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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Relief (AH-1)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Papa - Quebec
 NEPQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Defense Campaign Medal - American Campaign Medal
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Relief Class Hospital Ship:
  • Laid down, 14 June 1917, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Launched, 23 December 1919
  • Commissioned USS Relief (AH-1), 28 December 1920, CDR. Richmond C. Holcomb, (MC), USN, in command.
  • Decommissioned, 11 June 1946, at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 July 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, 13 January 1947
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 23 March 1948, to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD.
  • USS Relief received five battle stars for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,800 t.(fl)
    Length 483' 10"
    Beam 61' 1"
    Draft 19' 7"
    Speed 16 kts.
    Complement 44 Officers, 331 Enlisted
    Patient Capacity 500
    Propulsion steam turbines, twin propellers, 5,250HP
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Relief 59k USS Relief (AH-1) underway, date and location unknown. Submitted by Elaine C. Witty, Charpentier, photo from the collection of Gerald M. Charpentier
    Relief 62k USS Relief (AH-1), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Darryl Baker
    Relief 57k USS Relief (AH-1), circa 1935, location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Robert M. Hirst
    Relief 52k USS Relief (AH-1) possibly at Pearl Harbor, date unknown. Ric Hedman
    Relief 69k USS Relief (AH-1) possibly off Maui, Hawaiian Islands, date unknown. Ric Hedman
    Relief 64k USS Relief (AH-1) at anchor, date and location unknown. Robert M. Cieri
    Relief 147k USS Relief (AH-1) at Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA., while undergoing overhaul, 29 September 1941. Note details of her bridge, and the illuminated hospital ship recognition cross just forward of and above the spread awning (in the right center). The ship ahead of USS Relief appears to be USS Orizaba (AP-24). An oiler and the sludge removal barge YSR-1 are in the upper right, with two old "flush deck" destroyers beyond.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-26136, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Relief 71k USS Relief (AH-1), date and location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-446445, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Relief 67k USS Relief (AH-1) at anchor, date and loation unknown.
    US Navy from "All Hands" magazine, issue April 1946    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Relief 43k USS Relief (AH-1) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy.    		 Joe Nettles
    Relief 30k USS Relief (AH-1), at Ulithi, Caroline Islands, 13 March 1945
    US Navy photo    		 Naval Hospital Corps School Web Site
    Relief 44k USS Relief (AH-1) at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 1943
    US Navy photo    		 The US Navy Hospital Ship Relief (AH-1).
    A Chronicle of Her Wartime Overseas Movements and Activities
    Relief 62k USS Relief (AH-1) at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 1943.
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
    Relief 69k USS Relief (AH-1), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, June 1962    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
    View the USS Relief (AH-1)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The US Navy Hospital Ship Relief (AH-1). A Chronicle of Her Wartime Overseas Movements and Activities
    Personal log of Arthur Altvates Aboard USS Relief AH-1, Covering Feb 13 1945 through Sep 10 1945
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 22 June 2007