Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

AS-13 Griffin

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Sea Clasp) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row -Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal
Griffin Class Submarine Tender:
  • Laid down as SS Mormacpenn, a Maritime Commission type (C3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 44), at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock, Co., Chester, PA.
  • Launched, 11 October 1939
  • Acquired by the US Navy in 1940
  • Converted to a Submarine Tender at Robbins Dry Dock and Repair Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Commissioned USS Griffin (AS-13), 31 July 1941, CDR. S. D. Jupp in command
  • Decommissioned, 12 October 1945, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1972 and transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 9 April 1973
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,613 t.(lt) 14,000 t.(fl)
    Length 492'
    Beam 71'
    Draft 25' 10"
    Speed 17 kts.
    Complement 911
    Armament
    four single 4" AA gun mounts
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    Propulsion steam turbine engine 8,500shp, single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Griffin 22k A Chief Torpedoman aboard Griffin (AS-13) paints another "hashmark" on the Torpedo Shop scoreboard of Japanese ships claimed sunk by SubRon 5's "S-Boats", operating out of Brisbane, Australia, during April-November 1942. Submarines listed on the scoreboard include;
    S-37 (SS-142),
    S-38 (SS-143),
    S-39 (SS-144),
    S-40 (SS-145),
    S-41 (SS-146),
    S-42 (SS-153),
    S-43 (SS-154),
    S-44 (SS-155),
    S-45 (SS-156),
    S-46 (SS-157), and
    S-47 (SS-158).
    The original caption dates the photo 7 January 1943, but it may have been taken earlier, as Griffin left Australia in November 1942.
    US National Archives photo 80-G-77065, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		Courtesy Randy Guttery
    Tendertales Web Site
    Griffin 77k Stern view of Griffin (AS-13) at anchor off San Francisco, CA., 17 April 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 2734-43.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 62kBroadside view of Griffin (AS-13) at anchor off San Francisco, CA., 17 April 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 2736-43.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 64k Bows on view of Griffin (AS-13) at anchor off San Francisco, CA., 17 April 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 2738-43.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 71k Bows on view of Griffin (AS-13) departing Navy Yard Mare Island, Vallejo, CA., 5 March 1944. ARD-11 is just visible in the background to the left (under the two hammer head cranes).
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1516-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 74k Stern view of Griffin (AS-13) off Navy Yard Mare Island, Vallejo, CA., 5 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1517-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 78k Broadside view of Griffin (AS-13) off Navy Yard Mare Island, Vallejo, CA., 5 March 1944. Griffin was in overhaul at Mare Island from 10 January to 9 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1520-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 127k Amidships looking aft plan view of Griffin (AS-13) at Navy Yard Mare Island, Vallejo, CA., 7 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1553-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Griffin 190k Amidships looking forward plan view of Griffin (AS-13) at Navy Yard Mare Island, Vallejo, CA., 7 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1554-44. The Naval Hospital is the large group of building in the background.    		 Darryl Baker
    Pelias 220k Overhead view of, from front to back,
    Griffin (AS-13),
    Euryale (AS-22),
    Aegir (AS-23), and
    Pelias (AS-14)
    moored in the Reserve Fleet, at Mare Island Navy Shipyard, Vallejo, CA. with 52 mothballed World War II submarines, circa 1946     		Darryl Baker
    View the Griffin (AS-13)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Submarine Tenders of the United States Navy
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Auxiliaries and
    Miscellaneous Ship Type Index    		 Back To The Submarine Tender Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 26 May 2006