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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Vega (AK-17)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Xray - Mike
 NAXM
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 7 December 1941) - American Defense Service Medal
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Sirus Class Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 8 July 1918, as SS Lebanon under a United States Shipping Board (USSB) contract at American International Shipbuilding Corp., Hog Island, PA.
  • Launched, 18 July 1919
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 2 December 1921
  • Commissioned USS Vega (AK-17), 21 December 1921 at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA., LT. William H. Newman, USNRF, in command
  • During World War II USS Vega was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Pearl Harbor - Midway
    Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Marianas operation Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto

  • Decommissioned, 15 January 1946, at Oakland, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 March 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, 1 July 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold by the Maritime Commission, 6 August 1946, for scrapping to National Metals and Steel Corp.
  • USS Vega received four battle stars for her World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,037 t.(lt) 11,320 t.(fl)
    Length 401' 1"
    Beam 54'
    Draft 20'
    Speed 11.5 kts.
    Complement 227
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts
    four 3"/50 guns dual purpose gun mounts
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion geared turbine engine, single screw, 2,500 shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Vega 41k USS Vega (AK-17) mooring at New York Navy Yard during the 1920s with the help of a commercial tug.
    US Navy photo    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vega 72k USS Vega (AK-17) moored pierside, date and location unknown. Jon Burdett
    Vega 43k USS Vega (AK-17) moored pierside, circa 1937, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Vega 41k USS Vega (AK-17) underway, 8 September 1942.
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    View the USS Vega (AK-17)
    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
    No Information Available
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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 12 May 2008