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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

AO-24 Platte

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Juliet - Quebec

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - American Defense Medal (with Fleet clasp)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (11) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (6)
Fourth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (4-Vietnam, 1-Korea) - Vietnam Service Medal (8) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit citation (9)
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:

Laid down (date unknown) as a Maritime Commission type (T3-S2-A1) tanker hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 8) at Bethlehem Steel, Baltimore, MD., for Standard Oil of N.J.

Launched, 8 July 1939

Commissioned USS Platte (AO-24), 10 December 1939 at Norfolk, VA., CDR. P. L. Meadows USN in command

During World War II Platte was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns: (The WWII Campaigns table is complied from the ship's DANFS record and may not be completely accurate. If you have better information please let us know)

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign	Campaign
Coral Sea	Tinian Capture and occupation
Eastern New Guinea operations	Western Caroline Islands - Palau
Midway	Leyte operations
Consolidation of Solomon Islands	Okinawa Gunto operation
Marshall Islands operation	3rd Fleet operations against Japan
Marianas operation	.

During the Korean War Platte participated in the following campaigns:

**Korean War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
First UN Counter Offensive 4 to 11, 15, and 19 to 21 April 1951	Second Korean Winter 23 January to 3 February 1952 10 to 22 February 1952 3 to 10 March 1952 19 March to 6 April 1952
Communist China Spring Offensive 22 to 26 April 1951 4 to 11 May 1951 22 to 26 April 1951	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 8 to 21 June 1952 1 to 19 July 1952 26 July to 5 August 1952 14 to 29 August 1952 5 to 8 September 1952
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 11 July to 3 August 1951 10 August to 5 Sep 1951	Korean, Summer-Fall 1953 11 to 21 May 1953 9 to 17, and 22 to 27 June 1953

During the Vietnam War Platte (AO-24) participated in the following campaigns:

**Vietnam War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnam Defense Campaign 12 to 22 July 1965 28 July to 4 August 1965	Vietnam Defense Campaign - Phase V 17 to 23 September 1968 2 to 9, and 16 to 23 October 1968 29 October to 1 November 1968
Vietnam Defense Counteroffensive 13 to 14, and 22 to 29 March 1966 7 to 15, and 26 to 30 April 1966 9 to 18 May1966 4 to 8, and 12 to 18 June 1966	Vietnam Defense Campaign - Phase VI 2 to 4 November 1968 11 to 16 November 1968 27 November to 2 December 1968 6 to 14, and 20 to 29 December 1968 6 to 18 February1969
Vietnam Defense Campaign - Phase II 3 to 11, and 15 to 20 July 1966 30 July to 6 August 1966	Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 27 November to 6 December 1969 1 to 4, and 6 to 13 January 1970 4 to 13, and 18 to 22-February 1970 12 to 18 March 1970
Vietnam Defense Campaign - Phase III 31 July to 08 August 1967 14 to 23 August 1967 28 August to 8 September 1967 13 to 22 September 1967 29 September to 9 October 1967 16 to 25 October1967 29 October to 1 November 1967 24 November to 5 December 1967 12 to 21 December 1967 6 to 15 January 1968	Consolidation II 15 February 1972

Decommissioned, early 1970s

Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)

Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal (date unknown)

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping 14 May 1971

Platte received eleven battle stars for World War II service, six battle stars for Korean War service, and eight campaign stars for Vietnam Service

Specifications:
Displacement 7,470 t.(lt) 25,440 t.(fl)
Length 553'
Beam 75'
Draft 32' 4"
Speed 18 kts.
Complement 276
Armament

four single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
Cargo Capacity 146,000 barrels
Propulsion geared turbines twin screws. 30,400hp

Size	Image Description	Source
53k	Platte (AO-24) moored pierside at Puget Sound Navy Yard, 29 August 1941. Note she does not yet have her guns installed. A Navy Yard Puget Sound photo #1162-41 now in the collections of the NARA Seattle Branch.	Tracy White
43k	Platte (AO-24) underway, date and place unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
50k	Platte (AO-24) moored to a buoy, date and place unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
54k	Platte (AO-24) underway, date and place unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
70k	Platte (AO-24) at anchor in Tokyo Bay, January 1946.	Al Huntley CSCM USN Ret. USS Platte
26k	Platte (AO-24) underway, 31 October 1944, place unknown.	.
72k	Platte (AO-24) refueling Richard E. Kraus (DD-849), date and place unknown.	©Richard Leonhardt
99k	Platte (AO-24) underway, date and place unknown.	©Richard Leonhardt
88k	Platte (AO-24) underway, probably off the Marin headlands of the Golden Gate at San Francisco Bay, early 1950s.	David Buell
85k	Platte (AO-24) underway, date and place unknown.	©Richard Leonhardt
53k	Platte (AO-24) refueling and unidentified destroyer, date and place unknown.	©Richard Leonhardt
147k	Platte (AO 24) refueling Watts (DD 567) and Philippine Sea (CV 47), while operating with the Seventh Fleet, 19 July 1955. US Navy photo # K-18468, now in the collections of the National Archives.	US Naval Historical Center
65k	Platte (AO-24) getting underway, date and place unknown.	Photo by Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
89k	Platte (AO-24) underway in the Western Pacific while refueling Buck (DD-787) and Coral Sea (CVA-43) in 1965.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
104k	Platte (AO-24) underway in 1966, location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
102k	Platte (AO-24) underway in the Western Pacific while refueling *HMS Agincourt* (D-86)** and Bennington (CVA-20) in the 1960s during SEATO operations.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
100k	Platte (AO-24) underway in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of Vietnam while refueling Buck (DD-761) (at left) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) (at right) in 1968. Note the second destroyer trailing the formation in plane guard position.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
118k	Platte (AO-24) underway in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of Vietnam while refueling James E. Kyes (DD-787) (at left) and Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31) (at right) in 1968.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
83k	Platte (AO-24) underway while refueling a battleship off the coast of Vietnam in 1969.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.

Platte (AO-24) Memorabilia
1965 Welcome Aboard Pamphlet Cover Contributed by Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.	1968-69 Cruise Statistics Contributed by Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.	1940 Postal Cover Contributed by Jack Treutle

View the Platte (AO-24)
DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
Fleet Reserve Association

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
U.S.S. Platte (AO-24)

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Last Updated 7 December 2007