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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Patch at left contributed by Darrel Inskeep via Bill Freeman, at right Don McGrogan, BMCS USN Ret.

USS Vesuvius (AE-15)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Delta - Echo NKDE

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korea Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (6-Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (13)
Fourth Row - United Nations Korea Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Mount Hood Class Ammunition Ship:

Laid down, date unknown, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1381), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N.C.

Launched, 26 May 1944

Commissioned USS Vesuvius (AE-15), 16 January 1945, CDR. Flavius J. George in command

Decommissioned, 20 August 1946, at Orange, TX.

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

Recommissioned, 15 November 1951

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

**Korean War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 20 to 21 May 1952 5 to 17 June 1952 27 June to 1 July 1952 12 to 24 July 1952 5 to 20 August 1952 27 to 29 August 1952 14 to 26 September 1952 16 to 25 October 1952 6 to 21 November 1952	Korean Summer-Fall 1953 18 to 31 May 1953 10 to 19 June 1953 27 June to 7 July 1953 17 to 27 July 1953

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

**Vietnam War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnam Defense 25 August to 3 September 1965 14 to 23 September 1965 4 to 13 October 1965 24 October to 4 November 1965	Tet 69/Counteroffensive 23 February to 4 March 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive 14 to 28 June 1966	Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 22 to 31 October 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 1 to 4 July 1966 17 July to 3 August 1966 14 to 31 August 1966 7 to 25 September 1966 6 to 25 October 1966 10 to 21 November 1966	Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 1 to 4 November 1969 14 to 28 November 1969 1 to 5 January 1970 21 January to 9 February 1970 23 February to 12 March 1970 22 March to 7 April 1970 12 to 20 April 1970
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 12 August to 2 September 1967 19 September to 8 October 1967 22 October to 4 November 1967 17 November to 8 December 1967 15 to 16 December 1967 23 December 1967 to 11 January 1968	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 3 to 19 February 1971 5 to 22 March 1971 17 April to 5 May 1971 14 to 25 May 1971 3 to 11 June 1971 25 June 1971 27 to 30 June 1971
Tet Counteroffensive 7 to 19 February 1968	Consolidation I 1 to 11 July 1971 23 to 27 July 1971
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V 26 August to 7 September 1968 10 to 20 October 1968 29 October to 1 November 1968	Consolidation II 14 to 31 March 1972
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI 2 to 9 November 1968 11 to 27 December 1968 5 to 12 January 1969 20 January to 1 February 1969 10 to 22 February 1969	.

Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 14 August 1973 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA.

Transferred to Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) Mare Island for further disposition

Title transfer to the Maritime Administration (MARAD)

Final Disposition, disposed of by MARAD sale, 5 April 1974, fate unknown

USS Vesuvius earned two battle stars for Korean War service and thirteen campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Specifications:
Displacement 13,910 t. 15,295 t.(lim)
Length 459' 2"
Beam 63'
Draft 28' 3"
Speed 16.4 kts (trial)
Complement

Officers 23

Enlisted 244
Largest Boom Capacity 36 t.
Cargo Capacity 400,000 Cu ft, 7,275DWT
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
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. Ship's Service Generators

single propeller, 6,000shp single propeller, 6,000shp

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
78k	*USS Vesuvius* (AE-15)** underway in San Francisco Bay, October 1957. Photo ©Allied Photographers, San Francisco.	Robert M. Cieri
52k	*USS Vesuvius* (AE-15)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Bill Freeman USS Rainier (AE-5) web site
59k	*USS Vesuvius* (AE-15)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Stanley C. Svec
78k	*USS Vesuvius* (AE-15)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, March 1960	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
127k	*USS Vesuvius* (AE-15)** underway off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, 8 July 1963. US Navy history and Heritage Command photo # KN-7517.	Robert Hurst
96k	*USS Vesuvius* (AE-15)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1964	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.

For more photos and information about USS Vesuvius, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Commanding Officers

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

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Vesuvius AE-15
"AE" Sailors Association

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Last Updated 8 January 2010