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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Taurus (AF-25)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Tango - Whiskey NBTW

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

Taurus Class Stores Ship:

Built in 1921 as SS San Benito at Workman Clark Co. Ltd., Belfast, Northern Ireland

Acquired by the US Navy, 2 October 1942

Converted for Naval service at Bethlehem Steel Corp., Alameda, CA.

Commissioned USS Taurus (AF-25), 29 October 1942, LCDR. Edward T. Collins in command

During World War II, USS Taurus was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater

Decommissioned, 11 December 1945, at New Orleans, LA. and returned to the Maritime Commission for return to her owners

Struck from the Naval Register, 3 January 1946

Final Disposition, date unknown

Specifications:
Displacement 6,600 t.(fl)
Length 325' 3"
Beam 40' 4"
Draft 23'
Speed 13 kts. (trial)

Complement

Officers 15

Enlisted 98

Cargo Capacity 1,800 DWT

refrigerated 96,600 Cu ft.

Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.

Armament

one single 4"/50 cal gun mount

one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount

six single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacity NSFO 5,550 Bbls

Propulsion

one Thompson Houston Curtis design turbine

three single-ended cylindrical Scotch boilers 200psi Sat

three recip-drive 90Kw 110V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

single propeller, 2,500shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
Merchant Service United Fruit Lines
	146k	The white hulled United Fruit Co. refrigerated freighters SS San Benito (left) and SS Limon (right) moored at the United Fruit Co pier in New York City in 1937. Photos from Life Magazine collections, used for educational and non-commercial purpose.	John Chiquoine
	129k		John Chiquoine
USS Taurus (AF-25)
	144k	*Namesake* Taurus (Latin for "the Bull") is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Its importance to the agricultural calendar influenced various bull figures in the mythologies of Ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Taurus as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825.	Tommy Trampp
NYMI # 7345-11-42	98k	*USS Taurus* (AF-25)** underway in San Francisco Bay off Naval Station Treasure Island, CA., 30 November 1942 after conversion. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 7345-11-42, 11/30/42 (Darryl Baker), US National Archives RG-19-LCM, photo #'s 19-N-38673, 19-N-38674 & 19-N-38671, US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives, (Robert Hurst) courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Darryl Baker and Robert Hurst
19-N-38673	89k
19-N-38674	95k
19-N-38671	133k
	51k	*USS Taurus* (AF-25)** moored at Prince's Wharf Auckland, New Zealand in 1945.	David Oates for his father LT. William S. Oates USS Taurus

USS Taurus (AF-25)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LCDR. Collins, Edward Thomas	29 October 1942 - 11 December 1943
02	LCDR. Gallagher, John Murray	11 December 1943 - 9 April 1944
03	LCDR. Drake, Arthur M.	9 April 1944 - 11 December 1945


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

Last Updated 5 July 2019