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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 to 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
  • USS Wildcat (AW-2) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.1 Service Group - Repair and Service Unit for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • 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, 31 January 1968 to Zidell Explorations, Inc., Portland, OR. for $182,005.00 (PD-X-791 dated 9 January 1968), removed, 19 February 1968
    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
    United States Maritime Commission
    Gemsbok
    094611702    		 140k United States Maritime Commission Tanker Design Z-ET-1-S-C3.
    US National Archives photo thanks to Auke Visser's Famous T-Tanker Pages     		 
    USS Wildcat (AW-2)
    Wildcat
    09450203    		 74k
    Namesake
    Wildcat - is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species, the European wildcat and the African wildcat. The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe and the Caucasus, while the African wildcat inhabits semi-arid landscapes and steppes in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, into western India and western China. (Wikipedia)
    European Wildcat in an open-air enclosure at the Bavarian Forest National Park, (CC BY-SA 3.0) Photo by Aconcagua (Wikipedia)    		 Tommy Tramp
    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)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Burrows, George Harrison, USNR17 February 1944 - 10 April 1944
     Decommissioned10 April 1944 - 15 October 1944
    02LCDR. Burrows, George Harrison, USNR15 October 1944 - 16 August 1945
    03LCDR. Newton, Robert Newbold, USNR16 August 1945 - 13 September 1946
    04LCDR. Gamage, Elwyn H., USNR13 September 1946 - 17 January 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
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    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 16 July 2021