"Gemini" (AP-75) a lake-type freighter, was built as SS "Coperas by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Subsequently renamed Aetna and then Saginaw" around 1937 while in merchant service, she was acquired by the Navy 27 September 1941. Originally designated USS "Matinicus" (AG-38), she was reclassified AK-52 7 January 1942 while undergoing conversion at Bethlehem Steel Company, Boston, Massachusetts. Commissioned as USS "Matinicus" (AK-52) 4 August 1942, Lt. Comdr. W. L. Cain in command, she was redesignated and renamed USS "Gemini" (AP-75) 15 August 1942.