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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Don McGrogan, BMCS, USN Ret. - Popular Patch

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 (ID 4352-A) (1919)

1938-International Radio Call Sign:
Negat - Int - Roger - Xray
NIRX
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 Luisa at New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J. for the W. R. Grace Steamship Co. of New York
  • Launched in 1919
  • Renamed Santa Lucia and later Santa Leonora prior to delivery
  • Delivered to the W. R. Grace Steamship Co., 7 July 1919
  • Acquired by the US Navy in 1919
  • Commissioned USS Santa Leonora (ID 4352-A) in July 1919
  • Decommissioned and Struck from the Naval Register, 9 September 1919
  • Acquired by the US Army and commissioned USAT Leonora, 9 September 1919
  • Retired from Army service, 22 November 1921
  • 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' 9"
    Beam 51' 9"
    Draft 24' 5"
    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
    Merchant Service
    Canopus
    09360918    		 32k
    Namesake
    Santa Leonora - Eleanor was born in 1222 to Beatrice of Savoy and Raymond Berengar IV, and her grandfather was Blessed Umberto III, Count of Savoy, the first saint of the House of Savoy. Eleanor was a woman of great piety and culture, and on 14 January 1236 at Canterbury she married King Henry III of England. In her new English residence, many relatives and compatriots decided to follow her, leaving Provence in search of fortune. Many of them managed with her intercession to occupy various important public offices, but Eleanor's favoritism towards them aroused a great unpopularity on the part of her English subjects. They arose in 1261, forcing her to take refuge in the Tower of London. When Henry III was taken prisoner in 1264, during the Battle of Lewes, Eleanor had no choice but to flee to the continent, where she gathered an army with which she managed to free her husband. Returning to England in 1265, together with the Papal Legate, Eleanor did not fail to exert great influence, both during the reign of Henry and in the early years of the reign of her son born of their union, Edward I. Finally retired from public life, on July 3, 1276 she took the veil in the Benedictine abbey of Amesbury, where she spent her days until her death on 25 June 1291 in the concept of holiness.    		 Tommy Trampp
    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
    09363425    		 47k
    Namesake
    Canopus - is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina and the second-brightest star in the night sky. Canopus has a visual apparent magnitude of -0.74, it is outshone only by Sirius. Canopus's mass is about eight or nine times that of the Sun and its girth more than 70 times the Sun’s, Its luminosity more than 10,000 to 13,000 times brighter than the Sun. Canopus also maintains a very high surface temperature of 7,350K, which is roughly 3,000°F hotter than the Sun’s visible surface.    		 Tommy Trampp
    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 History and Heritage Command , donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008.    		 Robert Hurst
    Canopus 397k USS Canopus (AS-9) in the background entering dry dock at Mare Island Navy Yard, 28 July 1924.
    Photo MINSY 4901-7-24 from the collections of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum    		 Darryl Baker
    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 History and Heritage Command     		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 History and Heritage Command     		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, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Canopus
    09360916    		 177k USS Canopus (AS-9) at Naval Station Olongapo, Philippine Islands, circa 1926 with from outboard to inboard:
    USS S-36 (SS-141)
    USS S-38 (SS-143)
    USS S-37 (SS-142)
    USS S-41 (SS-146)
    USS S-39 (SS-144) alongside.
    From Hyman Fischer photo album via Sandie Larsen    		 Don Kehn, Jr.
    Canopus 240k USS Canopus (AS-9) anchored in the harbor at Hong Kong BCC, 15 August 1928, with four submarines alongside.
    Photo from Museum of Military History    		 Courtesy Frederick J. Moisson Collection Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
    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 History and Heritage Command
    SS 141 196k USS Canopus (AS-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 History and Heritage Command
    Canopus 127k Detailed view of USS Canopus (AS-9) moored near the floating drydock USS Dewey (YFD-1), at Naval Station Olongapo, Philippine Islands, 9 March 1932, with four submarines moored alongside. The outboard submarine is USS S-37 (SS-142) The tender's 5"/51 guns have been mounted on platforms fore and aft.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. 80-CF-22672-1 (detail), courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    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 History and Heritage Command
    Canopus
    09360617    		 292k USS Canopus (AS-9) at anchor in Manila Bay, Manila, P.I., 5 July 1938 with with four submarines alongside including USS S-39 (SS-144).
    US National Archives Identified 68156699, a US Army Air Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 David Upton
    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)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Wadsworth Jr., Alexander Scammel, USN (USNA 1905)24 January 1922 - 1923
    02CDR. Dowell Jr., Jonathan Stuart, USN (USNA 1905)1923 - 1923
    03CDR. Kimball, Lucien Frank, USN (USNA 1907)1923 - 22 February 1924
    04CAPT. McCrary, Frank Robert, USN (USNA 1901)22 February 1924 - 3 June 1924
    05CDR. Roberts, Frank Hamilton, USN (USNA 1906)3 June 1924 - 26 August 1926
    06CDR. Kimball, Lucien Frank, USN (USNA 1907)26 August 1926 - 1927
    07CDR. Thomas, Raymond Gaudenz, USN (USNA 1908)1927 - 1928
    08LCDR. Brown, Walter Elliott, USN (USNA 1910)1928 - 26 June 1929
    09CDR. Wuest, Richard Walter, USN (USNA 1909)29 June 1929 - ?
    10CDR. Wright, Percy Talmadge, USN (USNA 1909)25 May 1931 - ? - ?
    11CDR. Read, Oliver Middleton, USN (USNA 1911)1932
    12CDR. Brown, John Joseph, USN (USNA 1912)1934
    13CDR. Redman, Joseph Reasor, USN (USNA 1914) :RADM1936
    14CDR. Killmaster, Benjamin Stacey, USN (USNA 1914)1 July 1938 - 1 January 1939
    15CDR. Bannerman, Graeme, USN (USNA 1918)1 January 1939 - 1 July 1939
    16CDR. Kinney, Philip Raymond, USN (USNA 1919)1 July 1939 - February 1940
    17CDR. Sackett, Earl LeRoy, USN (USNA 1920) :RADMFebruary 1940 - 10 April 1942
    18LCDR. Goodall, Henry William, USN (USNA 1924) :RADM10 April 1942 - 10 April 1942
    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 Canopus Association
    Submarine Tenders of the United States Navy
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    Last Updated 5 May 2023