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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Roamer (AF-19)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Xray - Xray
 NEXX
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Bridge Class Stores Ship:
  • Built in 1935 as M/V Roamer by Maskinbygger Machine & Iron Works, Elsinore, Denmark
  • Acquired by the United States after the fall of Denmark and operated by the War Shipping Administration in the Caribbean and South Pacific
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission, 22 July 1942
  • Commissioned, USS Roamer (AF-19), 30 August 1942, at Auckland, New Zealand, CDR. Maximillian Benjamin De Leshe in command
  • During World War II USS Roamer was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 14 June 1946, at San Francisco, CA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 14 June 1946 for disposal
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,770 t.(lt) 4,600 t.(fl)
    Length 318' 6"
    Beam 42' 7"
    Draft 18'
    Speed 12 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 15
    Enlisted 99
    Largest Boom Capacity 14 t.
    Armament
    two single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    two twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 5.495 DWT
    non-refrigerated 16,214 Cu ft
    refrigerated 87,125 Cu ft
    Fuel Capacity 3,525 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Burmeister and Wain Diesel engine
    three turbo-drive 120Kw 220V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 1,859shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service
    Roamer 135k MVRoamer moored pierside probably at New York circa 1941. The Panamanian hull markings under which this Danish ship probably sailed in 1940-41 are were being replaced with US neutrality markings
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo # 19-N-92268 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Roamer (AF-19)
    Roamer 91k USS Roamer (AF-19) moored pierside at Auckland, New Zealand. Martin Doutre in honor of his father Jean Lester Doutré, Chief Petty Officer, USN, USS Roamer
    Roamer 37k USS Roamer (AF-19) departing Auckland (probably 5 September 1945) for the last time as she begins her last run to resupply Pacific Islands on the way back to the United States. Note the homeward bound pennant flying from her aft mast. Martin Doutré in honor of his father Jean Lester Doutré, Chief Petty Officer, USN, USS Roamer
    Roamer 56k USS Roamer (AF-19) in San Francisco Bay circa late 1945 or early 1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 82213, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Roamer 132k Aft plan view of USS Roamer (AF-19) at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 3 January 1946. Roamer was undergoing repairs at Mare Island from 2 November 1945 to 16 January 1946.
    Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 26-46, 1/3/46.    		 Darryl Baker
    Roamer 126k Forward plan view of USS Roamer (AF-19) at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 3 January 1946. Roamer was undergoing repairs at Mare Island from 2 November 1945 to 16 January 1946.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo # 19-N-92274 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Roamer 52k USS Roamer (AF-19) off Mare Island, Calif., 4 January 1946.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-92270, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Roamer (AF-19)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. De Leshe, Maximillian Benjamin30 August 1942 - ?
    02LCDR. Oates, Russell Perla14 December 1943 - ?
     LT. Bornander, Paul Oscar (XO OIC)9 December 1944 - ?
    04LCDR. Oates, Russell Perla, USNR31 January 1945 - 7 June 1946
    05LT. Stewart, William Gordon, USNR7 June 1946 - 14 June 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 11 January 2019