Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Great Sitkin (AE-17)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Uniform - India - Delta
NUID
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal (2)
Bottom Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Cuba) - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Mount Hood Class Ammunition Ship:
  • Laid down (date unknown), as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1706) at North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 20 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS Great Sitkin (AE-17), 11 August 1945, at Charleston, S.C., LCDR. William F. Smith in command
  • During the Vietnam War USS Great Sitkin participated in the following campaigns:
    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV
    1 to 12 May 1968
    25 May to 8 June 1968     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V
    23 September to 4 October 1968

  • Decommissioned (date unknown)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 2 July 1973
  • Final Disposition, sold by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service for scrapping, 1 March 1974 to US Ship Co., Camden, N.J. for $152,666,60, dismantled, March to October 1974.

    Specifications:
    Displacement 15,295 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 28' 3"
    Speed 16.4 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 23
    Enlisted 244
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Cargo Capacity non-refrigerated 400,000 Cu. ft., 7,275 DWT
    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 engine
    two Combustion Engineering "header-type" boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators , single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Great Sitkin 100k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway off Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C., 15 August 1945, a few days after commissioning and a few days before completion of conversion.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-87473, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives..    		 Robert Hurst
    Great Sitkin 63k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine August 1959    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Great Sitkin 77k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine October 1962    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Great Sitkin 69k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) is left behind as USS Lester (DE-1022) pulls away after an underway replenishment of ammunition, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine October 1962    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Springfield 275k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) delivers ammunition to USS Springfield (CLG-7) during an underway replenishment in the Mediterranean Sea during 1965 William C. Swisher
    Great Sitkin 87k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Great Sitkin 78k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Great Sitkin 160k USS Great Sitkin (AE-17) underway in the Mediterranean Sea in May 1967. Photo by Jim McCoy

    For more photos and information about USS Great Sitkin, 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 Great Sitkin Association
    "AE" Sailors Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Ammunition Ship (AE) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 11 December 2009