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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Vulcan (AR-5)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Quebec - Bravo NEQB

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation
Second Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - American Defense Service Medal (with "A" device)
Third Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Fourth Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2)
Fifth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Cuba, 1-Dominican Republic) - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)

Vulcan Class Repair Ship:

Laid down, 16 December 1939, at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.

Launched, 14 December 1940

Commissioned USS Vulcan (AR-5), 14 June 1941, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA., CDR. Leon S. Fiske USN in command

During World War II USS Vulcan was assigned to both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Europe-Africa-Middle East
Invasion of Southern France 15 August to 25 September 1944

In the Asiatic-Pacific Theater USS Vulcan was assigned to Occupation duty at the conclusion of World War II from 2 September 1945 to 10 March 1946

Decommissioned, 27 September 1991

Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet

Struck from the Naval Register, 28 July 1992

USS Vulcan earned one battle star for World War II service

Transferred to the Maritime Administration, 1 February 1999, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.

Final Disposition, contract awarded, 9 November 2006, to Bay Bridge Enterprises LLC, Chesapeake, VA. for scrapping

Removed from the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet, 19 December 2006, under tow to Bay Bridge Enterprises, Chesapeake, VA. for scrapping. Scrapping completed 11 November 2007

Specifications:
Displacement 9,430 t.(lt), 17,000 t.(fl), 16,200 (lim)
Length 529' 4"
Beam 73' 4"
Draft 26' (max)
Speed 19.2 kts.

Complement

officers 53

enlisted 1,244

Largest boom capacity 20 t.

Armament

four single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts

four .50 cal machine guns

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

1976 Armament update three 5"/38 gun mounts replaced with four single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacity 25,420 Bbls NSFO

