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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive


Submitted by Jack Treutle

USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)
ex
USS San Carlos (AVP-51) (1944 - 1947)

USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Victor - Yankee
NKVY
USS San Carlos (AVP-51) International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - Mike - Lima
NCML
USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


National Defense Service Medal
USS San Carlos (AVP-51)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (24 - 26 October 1944)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1) - Philippines Independence Medal



USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) was sold to Greece and renamed HS Hephaistas (A413)
Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 17 September 1942, at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA.
  • Launched, 20 December 1942
  • Commissioned, USS San Carlos (AVP-51), 21 March 1944, LCDR. DeLong Mills in command
  • During World War II San Carlos was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Consolidation of Solomon Islands
    Consolidation of northern Solomons, 23 June to August 1944
    Western New Guinea operation
    Morotai Landings, 15 September 1944
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 10 October to 29 November 1944
    Battle of Surigao Strait, 24 to 26 October 1944
     

  • Decommissioned, 30 June 1947, at Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • Converted to an Oceanographic Research Ship, at Mobile Ship Repair Co., Mobile, AL.
  • Renamed and redesignated USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1), 15 December 1958
  • Placed in service with Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 18 December 1951
  • Placed out of service and Struck from the Naval Register, 7 December 1971
  • Transferred to Greece, renamed HS Hephaistas (A413)
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
  • USS San Carlos earned three battle stars for World War II service
    (AVP) Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,750 t.(fl)
    Length 311' 8"
    Beam 41' 1"
    Draft 13' 6"
    Speed 18.6 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 14
    Enlisted 201
    Aviation Unit Accommodations
    Officers 59
    Enlisted 93
    Largest boom capacity 10 t.
    Armament
    three single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    two dual 40mm AA gun mounts
    six single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Ships Service Generators
    two diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
    two diesel-drive 200Kw 50V A.C.
    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel 1,955 Bbls.
    Gasoline 84,340 Gals.
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-288 Diesel engines
    single Fairbanks Morse Main Reduction Gears
    Ships' Service Generators
    two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
    two Diesel-drive 200Kw 450V A.C.
    two propellers, 6,080shp

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed By / Source
    USS San Carlos (AVP-51)
    San Carlos
    09435122
    208k
    Namesake
    San Carlos - San Carlos Bay is a bay located southwest of Fort Myers, Florida, at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. It connects to Pine Island Sound to the west and to Matlacha Pass to the north. The bay contains Bunche Beach Preserve, a 718-acre conservation area acquired by Lee County, Florida in 2001. This part of San Carlos Bay includes tidal wetlands area that includes beach, mangrove forests and salt water "flats" popular with wildlife enthusiasts, paddlers and fishermen.
    Photo - San Carlos Bay shoreline
    Map - Navigational chart, San Carols Bay and Caloosahatchee River
    Tommy Trampp
    San Carlos 107k San Carlos (AVP-51) ready for launching, 20 December 1942. at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA. Her propellers and rudder are clearly visible.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47210 a US Navy Bureau of Ships Collection photo now in the US National Archives.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 107k San Carlos (AVP-51) being launched, 20 December 1942, at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA. Note the emplacements for two open 5"/38 gun mounts aft; one was replaced by a 40mm quadruple mount before completion.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47211 a US Navy Bureau of Ships Collection photo now in the US National Archives.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 87k USS San Carlos (AVP-51) off Houghton, WA., 30 March 1944, about a week after commissioning. She was completed with three 5"/38 guns, including an open mount on her fantail.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-64504 a US Navy Bureau of Ships Collection photo now in the US National Archives.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 81k USS San Carlos (AVP-51) off Houghton, WA., 30 March 1944. Her camouflage scheme is Measure 32 Design 2Ax.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-64506 a US Navy Bureau of Ships Collection photo now in the US National Archives.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 77k USS San Carlos (AVP-51) off the Cuban coast, 7 August 1946. She was delivering supplies to Cuba after an earthquake and tidal wave occurred there.
    US Navy photo # NH 97845 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    BB-44 California 138k Reserve Fleet Basin, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pennsylvania. Photographed on 19 May 1955 with numerous cruisers, escort carriers, and auxiliaries in reserve. The nearest ship is the never-completed
    Hawaii (CB-3), which lacks her previously-installed three 12" gun turrets.
    The cruisers outboard of Hawaii are (in unknown order)
    Honolulu (CL-48),
    Columbia (CL-56),
    Denver (CL-58),
    Galveston (CL-93), and
    Portsmouth (CL-102).
    To their left are
    Tranquility (AH-14),
    Sanctuary (AH-17), and
    Pocono (AGC-16).
    Behind Hawaii (from left to right) are
    Montpelier (CL-57),
    Houston (CL-81),
    Huntington (CL-107),
    Savannah (CL-42),
    Cleveland (CL-55), and
    Wilkes-Barre (CL-103).
    Beyond them (from left to right) are
    Wichita (CA-45),
    Oregon City (CA-122),
    Chester (CA-27), and
    New Orleans (CA-32).
    The cruisers on the left side of the basin (from front to rear) are
    Minneapolis (CA-36),
    Tuscaloosa (CA-37),
    San Francisco (CA-38),
    Augusta (CA-31),
    Louisville (CA-28), and
    Portland (CA-33).
    Among the other ships in reserve in the basin are
    Fomalhaut (AE-20),
    Webster (ARV-2),
    Albemarle (AV-5),
    Tangier (AV-8),
    Pocomoke (AV-9),
    Chandeleur (AV-10),
    Abatan (AW-4),
    Mission San Carlos (AO-120),
    Prince William (CVE-31),
    Anzio (CVE-57),
    Block Island (CVE-106),
    Palau (CVE-122), and
    San Carlos (AVP-51).
    Moored in the shipyard at the extreme left are
    Tennessee (BB-43),
    California (BB-44), and
    Cabot (CVL-28).
    US Navy Photo # 80-G-668655, now in the collections of the US National Archives.
    Robert Hurst
    San Carlos 385k Reserve Fleet Basin, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pennsylvania. 1959. Ships present include USS San Carlos (AVP-51)
    USS New Orleans (CA-32)
    USS Honolulu (CL-48) and
    USS Portsmouth (CL-102). Photo taken from USS Kula Gulf (CVE-108).
    Photo from "Today" The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, 29 November 1964.
    Ron Reeves

