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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

IX-130 / AW-2 Wildcat


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 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) 14,350 t.(fl)
    Length 441' 6"
    Beam 56' 11"
    Draft 28' 4"
    Speed 12.5 kts.
    Complement 171
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    one single 3"/50 gun mount
    Propulsion reciprocating steam engine, single propeller, 2,500 shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed By
    /Source
    Wildcat 220k Ex-Wildcat (AW-2) moored pierside, date and location unknown. David Nixon
    View the Wildcat (IX-130 / AW-2)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    No Information Available
    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
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 1 February 2008