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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Sandalwood (AN-32)
ex
 USS Sandalwood (YN-27) (1942 - 1944)
Sandalwood (YN-27) (1941 - 1942)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Whiskey - Lima - Sierra
 NWLS
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


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

USS Sandalwood (AN-32) was transferred to France and renamed RFS Luciole
Aloe Class Net Laying Ship:
  • Laid down, as Yard Net Tender (YN-27), 18 October 1940, at American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, OH.
  • Launched, 6 March 1941
  • Placed in service as Sandalwood (YN-27), 25 October 1941, LT. Elliott Bloxom USNR Officer in Charge
  • Commissioned, USS Sandalwood (YN-27) 12 December 1942, LT. Elliott Bloxom USNR in command
  • Redesignated (AN-32), 20 January 1944
  • Decommissioned, 13 August 1946, at Portland, OR.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group
  • Transferred to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA. in 1962
  • Struck from the Naval Register, and transferred to France in September 1967, renamed RFS Luciole
  • Decommissioned, date unknown, by the French Navy and sold to a Malaysian ship owner
  • 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
    USS Sandalwood (YN-27 / AN-32)
    Sandalwood 101k USS Sandalwood (AN-32) tending anti-torpedo nets at Morehead City, N.C. circa March 1944. The ship is replacing a broken net section with a new one. In the foreground is the permanent net, with the broken section at right angles to it. Sandalwood is preparing to move the new section into position.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 73445    		 Mike Green
    Sandalwood 25k USS Sandalwood (AN-32) date and location unknown. Albert Seguin DCC USN Ret
    Sandalwood 25k USS Sandalwood (AN-32) date and location unknown. Al Seguin is Coxswain of the 36 ft. motor launch in the foreground Albert Seguin DCC USN Ret
    Sandalwood 92k USS Sandalwood (AN-32) date and location unknown. Albert Seguin DCC USN Ret
    Sandalwood 66k USS Sandalwood (AN-32) working lines, date and location unknown. Glen Paulson ex RM2 USS Anaqua
    Sandalwood 67k USS Sandalwood (AN-32) working lines, date and location unknown. Glen Paulson ex RM2 USS Anaqua
    RFS Luciole (A-777)
    Sandalwood 46k Ex-USS Sandalwood (AN-32) in French naval service as RFS Luciole (A-777), date and location unknown. Albert Seguin DCC USN Ret
    Sandalwood
    091803208    		 255k RFS Luciole (A-777) underway, 11 December 1968, location unknown. Jacques Druel and
    Robert Hurst
    Sandalwood
    091803209    		 242k RFS Luciole (A-777) underway, 11 December 1968, location unknown. Jacques Druel
    USS Sandalwood (YN-26 / USS Sandalwood (AN-32)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Bloxom, Elliott, USNR (Officer in Charge)25 October 1941 - 12 December 1942YN-27
    01LT. Bloxom, Elliott, USNR12 December 1942 - February 1944YN-27 / AN-32
    01LT. Hidding, Paul Jerome, USNRFebruary 1944 - 21 October 1945AN-32
    01LTjg. Olive, Wilds William, USNR21 October 1945 - May 1946AN-32
    01LTjg. Wilks, Howard Frank, USNMay 1946 - July 1946AN-32
    01ENS. Higgins, James John, USNJuly 1946 - 10 August 1946AN-32
    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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 3 November 2023