panama, in transit from Hawaii to New Orleans for decommissioning which took place 29 November 1945. The ship was immediately delivered to WSA's agent, United Fruit, for the process of conversion back to the company's commercial service. On 8 July 1947 Talamanca was returned to the company for commercial service.

In 1958 United Fruit transferred Talamanca to its British subsidiary Elders and Fyffes which renamed the vessel Sulaco and operated the ship until retirement in 1964. Sulaco arrived in Bruges, Belgium 28 July 1964 for scrapping which took place in 1965.