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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Bunch (APD-79)
ex
 USS Bunch (DE-694) (1943 - 1944)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Tango - Alpha - Lima
 NTAL
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom,left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Buckley Class Destroyer Escort - Charles Lawrence Class High-speed Transport:
  • Laid down, 22 February 1943, as Bunch (DE-694), a Buckley Class Destroyer Escort, at Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, MI.
  • Launched, 29 May 1943
  • Commissioned USS Bunch (DE-694), 21 August 1943, LCDR. Alfred A. Campbell, USNR, in command
  • Converted to a High-speed Transport, 28 July to 12 October 1944, at Naval Frontier Base Tompkinsville, N.Y.
  • Redesignated (APD-79), 31 July 1944
  • During World War II USS Bunch was first assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, TransDiv One Hundred Four, CAPT. R. D. Williams USN (24) and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 20 March to 30 June 1945     		Minesweeping Operations Pacific
    8 to 13 November and 10 to 18 December 1945

  • Following World War II USS Bunch was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    1 October 1945 to 21 February 19461 October 1945 to 21 February 1946
  • Decommissioned, 31 May 1946, at San Diego, CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego
  • Struck form the Naval Register, 1 April 1964
  • USS Bunch earned two battle stars for her World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in 1965 to Zidell, Portland, OR.
    APD Specifications:
    Displacement 1,400 t.(lt), 2,130 t.(fl)
    Length 306' ovl.
    Beam 37'
    Draft 12' 7" (limiting)
    Speed 23.6 kts. (trial)
    Range 6,000 nautical miles at 12 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 12
    Enlisted 192
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 12
    Enlisted 150
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Boats 4 LCVP landing craft
    Troop Accoutrements
    six 1/4 ton trucks
    two 1 ton trucks
    four ammunition carts
    four pack howitzers
    Storage
    Ammunition 6,000 cu. ft.
    General Cargo 3,500 cu. ft.
    Gasoline 1,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    three twin 40 mm AA gun mounts
    six single 20 mm AA gun mounts
    two depth charge tracks
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 2,216 Bbls
    Diesel 93 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Combustion Engineering "D" Express boilers, 435psi 750°
    two General Electric turbines, (turbo-electric drive)
    Ship's Service Generators
    two 300Kw 450V A.C.
    two 40Kw 120V D.C.
    two propellers, 12,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Bunch 39k USS Bunch (APD-79) under way on the Whangpoo River, Shanghai, China, 3 December 1945. Chad Kuiper for his grandfather DeWayne Larsen USS Bunch
    Bunch 175k USS Bunch (APD-79) under way, in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa March 1946.
    Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 79798. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974.    		 Mike Green
    USS Bunch (APD-79)
    Dictionary of American Navy Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Campbell, Alan Alfred, USNR21 August 1943 - 29 June 1944DE-694
    02LT. Hyde, Benjamin Dwight, USNR29 June 1944 - 15 August 1945DE-694 / APD-79
    03LCDR. deSibour, John Reginald, USNR15 August 1945 - 26 August 1945APD-79
    04LT. Donnally, Edward Wood, USNR26 August 1945 - 31 March 1946APD-79
    05LT. Erickson, Robert James Floyd, USNR31 March 1946 - 31 May 1946APD-79
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Destroyer Escort Index Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The High-speed Transport (APD) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 30 June 2017