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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Markab (AR-23)
ex
 USS Markab (AD-21) (1942 - 1960)
 USS Markab (AK-31) (1941 - 1942)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Tango - Xray
 NBTX
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Vietnam Service Medal (1) - Philippines Liberation Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Hamul Class Destroyer Tender:
  • Laid down as SS Mormacpenn a Maritime Commission (C3 Cargo) hull under Maritime Commission contact (MC hull 66) at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, MS.
  • Launched, 21 December 1940
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 2 June 1941
  • Commissioned USS Markab (AK-31), 15 June 1941, CDR. Allen D. Brown in command
  • Reclassified Destroyer Tender (AD-21), 24 January 1942
  • Decommissioned in January 1947, at Orange TX.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange, TX..
  • Recommissioned, 26 February 1952, CAPT. Melvyn H. McCoy in command
  • Decommissioned, 31 July 1955
  • Reclassified Repair Ship (AR-23), 15 April 1960
  • Recommissioned, 1 July 1960, CAPT. E. M. Westbrook, Jr. in command
  • During the Vietnam War USS Markab (AR-21) participated in the following campaign:
    Vietnam War Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III, 3 to 22 November 1967
  • Decommissioned, 19 December1969, at Mare Island Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Vallejo, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 September 1976
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 12 March 1976
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 12 April 1977, to Zidell Explorations Inc.
  • USS Markab earned one campaign star for Vietnam War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,560 t., 14,000 t.(lim)
    Length 492' 5"
    Beam 69' 9"
    Draft 24' 9" (lim)updated specifications from Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels, April 1945,
    Speed 18.4 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 84
    Enlisted 830
    Largest Boom Capacity 30t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    eight twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 9,415 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    Ships Service Generators
    Diesel-drive four 250Kw 450V A.C.
    Turbo-drive one 300Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    Turbo-drive two 350Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    single propeller, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Markab (AD-21)
    Markab
    19-N-35502    		 75k USS Markab (AD-21) moored pierside at Mobile, AL. 6 October 1942 upon completion of conversion to a Destroyer Tender.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo #s 19-N-35502 & 19-N-35500, US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Markab
    19-N-35500    		 92k
    Markab 16k USS Markab (AD-21) moored to a buoy, circa 1943, at either Peal Harbor or in Alaska.
    US National Archives photo, RG-19-LCM, photo # unassigned, a US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Markab 84k Stern view of USS Markab (AD-21) underway off San Francisco, 19 February 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1166-44    		 Darryl Baker
    Markab 66k Broadside view of USS Markab (AD-21) underway off San Francisco, 19 February 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1168-44    		 Darryl Baker
    Markab 82k Bow on view of USS Markab (AD-21) underway off San Francisco, 19 February 1944. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the background.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1170-44    		 Darryl Baker
    Markab 82k USS Markab (AD-21) underway in San Francisco Bay, 19 February 1944.
    US National Archives photo, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-63608, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Markab 44k USS Markab (AD-21) underway, 7 October 1942, location unknown.
    US Navy photo         		Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Markab 177k USS Markab (AD-21) in a Pacific anchorage, with five destroyers alongside, circa 1944 or early 1945. The destroyer closest to Markab is of the "round bridge" Fletcher class, otherwise unidentified. The others are, from center to right: USS Longshaw (DD-559); USS Preston (DD-795); USS Porterfield (DD-682) and USS Cassin Young (DD-793). Wartime censors have retouched the photograph to remove all radar antennas.
    US Navy photo # NH 99281 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.    		 Robert Hurst
    Markab 94k USS Markab (AD-21) moored to a buoy, circa 1954, location unknown with
    USS Fred T. Barry (DD-858) and USS Norris (DD-859) alongside    		 William J Campbell
    Markab 164k USS Markab (AR-23) with USS Leonard F. Mason (DD-852) and USS Henry W. Tucker (DD-875) alongside at Yokosuka, Japan, 21 June 1966 ©Richard Leonhardt
    Markab 192k USS Markab (AR-23) with destroyers
    USS Dashiel (DD-659)
    USS Isherwood (DD-520)
    USS Power (DD-839) and
    USS William C. Lawe (DD-763) alongside at Yokosuka, Japan, date unknown.    		 Mark Roberts, Destroyersonline.com
    USS Markab (AR-23)
    Markab 259k USS Markab (AR-23) "Repair Facilities Available for Forces Afloat" booklet provided to ships alongside for serves and repair, 1961. Robert M. Cieri
    Markab 133k USS Markab (AR-23) at Yokosuka, Japan, 14 July 1966, with destroyers alongside: to port,
    USS Everett F. Larson (DD-830) and to starboard, USS Radford (DD-446), with two sisters, and USS James E. Kyes (DD-787), far right.
    US Navy photo # USN 1118931, from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.    		 Robert Hurst
    Markab 447k USS Markab (AR-23) at Yokosuka in October 1967 with USS Bronstein (DE-1037) alongside. Photo by Darryl Baker
    Markab 67k Stern view of USS Markab (AR-23) moored in Subic Bay, P.I., circa 1967 with ships alongside.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Markab 58k USS Markab (AR-23) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge as she enters San Francisco Bay in 1968. Robert M. Cieri
    CVAN-65, CVA-19, CVA-43 362k Aerial view of the piers at NAS Alameda, circa early July 1969. Ships present include from front to back:
    USS Enterprise (CVAN-65),
    USS Hancock (CVA-19),
    USS Markab (AR-23) with
    USS Pictor (AF-54) outboard, and
    USS Procyon (AF-61) forward of them, and
    USS Coral Sea (CVA-43)    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Markab 108k USS Markab (AR-23) Decommissioning Ceremony booklet, 19 December 1969. Robert M. Cieri
    APL-3 85k Ships moored at Mare Island Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, 23 May 1972. include APL-3 in the foreground and ex-USS Markab (AR-23) and ex-USS Nereus (AS-17) in the background. Photo from "Warship Boneyards" by Kit and Carolyn Bonner, (Courtesy L. Cote). Robert Hurst
    For more photos and information about USS Markab, see:
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Markab AK31 - AD21 - AR23
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index Back To The Destroyer Tender (AD) Photo Index Back To The Repair Ship (AR) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 11 December 2009