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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Gordonia (AF-43)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

Adria Class Stores Ship:

Laid down in September 1944 as MV Whale Knot, a Maritime Commission type (R1-M-AV3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC 2205) hull at Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc, Beaumont, TX.

Launched, 30 November 1944

Commissioned USS Gordonia (AF-43), 14 May 1945, at Galveston, TX., Lt. Irv V. Chapman Jr. in command

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

Following World War II USS Gordonia was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
2 January to 11 February 1946	2 January to 11 February 1946

Decommissioned, 1 July 1946, at San Francisco, CA., and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day

Renamed MV Whale Knot and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 8 January 1946

Operated commercially by the Matson Navigation Company during 1946-1948

Returned to the Maritime Administration

Transferred to the US Army Transportation Command

Returned to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA., in early 1949

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in Taiwan, 9 November 1973, to the China Trade and Development Corp., delivered 17 December 1973, scrapped in 1974

Specifications:
Displacement 3,139 t.(lt) 7,435 t.(fl)
Length 338' 6"
Beam 50'
Draft 18'
Speed 11.5 kts. (trial)

Complement

Officers 10

Enlisted 74

Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.

Cargo Capacity 3,170 DWT

Non-refrigerated - 47,610 Cu ft

Refrigerated - 114,580 Cu ft

Armament

one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount

six single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacity - Diesel 6,300 Bbls

Propulsion

one Nordberg Diesel TSM engine

three 250Kw 120V/240V Ship's Service Generators

single propeller, 1,700shp

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
498k	*USS Gordonia* (AF-43)** moored pierside, Naval Supply Depot Subic Bay, Luzon, Philippines, May 1946.	Submitted by James P. Thomas for his father LTjg. Clifford P. Assad USS Gordonia
449k	*USS Gordonia* (AF-43)** crew photo while moored pierside, Naval Supply Depot Subic Bay, Luzon, Philippines, May 1946.	Submitted by James P. Thomas for his father LTjg. Clifford P. Assad USS Gordonia
78k	*USS Gordonia* (AF-43)** under way in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa 1945-1946. US Navy photo # NH 82185 Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975.	US Naval Historical Center

USS Gordonia (AF-43)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LT. Chapman Jr., Ira V., USNR	14 May 1945 - 30 November 1945
02	LTjg. Livingston, Thomas, USNR (temporary)	30 November 1945 - 4 December 1945
03	LCDR. Gibson, Charles R., USNR	30 November 1945 - 1 July 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information Web Sites
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USS Gordonia, First Anniversary History
MARAD Vessel History Database

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Back To The Stores Ship (AF) Photo Index

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 24 December 2020