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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Aries (AK-51)
ex
 Aries (AK-51) (1942)
 Manomet (AG-37) (1941 - 1942)
 USS Lake Geneva (ID #4215B) (1918 - 1919)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Delta - Golf
 NEDG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - World War One Victory Medal (with bronze star in lieu of Transport clasp)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Third Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
  • Built in 1918, as SS Lake Geneva under United States Shipping Board (USSB) contract at McDougall-Duluth Co., Duluth, MN.
  • Completed in August 1918
  • Delivered to the US Navy at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 21 September 1918
  • Commission USS Lake Geneva, 22 September 1918, assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) as a Collier, LCDR. Francis A. Brannen, USNRF, in command
  • Decommissioned, 17 July 1919
  • Struck from the Naval Register and returned to the United States Shipping Board USSB for lay up
  • Sold by the USSB to Bison Steam Ship Co., Tonawanda, N.Y., in 1925, renamed SS John J O'Hagan
    IRCS (1919): (Lima - Mike - Romeo - Delta)
  • Purchased from her owners by the Maritime Commission and transferred to the US Navy, 22 September 1941
  • Renamed Manomet (AG-37), 15 October 1941
  • Converted for Naval Service at General Ship & Engine Works, East Boston, MA.
  • Renamed and redesignated Aries (AK-51), 7 January 1942
  • Delivered to Marine Lines of New York, N.Y. to operate under contract to the Naval Transportation Service (NTS)
  • Returned to US Naval custody, 11 July 1942
  • Commissioned USS Aries (AK-51), 18 July 1942, at Bethlehem Steel Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., LT. Philip S. Deane, Jr., USNR assuming temporary command for LCDR. L. Sederholt, USNR, who reported a week later.
  • Decommissioned, 28 March 1946, at Oakland, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 18 July 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA., name reverted to SS John J. O'Hagan
  • Returned, 5 May 1947, to CAPT. A. S. Oko of Adelanto SS Co., San Francisco, CA. after being sold to him 4 March 1947
  • Sold in 1948 to Adelanto SS Co. reflagged Panamanian and renamed SS Adelanto
  • Sold. 1 November 1949, to Hammond & M. L. Ghaggino of Hong Kong
  • Final Disposition, scrapped in Hong Kong in 1952
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,500 t.(fl)
    Length 261'
    Beam 43' 6"
    Draft 17' 10"
    Speed 9.25 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 12
    Enlisted 110
    Cargo Capacity 100,000 Cu ft, 2,000 DWT
    Armament
    two single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 3,495Bbls
    Propulsion
    one vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
    two Wheeler and Foster A-type boiler, 185psi Sat
    two recip-drive 60Kw 12-V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 1,250shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Aries 29k The Bison Steam Ship Co. freighter SS John J. O'Hagan, under way on the Great Lakes, circa 1925-1941.
    Photo from the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green University     		Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Aries (AK-51)
    Aries 107k Civilian manned US Navy Cargo Ships Aries (AK-51) off Boston Navy Yard, MA., 26 May 1942 just after conversion. Her main armament consists of a single 4"/50 gun aft, As a civilian-manned Navy-owned ship she was technically a U.S. Naval Cargo Ship (USNCS).
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 92692. Courtesy James C. Fahey.    		 Robert Hurst
    Aries 121k Aries (AK-51) photographed by the Boston Navy Yard, 26 May 1942. Her rig was modified during her Navy conversion.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. 19-N-32703 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Aries 121k Aries (AK-51) off Boston Navy Yard, MA., 26 May 1942 just after conversion. Her main armament consists of a single 4"/50 gun aft and she is manned by a civilian crew.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 92691. Courtesy James C. Fahey.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Aries (AK-51)
    Aries 146k Forward plan view of USS Aries (AK-51) at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 27 May 1944, two days before her first trial after overhaul. The stern of USS Portland (CA 33) is in the background.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 3206-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aries 160k Aft plan view of USS Aries (AK-51) at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 27 May 1944, two days before her first trial after overhaul. The bow of USS Portland (CA 33) is in the background, far right, Mare Island built pile driver YPD-4 is forward of Aries.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 3208-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aries 140k Bow on view of USS Aries (AK-51) off Mare Island on her first trial after overhaul, 29 May 1944.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 3229-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aries 94k Port bow view of USS Aries (AK-51) off Mare Island on her first trial after overhaul, 29 May 1944.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. 19-N-66428 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Aries 77k 135° off centerline view of USS Aries (AK-51) off Mare Island, 29 May 1944, on her first trial after overhaul. She is painted in camouflage scheme measure 18.
    US Navy photo from San Francisco NARA, Mare Island Navy Yard Ship File.    		 Tracy White
    Aries 78k Broadside view of USS Aries (AK-51) off Mare Island on her first trial after overhaul, 29 May 1944. Aires returned to the shipyard the same day and finally departed on 27 August 1944 after a complete engine replacement. She was at the shipyard from 26 April until 27 August 1944.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 3233-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aries 81k Stern view of USS Aries (AK-51) off Mare Island on her first trial after overhaul, 29 May 1944.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 3230-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aries 77k USS Aries (AK-51) underway, circa late 1945. Note that her armament has been removed.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 82224, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Lake Geneva / Manomet (AG-37) / USS Aries (AK-51)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Brannen, Francis A.22 September 1918 - 17 July 1919Lake Geneva
     Decommissioned and Struck17 July 1919 - 18 July 1942 
    01LT. Deane Jr., Philip Samuel, USNR18 July 1942 - 27 July 1942Aries
    02LCDR. Sederholt, Leif, USNR27 July 1942 - 14 February 1944Aries
    03LCDR. Coffin, Frederick George, USNR14 February 1944 - 27 May 1944Aries
    04LT. Barckmann, Walter Henry, USNR27 May 1944 - 14 Seotenber 1945Aries
    05LCDR. Kupbens, Harry Joseph, USN14 September 1945 - 28 March 1946Aries
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 14 November 2014