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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Villalobos (IX-145)
ex
 SS Typhoon (1943 - 1944)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Romeo - Yankee
 NJRY
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 (3) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal
Villalobos Class Mobile Station Tanker:
  • Built in 1911 as SS William F. Herrin, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA.
  • Launched, 4 February 1911
  • Delivered, 20 March 1911, to the Associated Oil Co.
  • Assigned Registry Number (ID-3522) by US Navy
  • Twice renamed, first as SS Colorado and then as SS Typhoon
  • Acquired by the Navy, 19 October 1943, under a bareboat charter from the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration
  • Operated as SS Typhoon, until her commissioning data caught up with her
  • During World War II SS Typhoon was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
     

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of Tarawa Atoll, 2 to 8 December 1943     		Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 27 July to 9 August 1944
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 8 to 9 August 1944
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 7 to 8 February 1944

  • Commissioned, USS Villalobos (IX-145) in October 1944
  • Decommissioned, 16 February 1946, at Subic Bay, P.I.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 26 February 1946
  • Returned to Italian Government 16 March 1948
  • Transferred in Manila, 31 August 1948, by the Maritime Commission for commercial service, to the Maritime Petroleum Society and Navigation Co., Genoa, Italy
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
  • USS Villalobos as SS Typhoon earned three battle stars for her World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,398 t.(lt)
    Length 400'
    Beam 52' 1"
    Draft 29' 5"
    Speed 10 kts
    Complement 133
    Cargo Capacity
    Oil 51,300 Bbls
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    three twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    eight single 20mm gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 2,000 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one vertical triple-expansion steam engine
    three single-ended cylindrical Scotch boilers, 200psi, Sat°
    Ship's Service Generators
     one recip-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
     one recip-drive 10Kw 120V D.C.
    single propeller, 2,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Villalobos 49k SS William F. Herrin, photographed between 1911 and 1917. This Newport News-built ship joined the Italian merchant marine in 1928 and became USS Villalobos (IX-145) in 1944.
    US Navy photo from the Naval History and Heritage Command (SH), courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Villalobos (IX-145)

    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    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 Section ID Number Photo Index Back To The Miscellaneous Ship (IX) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 6 November 2015