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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Larch (AN-21)
ex
USS Larch (YN-16) (1942 - 1944)
Larch (YN-16) (1941 - 1942)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Oscar - Tango
NBOT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal



USS Larch (AN-21) was transferred to Turkey and renamed TCG AG4 (P-304)
Aloe Class Net Laying Ship:
  • Laid down, 18 October 1940, at Marietta Manufacturing Co., Point Pleasant, WVA.
  • Launched, 2 July 1941
  • Placed in service as Larch (YN-16), 13 December 1941, LT. George. B. Coale, USNR, in command
  • Commissioned USS Larch (YN-16), 13 December 1942, at Trinidad, BWI, LT. Carl C. Dilcer, USNR, in command
  • Redesignated (AN-21), 20 January 1944
  • Decommissioned, 28 June 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 March 1947
  • Transferred, 10 May 1948, to Turkey under terms of the Military Assistance Program, renamed TCG AG-4 (P-304)
  • 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

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    Size Image Description Source
    Larch (YN-16)
    larch
    19-LCM-25866
    22k Larch (YN-16) underway at half speed during her pre-commissioning trials in the Kanawha River, 14 November 1941, painted in overall No.5 Navy Gray.
    US Navy Bureau of Ships photo # 19-LCM-25866, from the collections of the Still Pictures Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.
    Robert Hurst and Stan Svec
    larch 22k
    USS Larch (AN-21)
    larch 35k USS Larch (AN-21) in the background prepares to take it on board, the car of the blimp K-68 laying on the beach at Blanquilla Island during the salvage operations that followed the non-rigid airship's forced landing there on 6 August 1943.
    Source ZP-51 Historical Files, History and Archives Division, NHHC.
    Robert Hurst
    TCG AG4 (P-304)
    larch 46k Ex-USS Larch (AN-21) in Turkish naval service TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor and dressed over all with flags, circa 1956.
    Official Turkish Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships 1956-57".
    Robert Hurst
    Larch 171k TCG AG-4 (P-304) conducting salvage operations near Istanbul, date unknown. Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired
    Larch 53k TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor, date and location unknown. Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired
    Larch 272k TCG AG-4 (P-304) moored, date and location unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    Larch 298k TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor, date and location unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    Larch 194k TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor, circa 1969, location unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    Larch 48k Drawing of TCG AG-4 (P-304) by Cüneyt Demir.  
    Larch 51k TCG AG-4 (P-304) moored to a buoy in the Gulf of Izmir, date unknown. Cüneyt Demir

    USS Larch (YN-16 / AN-21)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Coale, George Benjamin, USNR (Officer in Charge)13 December 1941 - 12 April 1942 YN-16
    02LTjg. Dilcer, Carl Claude, USNR (Officer in Charge)12 April 1942 - 13 December 1942 YN-16
    02LT. Dilcer, Carl Claude, USNR13 December 1942 - 13 January 1944 YN-16
    03LT. Naulty III, Charles William, USNR13 January 1944 - 12 July 1944 YN-16 / AN-21
    04LT. Kell, David Michael, USNR12 July 1944 - 15 December 1945 AN-21
    05LT. Kitchell, Glen, USN15 December 1945 - 28 June 1946 AN-21
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 16 September 2016