Propulsion

two New York Shipbuilding turbines

four Babcock & Wilcox 3-drum boilers 400psi 720°

double De Laval Main Reduction Gear

five turbo-driven 750Kw 450V A.C. Ship's Service Generators

two propellers, 11,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
09250531	98k	*Namesake* Vulcan - The god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, deserts, metalworking, and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. He is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer.	Tommy Trampp
	313k	Mrs. James C. Forrestal, wife of the then Under Secretary of the Navy and sponsor for Vulcan (AR-5), christens the ship at her launching, 14 December 1940, at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.	Dale Hargrave
	103k	Cropped aerial view of Vulcan (AR-5) at the fitting out berths of New York Shipbuilding, Camden, N.J., 7 June 1941. ISM Aero Service Collection #21849. Used for educational and non-commercial purposes.	John Chiquoine
	97k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** under way near Philadelphia Navy Yard, 21 August 1941, two months after completion. Note the splinter protection (gun tubs) around the 5"/38 gun mounts. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. photo # 19-N-25376, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Robert Hurst
09250532	75k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5) underway September 1941. Photo taken from USS Wasp (CV-7)*. US National Archives, 80-G-405266*, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Rick Davis
IWM Admiralty Collection, Photo # ŠIWM (A 5964)	48k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5) at Hvalfjord, Iceland in October, 1941. Center photo of Vulcan was taken under the guns of HMS Bedouin (F 67)** Imperial War Museum Admiralty Official Collection, Photo No. Š IWM (A 5964). by Ware, C.J. (Lt) Imperial War Museum Admiralty Official Collection, Photo No. Š IWM (A 5963). by Ware, C.J. (Lt) Imperial War Museum Admiralty Official Collection, Photo No. Š IWM (A 5965). by Ware, C.J. (Lt)	Mike Green
IWM Admiralty Collection, Photo # ŠIWM (A 5963)	56k
IWM Admiralty Collection, Photo # ŠIWM (A 5965)	73k
	30k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Jim Kurrasch Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
	98k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway near Norfolk Navy Yard, 10 June 1942, wearing pattern camouflage. The splinter protection around the 5"/38 gun mounts has been removed. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. photo # 19-N-30314, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Robert Hurst
	799k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** at anchor in the Mare Island Channel, circa 1942 US Navy photo.	Darryl Baker
09250534	121k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5) departing Norfolk Naval Station, VA., for the Mediterranean, 22 June 1943. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 12. Note the tugs assisting her, and old four-piper destroyers and merchant ships anchored in the harbour. Thi sphoto was taken from the island of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10)*. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # 80-G-K-14776*	Robert Hurst
	87k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway near Norfolk Navy Yard, 10 January 1945. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. photo # 19-N-97729, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Robert Hurst
	59k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, near Norfolk Navy Yard, 10 January 1945	Robert Hurst
	25k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway shortly after World War II, location unknown.	Robert Hurst
	126k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5) moored pierside, NOB Norfolk, VA., with two destroyers alongside to port, circa early 1950s. Also visible in this photo are USS Randall (APA-224)** moored at Pier 4, a heavy cruiser astern of USS Vulcan and in the far distance USS Hornet CVA-12.	Tom Langford
	144k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** moored at the Hampton Roads Army Terminal, Norfolk, VA., circa Mid-1950s with ships alongside.	Joe Thornton USS Vulcan
	120k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway in 1957, location unknown.	Joe Thornton USS Vulcan
	133k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown.	Bill McMillian
	44k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown.	Federation of American Scientists web site
	90k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
091914444	193k	*USS Mississinewa* (AO-144) refuels the amphibious assault ship USS Okinawa (LPH-3) and the repair ship USS Vulcan (AR-5), in 1962. About seven Sikorsky UH-34D Seahorse helicopters and two Sikorsky CH-37C Mojaves are visible on Okinawa*'s flight deck. U.S. Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine December 1962, p. 15*	Robert Hurst
	411k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Ed Zajkowski
	44k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown.	Federation of American Scientists web site
	59k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** was the first US warship in which women were deployed. She left Norfolk Virginia in September 1979 for the Navy's first Med deployment with a mixed crew, and is seen here at Barcelona, Spain, 23 December 1979; at the time, the presence of women aboard a warship was odd enough to attract the attention of the news media.	Photo by Fabio Peńa
	842k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5) moored pierside astern of USS Austin (LPD-4)** at Marseille, France, date unknown.	Photo by Philippe Gonzales
	366k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** moored pierside at Genoa, Italy, 29 October 1979	Photo by Carlo Martinelli
	71k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** along with the rest of the Vulcan-class repair ships and their contemporaries, the Dixie-class destroyer tenders and Fulton-class submarine tenders, had their original battery of 5" guns removed in the 1970s and replaced by a minimal 20-mm armament.	Photo by Fabio Peńa
	52k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** at NOB Norfolk, VA., August 1985.	Rick Rowan
	102k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	1083k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, circa 1990 or earlier, location unknown.	Wolfgang Hechler (gift from CO, CAPT. Cleal)
09250533	249k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** underway, off Norfolk, VA., date unknown. ©Nobe Smith	Nicholas Tiberio
	452k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5) moored at pier 9, Naval Station, Norfolk, 29 June 1992. Vulcan had returned to Norfolk following deployment in the Persian Gulf area during "Operation Desert Storm". Astern of Vulcan lies the amphibious transport dock USS Nashville (LPD-13) while on the opposite side of the pier across from Vulcan** is an Iwo Jima-class (LPH) Amphibious Assault Ship (Helicopter. US Defenseimagery.mil photo VIRIN: DN-SC-92-01221 by Don . Montgomery.	Mike Smolinski
	581k	*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** moored pierside date and location unknown.	Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr
	434k	Aerial view of Unit 7 of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA., 28 January 1999. From bottom to top; unidentified, *Santa Cruz* Vulcan (AR-5), Redstone (T-AGM-20), 2 unidentified APs, GEN. N.M. Walter (T-AP-125), GEN. Wm. O. Darby (IX-510), Waccamaw (T-AO-109), Canisteo (AO-99), Caloosahatchee (AO-98), Mississinewa (T-AO-144), Pawcatuck (T-AO-108), Truckee (T-AO-147), Neosho (T-AO-143), Benjamin Isherwood (T-AO-191) and Henry Eckford (T-AO-192). These two oilers were both lay-berthed incomplete.
	53k	Ex-*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** under tow in Hampton Roads (Norfolk, VA. is in the background), 19 December 2006, while being moved from the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet to the breakers yard, Bay Bridge Enterprises LLC, Chesapeake, VA. for scrapping.	Mable Clark
	163k	Ex-*USS Vulcan* (AR-5)** at the ship breakers yard, Bay Bridge Enterprises LLC, Chesapeake, VA. for scrapping, circa February 2008.	Jerry Crow

