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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Firedrake (AE-14)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Delta - Bravo NKDB

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korea Service Medal (4) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Taiwan Straits, 1-Quemoy-Matsu, 2-Vietnam
Fourth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (6) - Korean Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Mount Hood Class Ammunition Ship:

Laid down, date unknown, as SS Winged Racer, a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1379) at North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N.C.

Launched, 12 May 1944

Loaned to the US Navy in June 1944

Commissioned USS Firedrake (AE-14), 27 December 1944. CDR. A. Elb, USNR, in command

During World War II USS Firedrake was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 24 March to 30 June 1945 5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of the Okinawa Gunto operation, 11 April to 11 June 1945	3d Fleet operations against Japan, 15 August 1945

Permanent title transfer from the Maritime Commission to the US Navy, 14 January 1946

Decommissioned, 21 February 1946, at Orange, TX.

Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange

Recommissioned, 11 October 1951

During the Korean War USS Firedrake participated in the following campaigns:

**Korean War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Second Korean Winter 15 to 18 April 1952	Third Korean Winter 6 to 14 March 1953 28 March to 4 April 1953 21 to 27 April 1953
Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 3 to 12 May 1952 29 May to 8 June 1952 24 to 26 June 1952 3 to 15 July 1952	Korean Summer-Fall 1953 7 to12 May 1953 1 to13 and 18 to 27 June 1953 7 to 20 and 27 July 1953

USS Firedrake was assigned to China service from 30 January to 13 February 1955

During the Vietnam War USS Firedrake participated in the following campaigns:

**Vietnam War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnam Defense 24 November to 5 December 1965 14 to 21 December 1965	Tet 69/Counteroffensive 27 February to 11 March 1969 19 to 25 March 1969 8 to 22 April 1969 4 to 8 June 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive 6 to 15 January 1966 28 January to 7 February 1966 27 February to 8 March 1966 25 March to 7 April 1966 27 April to 11 May 1966 14 to 18 May 1966	Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 9 to 21 June 1969 29 June to 25 July 1969 16 to 25 August 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 5 to 24 December 1967	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 1 to 6 and 13 to 26 July 1970 1 to 3 August 1970 25 August to 6 September 1970

Decommissioned in October 1970 at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Vallejo, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown

Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 21 July 1971, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Permanent title transfer from the US Navy to the Maritime Administration, 16 November 1977

Final Disposition, disposed of by Maritime Administration (MARAD) sale, 16 November 1977, to General Metals of Tacoma, Inc., for non-transportation use

Delivered to General Metals of Tacoma at Suisun Bay, 28 December 1977

USS Firedrake was awarded one battle star for World War II service, four battle stars for Korean War service, and six campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Specifications:
Displacement 13,910 t.(lt) 15,295 t.(fl)
Length 459' 2"
Beam 63'
Draft 28' 3"
Speed 16.4 kts.
Cargo Capacity 7,725 DWT

Non-Refrigerated 400,000 cu ft.
Largest Boom Capacity 35 tons
Complement

Officers 23

Enlisted 244
Armament

one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount

four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts

two twin 40mm AA gun mounts

eight twin 20mm AA gun mounts
Fuel Capacity NSFO 10,925 Bbls
Propulsion

one General Electric geared turbine

two Babcock and Wilcox header type boilers 450psi 750°

double General Electric Main Reduction Gears

three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ships Service Generators

single propeller, 6,000shp

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
42k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** at the Yorktown Naval Mine Depot, circa late January 1946.	Photo by Richard Wagner USS Firedrake
84k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway off San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, 21 November 1952 after a routine overhaul. US Navy photo from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.	Robert Hurst
74k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway off the coast of Korea, June 1952.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
161k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway in San Francisco Bay during Fleet Review, 13 June 1957. Photo ©Allied Photographers of San Francisco.	Robert M. Cieri
82k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine November 1963	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
24k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway, circa 1954, location unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
56k	Broadside view of *USS Firedrake* (AE-14) departing Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 17 August 1956. Firedrake was at Mare Island undergoing repairs from 13 June to 17 August 1956. The tug forward appears to he one of the YTMs Mare Island built and the aft tug appears to be either Awatobi (YTB-264)** or Dekaury (YTB-178). Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 30736-8-56, 8/17/56.	Darryl Baker
133k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway in 1957, location unknown.	Russell Cole ET2 USS Firedrake
92k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway, 29 January 1964, location unknown. US Navy photo # USN 100777 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command	Robert Hurst
103k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** holds her position while an unidentified aircraft carrier approaches on her port side to begin an underway replenishment, date and place unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine February 1964	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
89k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14) replenishing USS Buchanan (DDG-14) off her starboard side and USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14)** off her port side, 14 May 1969. US Navy photo	Jim Flanders EM3 USN USS Firedrake
109k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14) replenishing USS Buchanan (DDG-14) off her starboard side and USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14)** off her port side, 14 May 1969. US Navy photo	Chet Morris
44k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14) replenishing USS Coontz (DLG-9) to starboard and USS Ranger (CVA-61)** to port, during a WESTPAC in the early 1960s. US Navy photo	EMC(SW) Brian Kroenung
71k	*USS Firedrake* (AE-14)** underway, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.

For more photos and information about USS Firedrake, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
AE/AOE Sailors Association
Commanding Officers

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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Last Updated 13 January 2012