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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Diamond Head (AE-19)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Uniform - India - Foxtrot
 NUIF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
Second Row - Navy Expeditionary Medal (3-Cuba) - American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Vietnam Service Medal (3) - 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 1709) at North Carolina Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 3 February 1945
  • Acquired by the Navy, 10 March 1945
  • Converted to an Ammunition Ship at Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Shipyard, Baltimore, MD.
  • Commissioned, USS Diamond Head (AE-19), 9 August 1945, LCDR. F. C. Snow, USNR, in command
  • Decommissioned, 23 August 1946, at Galveston, TX.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Galveston
  • Recommissioned, 9 August 1951
  • During the Vietnam War USS Diamond Head participated in the following campaigns:
    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II
    5 to 23 May 1967     		Tet Counteroffensive
    27 to 28 March 1968
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    5 to 28 June 1967
    18 to 31 July 1967
    17 to 31 August 1967
    25 September to 17 October 1967
    24 to 31 October 1967
    6 to 8 December 1967     		.

  • Decommissioned (date unknown)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 March 1973
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 24 March 1974 for disposal
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 3 October 1974
  • USS Diamond Head (AE-19) earned three campaign stars for Vietnam War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 15,296 t.(lim)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 28' 3"
    Speed 16.4 kts.
    Complement
    officers 23
    enlisted 244
    Largest boom capacity 36 tons
    Cargo Capacity 7,700 DWT
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four 3"/50 gun dual purpose gun mounts
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 400,000 Non refrigerated
    Fuel Oil Capacity 10,935 Bbls, NFSO
    Ship's Service Generators three turbo 360Kw 120/240V D.C.
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    three Combustion Engineering header type boilers 450psi 750°
    double General Electorial Main reduction gear
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Diamond Head 117k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) departing her conversion yard, Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Shipyard at Baltimore, MD., 10 August 1945, a day after completing conversion and commissioning. A Baltimore harbour tug is assisting.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-87311, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archive..    		 Robert Hurst
    Diamond Head 112k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) underway off the Virginia Capes, August 1964 © Richard Leonhardt
    Diamond Head 123k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) underway off the Virginia Capes during an underway replenishment exercise, August 1964 © Richard Leonhardt
    Diamond Head 84k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) moored pierside at NOB Norfolk, VA, August 1964 © Richard Leonhardt
    Diamond Head 185k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Mike Smolinski
    Diamond Head 91k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine December 1964.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Diamond Head 126k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) being assisted by Okmulgee (YTB-765) as she is coming alongside USS Amphion (AR-13) (not shown) for repairs in January 1967 at the "Army Piers" (Norfolk International Terminal), Norfolk, VA. To accommodate Diamond Head alongside the repair ship USS Plymouth Rock (LSD-29) is being moved by an unidentified tug, just visible in the far right side of the photo. George McLeer USS Amphion 1966-68, R-4 Div Electronics Repair Shop
    Diamond Head 181k USS Diamond Head (AE-19) underway at Hampton Roads, June 1968.
    Photo courtesy of Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, VA., ©Nobe Smith.    		 Bill Gonyo

    For more photos and information about USS Diamond Head, 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
    "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