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    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed By / Source
    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)
    San Carlos 71k
    Namesake

    Josiah Willard Gibbs was born in February 11, 1839 in New Haven, CT. Gibbs was born to a very well known family, with his father known for being a professor of sacred literature and being involved in the Amistad trials. Gibbs himself began his term at Yale College at age 15 studying mathematics and Latin, graduating in 1858 at the top of his class and went on to get his Ph.D. in engineering from the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale in 1863. In 1871, he returned to Yale and became a professor of Mathematical physics, a job which he would hold for the rest of his life. Gibbs’s first work began with a collection of papers called On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances which deeply covered the field of physical chemistry. He applied the laws of thermodynamics, wrote about the concepts of chemical potential and free energy, and developed the Gibbisan ensemble ideal and the Gibbs phase rule. The Gibbs phase rule was the prominent rule on phase diagrams stated: F = 2 - ? + C. He also wrote a paper on thermodynamics in 1873, where he wrote about the geometric representation of thermodynamic quantities as well as his Gibbs free energy law which became thoroughly well known in physics. Gibbs then continued working at Yale, though John Hopkins University offered him a position, and on his vector analysis which was designed to clarify and advance mathematical physics. He also worked on statistical mechanics to help make a foundation for quantum theory and later physicists. He wrote textbooks on these subjects that were published at his alma mater shortly before his death. Finally he also worked on crystallography and using his vector analysis to determine orbits of planets and orbits. He was awarded the Copley medal from the Royal Society of London his work in chemistry, electricity, and thermal energy. Gibbs died in 1903 but post-death, his work was still prominent at Yale and in the science community. Great scientists like Paul Samuelson praised him as a great physicist and in 1950; he even was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.
    Text from the History of Science
    Bill Gonyo
    San Carlos 63k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1), date and location unknown. Hazegray & Underway
    San Carlos 126k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) off Fort Richmond, Staten Island circa early 1960s. The ship was operated by MSTS for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University, located at Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson River in New York.
    US Navy photo # NH 79123 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 116k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) underway in coastal waters, circa early 1960s while being operated by MSTS for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University.
    US Navy photo # NH 97860 from the Military Sealift Command Collection at the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 92k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) passing commercial piers during the 1960s while being operated by MSTS for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University.
    US Navy photo # NH 97873-KN from the Military Sealift Command Collection at the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 94k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) underway during the 1960s. The A-frame on the starboard side just aft of the superstructure is for her auxiliary research winch, which had 5,000 feet of cable and a 10,000 pound maximum load.
    US Navy photo # NH 97861 from the Military Sealift Command Collection at the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 86k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) underway during the 1960s, viewed from directly overhead.
    US Navy photo # NH 97862 from the Military Sealift Command Collection at the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 64k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) pierside during the 1960s.
    US Navy photo # NH 97871 from the Military Sealift Command Collection at the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 55k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) viewed from directly astern during the 1960s. The "O" frame on her stern is for her 40,000-pound capacity deep-sea winch.
    US Navy photo # NH 97872 from the Military Sealift Command Collection at the US Naval History and Heritage Command .
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    San Carlos 81k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) underway, date and location unknown. Carl R. Friberg Jr.
    San Carlos 77k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo
    Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    San Carlos 41k USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) underway in July 1971, location unknown. Robert Hurst

    USS San Carlos (AVP-51) / USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Mills DeLong, USN21 March 1944 - October 1945
    02CDR. O'Connor, Michael Galligan, USN (USNA 1931)October 1945 - August 1946
    04CAPT. Sears, Harry Edward, USN (USNA 1928) :VADMAugust 1946 - May 1947
    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
    Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
    Profile and Sky Views - Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tenders - Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.

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    Last Updated 24 September 2021