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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN Ret.
Scuttled, 10 April 1942, off Bataan, P.I. to prevent Japanese capture

USS Canopus (AS-9)
ex
 USAT Santa Leonora (1919 - 1921)
 USS Santa Leonora (1919)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - Bataan) - Yangtze Service Medal
Second Row - China Service Medal - American Defense Medal (with Fleet clasp) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
Third Row - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Defense Medal
Canopus Class Submarine Tender:
  • Laid down as SS Santa Leonora at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.
  • Launched in 1919
  • Acquired by the US Navy for conversion to a Submarine Tender, 22 November 1921
  • Commissioned USS Canopus (AS-9), 24 January 1922, at Boston, CDR. A. S. Wadsworth in command
  • At the outset of US entry into World War II USS Canopus was at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines and participated in the following campaign:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Philippine Islands operation, 8 December 1941 to 10 April 1942

  • Final Disposition, scuttled, 10 April 1942, off Bataan, P.I.
  • USS Canopus received one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,975 t.(lt) 7,750 t.(fl)
    Length 373' 8"
    Beam 51' 6"
    Draft 16' 4"
    Speed 12 kts.
    Complement 314
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 gun mounts
    four single 3"/50 gun mounts
    Propulsion unknown
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed By
    /Source
    Commercial Service
    Canopus 80k SS Santa Leonora underway in 1919, probably during her trials. Constructed by the New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey, this steamer briefly served as USS Santa Leonora in July and August 1919 before being transferred to the U.S. Army. She was reacquired by the Navy in November 1921, converted to a submarine tender and served for the next two decades as USS Canopus (AS-9).
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 74064.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Canopus (AS-9)
    Canopus 86k USS Canopus (AS-9) at anchor, circa the 1920s. The original photograph is printed on post card ("AZO") stock.
    US Navy photo # NH 106025 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008.    		 Robert Hurst
    Canopus 83k USS Canopus (AS-9) in Apra Harbor, Guam, with Submarine Division 17 alongside, 29 October 1924. Submarine Division 17's members were:
    USS S-36 (SS-141)
    USS S-37 (SS-142)
    USS S-38 (SS-143)
    USS S-39 (SS-144)
    USS S-40 (SS-145) and
    USS S-41 (SS-146)
    US Navy photo # NH 55048 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 Robert Hurst
    Canopus 102k USS Canopus (AS-9) in Apra Harbor, Guam, with Submarine Division 17 alongside, 29 October 1924. Submarine Division 17 consisted of:
    USS S-36 (SS-141)
    USS S-37 (SS-142)
    USS S-38 (SS-143)
    USS S-39 (SS-144)
    USS S-40 (SS-145) and
    USS S-41 (SS-146)
    US Navy photo # NH 55048 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 Robert Hurst
    Canopus 72k USS Canopus (AS-9) with USS S-37 (SS-142) alongside, at Olongapo, Philippine Islands, date unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH80140    		 Robert Hurst
    Canopus 113k USS Canopus (AS-9) shown in a photograph sent 1 March 1926 by the ships' Commanding Officer to the Bureau of Construction and Repair.
    US National Archives, RG-19-E, Photo # 19-N-10341 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Canopus 71k USS Canopus (AS-9) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		  
    Canopus 40k USS Canopus (AS-9) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Canopus 88k USS Canopus (AS-9), with the Asiatic Fleet's Submarine Squadron Five alongside, during the 1930s. Submarines present include (from left to right):
    USS S-37 (SS-142);
    USS S-40 (SS-145);
    USS S-36 (SS-141);
    USS S-38 (SS-143);
    USS S-41 (SS-146); and
    USS S-39 (SS-144).
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-1014615, a US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    SS 141 196k USS Canopus (AD-9) with USS S-36 (SS-141) moored alongside, probably at Tsingtao, China, circa 1930 with the rest of the boats of Submarine Division Seventeen (SubDiv 17). The other S-boats are probably
    USS S-37 (SS-142),
    USS S-38 (SS-143),
    USS S-39 3SS-144).
    Note all the washing hung out to dry on the signal lines.         		Courtesy of ussubvetsofworldwarii.org.
    Jason 112k USS Canopus (AS-9) at Olongapo, P.I., 9 March 1932 (upper right), with four submarines moored alongside. The outboard submarine is USS S-38 (SS-143). In the foreground USS Jason (AV-2) is in USS Dewey (YFD-1) Drydock.
    US National Archives photo # 80-CF-22672-1 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    S-37 78k USS Canopus (AS-9) at Tsingtao, China, circa 1933-1934, with "S-Boats" of Submarine Squadron Five alongside. Outboard submarine is USS S-37 (SS-142).
    US Navy photo # NH 80140, Courtesy G.K. Bishop, USAR, 1974.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Canopus 32k USS Canopus (AS-9) moored with her brood in the far East, circa 1940s., location unknown.
    Photo from "United States Submarine Operations In World War 11", by Theodore Roscoe    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Canopus (AS-9)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Wadsworth, Alexander Scammel, Jr.24 January 1922 - ?
    02CDR. Dowell, Jonathan Stuart, Jr.1923 - 923
    03CDR. Kimball, Lucien Frank1923 - ?
    04CDR. Roberts, Frank Hamilton June 1924 - 26 August 1926
    05CDR. Kimball, Lucien Frank26 August 1926 - ?
    06CDR. Brown, Walter Elliott1928 - 26 June 1929
    07CDR. Thomas, Raymond Gaudenz1928
    08CDR. Wuest, Richard Walter29 June 1929 - ?
    09CDR. Wright, Percy Talmadge25 May 1931 - ? - ?
    10CDR. Read, Oliver Middleton1932
    11CDR. Brown, John Joseph1934
    12CDR. Redman, Joseph Reasor :RADM1936
    13CDR. Killmaster, Benjamin Stacey1938
    14CDR. Kinney, Philip Raymond1939
    15CDR. Bannerman, Graeme1 January 1939 - 1 July 1940
    16CDR. Sackett, Earl LeRoy, :RADMFebruary 1941 - ?
    17LCDR. Goodall, H. H.? - 8 February 1942
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Canopus Association
    Submarine Tenders of the United States Navy
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 29 March 2013