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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Crater (AK-70)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Xray - Tango - Xray NXTX

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal

Crater Class Cargo Ship

Laid down, 28 August 1942, as SS John James Audubon, a Maritime Commission type (EC2-S-C1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MCE 420) at Permanente Metals Corp., Yard #2, Richmond, CA.

Launched, 8 October 1942

Acquired by the US Navy, 22 October 1942

Commissioned USS Crater (AK-70), 31 October 1942, LCDR. Russell Dodd, USNR, in command

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

Decommissioned, 25 June 1946

Transferred to the War Shipping Administration, 26 June 1946 for lay up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 23 June 1946

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 August 1974, at Suisun Bay, to Seangyong Trading Co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea, Removed, October 1974, Scrapping completed, 30 March 1975

Specifications:
Displacement 4,023 t.(lt) 14,550 t.(fl)
Length 441' 6"
Beam 56' 11"
Draft 28' 4"
Speed 12.5 kts.

Complement

Officers 16

Enlisted 189

Cargo Capacity 7,800 DWT

non-refrigerated 444,206 Cu ft

Largest Boom Capacity 50 t.

Armament

one single 5"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount

one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount

two single 40mm AA gun mounts

six single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacity

NSFO 7,285 Bbls

Propulsion

one Joshua-Hendy vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine

two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 220psi 450°
Ship's Service Generators
three recip-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
one turbo-drive 60Kw 120V D.C.

single propeller, 2,500shp

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
102k	*USS Crater* (AK-70)** under way in San Francisco Bay, 2 November 1942, soon after conversion for naval service. US National Archives photo # 19-N-39663, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Mike Green
50k	*USS Crater* (AK-70) anchored off Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 18 June 1943. Crater** delivered cargo to Efate and Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and Noumea, New Caledonia before Townsville and sailed on to Wellington, New Zealand, arriving 28 June for maintenance and a reload of cargo. Australian War Memorial, Photo No. 302577	Mike Green
215k	*USS Crater* (AK-70)** moored, date and location unknown. Probably as US Navy photo. Contributed by Ken Passiak, for his father Alexander Passiak S/1c USS Crater 1944-46	Ken Pasiak
71k	Ex-*USS Crater* (AK-70)** moored ready for the breakers, date and location unknown.	David Nixon

USS Crater (AK-70)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Commanding Officers
01	LCDR. Dodd, Russell	31 October 1942 - 10 November 1942
02	LCDR. Hansen, Howard Herman	10 November 1942 - September 1943
03	LCDR. Baldwin, James William	September 1943 - 6 October 1944
04	LCDR. Evey, Earle Llewllyn	6 October 1944 - 1 July 1945
05	LCDR. Borst, Lawrence William	1 July 1945 - 25 June 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
MARAD Vessel History Database

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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

Last Updated 27 May 2016