Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Elder (AN-20)
ex
 USS Elder (YN-15) (1942 - 1944)
 Elder (YN-15) (1941 - 1942)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Mike - Victor
 NBMV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal - Philippine Independence Medal

Aloe Class Net Laying Ship:
  • Authorized as Yard Net Tender Juniper (YN-15)
  • Renamed Elder
  • Laid down as Elder (YN-15), at Marietta Manufacturing Co., Point Pleasant, WVA.
  • Launched, 19 June 1941
  • Placed in service, 12 November 1941, LT. T. D. E. Martin, USNR, in charge
  • Commissioned, USS Elder (YN-15), 15 December 1942, LT. D. H. Morse, USNR, in command
  • Redesignated (AN-20), 20 January 1944
  • During World War II USS Elder was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation, 18 November to 8 December 1943

  • Decommissioned, 1 December 1959, in the 13th Naval District
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS Elder earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 700 t.(fl) 805 t.(lim)
    Length 162' 2""
    Beam 30' 6"
    Draft 11' 8" (lim)
    Speed 12.5 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 4
    Enlisted 44
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    two .50 cal machine guns
    one y-gun.
    Largest Boom Capacity 12 t.
    Propulsion
    one Enterprise DSG-6 Diesel-electric engine
    Single Westinghouse Main Reduction Gear
    two Diesel-drive 60Kw 120V D.C. Ships Service Generators
    Single propeller, 800shp
    Fuel Capacity - Diesel 620 Bbls
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Elder
    091802007    		 97k In 1950 USS Elder (AN-20) was ordered to the western Pacific, but on 11 March 1950 when a week out of Pearl Harbor, a serious fire broke out in the engine room. With all headway lost and no water pressure, Elder appeared doomed. But sound training and Navy "know-how," combined with determined courage in the ship's intrepid damage control parties, subdued the raging flames. Her engines damaged beyond repair, the stricken net tender drifted helplessly for a week before assistance in the form of USS Comstock (LSD-19) and USS Piedmont (AD-17) arrived on 18 March. The next day Elder was taken in tow by USS Deliver (ARS-23) and began the long slow haul to Pearl Harbor.
    In this photo Twenty-six members of the USS Elder crew await rescue by the approaching USS Comstock (LSD-19) from which this photograph was taken. Following the engine room explosion and resultant fires, the men abandoned ship on 11 March in a 16-foot skiff and two life rafts, shown empty here. The other three rafts were dropped by search planes which spotted the group a few hours before their rescue on 17 March
    AP Wirephoto via Navy radio from Honolulu     		Michael Mohl
    Elder 80k USS Elder (AN-20) (off in the distance) as seen from either USS Chinquapin (AN-17) or USS Papaya (AN-49), overhauls a net lain earlier. Note the LCM (center) towing a net section to the net line. Robert Hurst
    Elder 59k USS Elder (AN-20) returns to Pearl Harbor from the Far East after eleven months laying and repairing harbor defense nets.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, March 1952 issue.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Elder 95k USS Elder (AN-20) moored pierside at Harbor Defense Unit, Port Townsend, WA., circa 1955-1956. Leroy Jones USS Teaberry (AN-34)
    Elder 62k USS Elder (AN-20) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, March 1959 issue.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Elder 65k USS Elder (AN-20) working nets, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Elder 211k General Quarters Exercise Aboard USS Elder (AN-20), circa 1953-54, location unknown.
    Photo by Jackewing licensed by Creative Commons Attribute Share and Share alike, 4.0 International    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Elder (YN-15 / AN-20)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Martin, T. D. E. USNR (Officer in Charge)12 November 1941 - 15 December 1942
    02LT. Morse, D. H. USNR15 December 1942 - October 1944
    03LT. Wiman, Fred Stanley, USNROctober 1944 - April 1945
    04LT. Latimer, Ovid Owen, USNRApril 1945 - January 1946
    05LT. Patterson, Joseph Charles, USNRJanuary 1946 - July 1946
    06LT. Moberly, Charlie Scarcy, USNJuly 1946 - February 1947
    07LTjg. Walters, John Henry, USNFebruary 1947 - May 48
    08LT. Hodge, Ralph Rosebourough, USNMay 1948 - November 1948
    09LTjg Adams, William Frank, USNNov 1948 - 1950
    10LT. Wallerstedt, Stig Edward, USN1950 - January 1952
    11LT. Allen, Thomas Elmer, USNJanuary 1952 - 1953
    12LT. Belechak, Stephen Clair USN1958 - 1 December 1959
    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
    Net Tender Stories
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Yard and District Craft Photo Index Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Yard Net Tender (YN) Photo Index Back To Net Laying Ship (AN) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 December 2022