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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Wildcat AW-2)


Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Kilo - Whiskey
 NJKW
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
Stag Class Distilling Ship:
  • Projected as SS Leon Godchaux a Maritime Commission type (Z-ET1-S-C3) tanker hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1934)
  • Reallocated the Navy before construction began
  • Renamed Wildcat and designated IX-130, 27 October 1943
  • Laid down, 16 November 1943, at Delta Shipbuilding Co., New Orleans, LA.
  • Launched, 7 January 1944
  • Reclassified Distilling Ship AW-2, 4 February 1944
  • Commissioned, USS Wildcat (AW-2), 17 February 1944, at New Orleans, LA.
  • Decommissioned, 10 April 1944, at Tampa FL. for conversion to a Distilling Ship at Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Tampa, FL.
  • Recommissioned, 15 October 1944, at Key West FL. LCDR. George H. Burrows, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Wildcat was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 17 January 1947 and returned to the War Shipping Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Moved by USMC tugs to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, OR., 15 May 1947
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1947
  • Name reverted to SS Leon Godchaux in June 1965
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 19 February 1968 to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, OR.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 3,745 t.(lt) 14,600 t.(fl)
    Length 441' 6"
    Beam 56' 11"
    Draft 28' 4"
    Speed 12.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 15
    Enlisted 156
    Troop Accommodations 178
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Cargo Capacity 7,450 DWT
    Fresh water 33,600 Bbls
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    two single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 17,235 Bbls
    Diesel 600 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Iron Fireman triple expansion reciprocating steam engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 220psi 450°
    Ship's Service Generators
    two turbo-drive 150Kw 120V D.C.
    two Diesel-drive 60Kw 450V A.C.
    single propeller, 2,500 shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed By
    /Source
    USS Wildcat (AW-4)
    Wildcat 90k USS Wildcat (AW-2) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Navy Memorial.    		 Stan Svec
    Maritime Administration
    Wildcat 220k Ex-USS Wildcat (AW-2) moored pierside, date and location unknown. David Nixon
    USS Wildcat (AW-2)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Miscellaneous Unclassified Ship (IX) Photo Index Back To The Distilling Ship (AW) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 11 November 2011