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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, 18 December 1959, in the 13th Naval District
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
  • USS Elder earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 560 t.(lt) 700 t.(fl)
    Length 151' 8"
    Beam 30' 6"
    Draft 10' 6"
    Speed 15 kts.
    Complement 40
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    three single 20mm AA gun mounts
    one y-gun
    Propulsion diesel, single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    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.
    USS Elder (YN-15 / AN-20)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Martin, T. D. E. USNR (Officer in Charge)12 November 1941 - ?
    02LT. Morse, D. H. USNR15 December 1942 - ?
    02LT. Belechak, Stephen Clairno dates
    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 10 May 2013