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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

US Navy photo NH 84238-KN from the US Naval Historical Collection

AK-43 / AVS-8 Jupiter

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (5) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Congo 3-Vietnam)
Fourth Row - Philippines Liberation Medal (1) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Aldebaran Class Cargo Ship

Built in 1939, as M/S Flying Cloud, a Maritime Commission type (C-2) hull, under a Maritime Commission contract (MC 17) at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.

Renamed M/S Santa Catalina, date unknown

Acquired by the Navy, 19 June 1941

Commissioned, USS Jupiter (AK-43), 22 August 1942, LCDR. D. S. Baker in command

During World War II Jupiter (AK-43) was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

**World War II Campaigns**
Capture and defense of Guadalcanal January-February 1943	Leyte operation Leyte landings, 22 October 1944
Gilbert Islands operation November 1943	Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, March 1945
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 25 June 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, May 1945

Redesignated Jupiter Class Aviation Stores Issue Ship (AVS-8), 31 July 1945

Decommissioned, 23 May 1947, at San Diego, CA.

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group

Recommissioned, 10 October 1950, CDR. H. R. McKibben in command

During the Korean War Jupiter (AVS-8) participated in the following campaigns:

**Korean War Campaigns**
First UN Counter Offensive 15 April 1951	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 13 to 15 May 1952 30 June 1 July 1952
Communist China Spring Offensive 3 to 9 May 1951 6 to 8 July 1951	Third Korean Winter 28 to 31 March 1953 2 April 1953
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 12 to 14 September 1951 24 to 25 October 1951	Korean Summer-Fall 1953 8 to 9 May 1953 14 to 15 May 1953 28 June 1953 7 to 10 and 25 to 27 July 1953
Second Korean Winter 11 December 1951 30 January to 4 February 1952 14 to 15 March 1952 14 to 16 April 1952	.

Decommissioned in June 1964

Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA., 1 August 1964

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1965

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in March 1971

Jupiter received six battle stars for World War II and seven battle stars for Korean War service

Specifications
Displacement 7,293 t.(lt) 10,850 t.(fl)
Length 459' 2"
Beam 63'
Draft 25' 10"
Speed 15.5 kts.
Armament

one single 4" gun mount

one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount

four single 20mm AA gun mounts
Propulsion diesel, single propeller, 6,000hp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By /Source
USS Jupiter (AK-43)
	140k	Aft plan view of Jupiter (AK-43) at Oakland, CA., 14 March 1943. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1789-3-43, 3/14/43	Darryl Baker
	119k	Forward plan view of Jupiter (AK-43) at Oakland, CA., 14 March 1943. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1790-3-43, 3/14/43	Darryl Baker
	71k	Stern view of Jupiter (AK-43) off Alcatraz Island with Treasure Island and Oakland Bay Bridge in the background, 16 March 1943. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1817-3-43, 3/16/43	Darryl Baker
	71k	Bow view of Jupiter (AK-43) off Alcatraz Island with Treasure Island and Oakland Bay Bridge in the background, 16 March 1943. Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1821-3-43, 3/16/43	Darryl Baker
USS Jupiter (AVS-8)
	121k	Jupiter (AVS-8) comes alongside Valley Forge (CV-45) to transfer supplies, during operations off the Korean Coast. Photo, dated 21 February 1951. US National Archives photo # 80-G-427412, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	US Naval Historical Center
	98k	Jupiter (AVS-8) comes alongside Valley Forge (CV-45) to transfer supplies during operations off the Korean Coast. Photo, dated 21 February 1951. Note Jupiter's name painted above her bow hull number, a rather unusual practice. US National Archives photo # 80-G-427413, a US Navy photo now in the collection of the US National Archives	US Naval Historical Center
	105k	Jupiter (AVS-8) underway in the Sea of Japan, 1 August 1953. Photographed from Boxer (CVA-21). US Navy photo # NH 97586 from the collection of the US Naval Historical Center	US Naval Historical Center
	120k	Jupiter (AVS-8), in the right distance, makes her approach to take on fuel from Ponchatoula (AO-148) as Aludra (AF-55) at left, steams away after transferring stores. Photo taken from *Ponchatoula, 23 August 1963, released with Commander Service Squadron THREE* press release # 3-154. . US Navy photo # NH 104026 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	US Naval Historical Center
	65k	Jupiter (AVS-8) at anchor, date and location unknown.	Stanley C. Svec
	20k	Jupiter (AVS-8) at anchor, date and place unknown.	Gunter Krebs

View the Jupiter (AK-43 / AVS-8)
DANFS history entry located 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

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Last Updated 11 May 2007