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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

ID 2228 / AK-63 / AK-100 / WAK-123 Asterion

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign: November - Romeo - Mike - Xray

USS Asterion (AK-63) was transferred to the Coast Guard during World War II
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Asterion Class Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 17 January 1912, as SS Evelyn, a steel-hulled steamer, for the A. H. Bull Steamship Line, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA.
  • Launched, 9 May 1912
  • Delivered, 11 June 1912
  • Assigned the identification number, Id No. 2228, 9 January 1918, however, not taken over by the US Navy, but remaining in merchant service
  • Acquired by the Navy in 1942 for conversion to a Q-ship
  • Renamed Asterion (AK-100)
  • Commissioned in March 1942, at US Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA., Lt. Comdr. Glen W. Legwen, Jr., in command
  • Redesignated (AK-63), 25 September 1942
  • Decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, turned over to the US Coast Guard, and commissioned USCGC Asterion (WAK-163) (dates unknown)
  • Decommissioned by the US Coast Guard, 20 July 1944, and turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 10 September 1946, to the Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD.
  • Asterion earned one battle star for her World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,610 t.
    Length 328' 2"
    Beam 46' 1"
    Draft 21' 6"
    Speed 10 kts.
    Complement 141
    Armament
    four single 4"/50 gun mounts (2 concealed)
    two single 40mm AA gun mounts (concealed)
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    one hedgehog (concealed)
    twenty-four Y-guns
    four K-guns
    Propulsion Triple expansion steam engine, single propeller, 1,200shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Commercial Service
    Asterion 82k SS Evelyn moored pierside, circa 1917-18, place unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 102439 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    USS Asterion (AK-63)
    Asterion 33k Asterion (AK-63) underway, date and place unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII web site
    View the Asterion (AK-63)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office - Asterion; USS AK-100; WAK-123; ex-Evelyn
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index
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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 11 August 2006