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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

AD-37 Samuel Gompers

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Tango - Charlie
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation
Second Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (3) - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (5) - Navy Expeditionary Medal (1-Iran/Indian Ocean)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Vietnam Service Medal (1) - Southwest Asia Service Medal
Fourth Row - Humanitarian Service Medal (1-Cyclone Disaster Relief Viti Levu, Fiji Islands) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Samuel Gompers Class Destroyer Tender:
  • Laid down, 9 July 1964, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Launched, 14 May 1966
  • Commissioned USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37), 15 July 1967
  • Decommissioned in October 1995
  • Laid up at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Portsmouth, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 7 April 1999
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, for disposal, 7 April 1999
  • Final Disposition, disposed of as a target, 22 July 2003
    Specifications:
    Displacement 13.458 t.(lt), 20,132 t.(fl)
    Length 643'
    Beam 85'
    Draft 30' (limiting)
    Speed 20+ kts.
    Complement 1,056
    Armament one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    Propulsion two 600 lb Steam boilers, 20,000 Shaft horsepower, single propeller, single rudder
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Samuel Gompers 147k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) underway off the coast of Oahu, 24 November 1968
    Photo by PH3 Bruce M Laurich, USN
    US Navy photo NH # 96875 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Samuel Gompers 124k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) circa May 1969, possibly Subic Bay P.I., ships alongside include
    Higbee (DD-806),
    Douglas H. Fox (DD-779),
    Robison (DDG-12),     and
    Leary (DD-879)
    Photo by PH3 Stephen L Fowk, USN
    US Navy photo # USN 1139041 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Samuel Gompers 147k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) with an unidentified submarine alongside, date and place unknown.US Navy photo Federation of American Scientists web site
    Samuel Gompers 115k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) moored pierside at Naval Station San Diego, with Kinkaid (DD-965) and, Berkeley (DDG-15) alongside, date unknown. Photo by Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Samuel Gompers 112k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) passing Point Loma while exiting San Diego harbor, date unknown. Photo by Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Samuel Gompers 55k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) and Dixon (AS-37) side by side at Diego Garcia. After a 60-day deployment Dixon turned over the job of Indian Ocean fleet repairs to Samuel Gompers, date unknown.
    US Navy photo by PH3 Book.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Samuel Gompers 75k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) tending destroyers in an Asian port, date and place unknown..
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, January 1970    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Samuel Gompers 117k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) moored pierside, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, October 1970    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Samuel Gompers 50k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) underway, date and place unknown.
    ©Marine Photos, San Diego, CA.    		 Mike Smolinski
    Samuel Gompers 118k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) underway, date and place unknown. Robert Hurst
    Samuel Gompers 197k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) "Navy Times" Ship in the Spotlight, feature, publication date unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Samuel Gompers 82k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) passing Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. She is heading for her homeport at NAS Alameda. The photos were taken from Aquatic Park in San Francisco in August 1980. Robert M. Cieri
    Samuel Gompers 87k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) passing Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. She is heading for her homeport at NAS Alameda. The photos were taken from Aquatic Park in San Francisco in August 1980. Robert M. Cieri
    Samuel Gompers 87k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) passing the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at Hyde Street Pier. The historic ships are (from left to right):
    Steam Tug Hercules,
    Paddlewheel Tug Eppleton Hall,
    Steam FerryboatEureka,
    Lumber Schooner C.A. Thayer and
    Scow Schooner Alma.
    Samuel Gompers is heading for her homeport at NAS Alameda. The photos were taken from Aquatic Park in San Francisco in August 1980.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Samuel Gompers 74k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) moored pierside at NAS Alameda, August 1980. Robert M. Cieri
    Samuel Gompers 70k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) moored pierside at NAS Alameda, August 1980. Robert M. Cieri
    Samuel Gompers 70k Samuel Gompers (AD-37) moored pierside at NAS Alameda with Arkansas (CGN-41), August 1980. Robert M. Cieri
    View Samuel Gompers (AD-37) Welcome Aboard pamphlets
    View the Samuel Gompers (AD-37)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information Web Sites
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Samuel Gompers (AD-37)
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 11 May 2007