Additional USS Vulcan (AR-5) Patches
Contributed by Mike Smolinski	Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Vulcan (AR-5)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LCDR. Hale, Peter Gerald, USN (USNA 1922)	16 June 1941 - 16 June 1941
02	CDR. Fiske, Leon Sangster, USN (USNA 1916)	16 June 1941 - 31 May 1942
03	CDR. Tuggle, Richard Brittain, USN (USNA 1919) :RADM	31 May 1942 - 25 September 1943
04	CAPT. Pike, Clarence Henry, USN	25 September 1943 - 10 January 1945
05	CDR. Caldwell, Rex Smith, USN (USNA 1925)	10 January 1945 - July 1946
06	CAPT. Gladding, Warren Evarts, USN (USNA 1926)	July 1946 - July 1947
07	CAPT. O'Daniel, Orville Kenneth, USN (USNA 1926)	July 1947 - November 1948
08	CAPT. Hoffman, Charles Monroe Elmer, USN (USNA 1924) :RADM	November 1948 - August 1949
09	CAPT. Gates, Hugh Horn, USN	August 1949 - October 1950
10	CAPT. Palmer, Robie Ellis, USN (USNA 1927)	October 1950 - November 1951
11	CAPT. Laing, Frederick Williams, USN (USNA 1930)	November 1951 - September 1952
12	CAPT. Stuart, Daniel Alfriend, USN (USNA 1931)	September 1952 - November 1953
13	CAPT. Miller, Daniel Byrd, USN (USNA 1926) :RADM	November 1953 - August 1954
14	CAPT. Owen, Arthur Edwin, USN (USNA 1930)	August 1954 - August 1955
15	CAPT. Nixon, Richard Mueller, USN (USNA 1930)	August 1955 - July 1956
16	CAPT. Travis, Charles William, USN (USNA 1933)	July 1956 - July 1957
17	CAPT. Howard, John William, USN (USNA 1934)	July 1957 - 29 September 1958
18	CAPT. Moreau, Jean Wilfred, USN (USNA 1936)	29 September 1958 - 31 August 1959
19	CAPT. Michael, Fred Daniel, USN (USNA 1936)	31 August 1959 - August 1960
20	CAPT. Marinke, Charles Anthony, USN (USNA 1938)	August 1960 - July 1961
21	CAPT. Superfine, Irving Joseph, USN (USNA 1938)	July 1961 - June 1962
22	CAPT. Marzetta, Dante Rudolph, USN (USNA 1941)	June 1962 - September 1963
23	CAPT. Scherrer, Carl Leonard, USN	September 1963 - August 1964
24	CAPT. Sahaj, Joseph, USN	August 1964 - June 1965
25	CAPT. Wiemer Jr., Leo George Dewey, USN (USNA 1944)	June 1965 - 23 December 1966
26	CAPT. Boyle, Paul Andrew, USN	23 December 1966 - 1 April 1968
27	CAPT. Volk Jr., Ralph Leonard, USN (USNA 1945)	1 April 1968 - 11 January 1969
28	CAPT. Kanak, Robert Anthony, USN	11 January 1969 - 18 June 1971
29	CAPT. Harlan Jr., Wick Raymond, USN (USNA 1946)	18 June 1971 - 27 July 1973
30	CAPT. Taylor, Clinton Wagner, USN :RADM	27 July 1973 - 6 January 1976
31	CAPT. Williams, Douglas Avery, USN	6 January 1976 - 27 January 1978
32	CAPT. Spencer Jr., Harry Arthur, USN (USNA 1952)	27 January 1978 - March 1980
33	CAPT. Roe Jr., John Emery, USN	March 1980 - April 1982
34	CAPT. McConville, James Emmett, USN	April 1982 - 25 May 1984
35	CAPT. Leeds, John Michael, USN (USNA 1959)	25 May 1984 - 11 March 1986
36	CAPT. Breece, James Philip, USN (USNA 1961)	11 March 1986 - 26 March 1988
37	CAPT. Smith, Ralph Frederick, USN	26 March 1988 - 24 August 1990
38	CAPT. Cleal, Stephen Roger, USN	24 August 1990 - 27 September 1991


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
USS Vulcan Plan of the Day, 24 June 1963
Historic American Engineering Record
Postal Covers related to the ship

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Last Updated 26 January 2024