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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

AK-56 / AKA-14 Oberon

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Tango - Delta

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Second Ros - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (5) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (5)
Fourth Row - Philippines Liberation Medal - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Arcturus Class Attack Cargo Ship:

Laid down (date unknown) as SS Delabla, a Maritime Commission type (C2-F) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 133), at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp., Kearny, N.J.

Renamed Oberon, 16 February 1942

Launched, 18 March 1942

Acquired by the US Navy and Commissioned USS Oberon (AK-56), 15 June 1942, at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., CDR. Ion Purcell in command

Reclassified Attack Cargo Ship (AKA-14), 1 February 1943

During World War II Oberon was first assigned to the European Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater participating in the following campaigns:

Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
North Africa occupation Algeria-Morocco (Fedela), 8 to 11 November 1942	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 April 1945
Salerno landings 9 to 21 September 1943	.
Sicily occupation 10 to 15 July 1943	.
Invasion of Southern France 15 August to 24 September 1944	.

During the Korean War Oberon (AKA-14) participated in the following campaigns:

**Korean War Campaigns**
Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
First UN Counter Offensive 13 March 1951 23 to 30 March 1951 2 to 5 April 1951 15 to 21 April 1951	Second Korean Winter 2 to 14 February 1952 26 February to 10 March 1952 22 March to 9 April 1952 18 to 30 April 1952
Communist China Spring Offensive 22 April 1951 29 April to 2 May 1951 6 to 19 May 1951 29 May to 10 June 1951 29 June to 8 July 1951	UN Summer-Fall Offensive 9 to 16 July 1951
Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 1 to 4 May 1952	.

Assigned to the Naval Transportation Service (NTS) in 1946

Transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 1 October 1949, redesignated (T-AKA-14)

Decommissioned, 27 June 1955

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1960

Returned to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, at Olympia WA.

Final Disposition, scrapped in 1971

Oberon received five battle stars for World War II service and five battle stars for Korean War service

Specifications:
Displacement 7,391 t.(lt)
Length 459' 2"
Beam 63'
Draft 26' 5"
Speed 16.5 kts.
Complement 494
Armament

one single 5"/38 DP gun mount

four single 3"/50 DP gun mounts

two twin 40mm AA gun mounts

eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
Propulsion steam turbine, single shaft, 6,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
USS Oberon (AK-56)
	85k	Oberon (AK-56) underway off Kearny, New Jersey, 15 June 1942. She is painted in the splotch patterns of Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified). US Navy photo # NH 83229 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975.	US Naval Historical Center
	43k	Oberon (AK-56) moored between piers 4 and 5, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation (HRPE), Newport News, VA., 19 Oct 1942	Edward Grune Source The Library of Virginia, US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
	125k	Oberon (AK-56) underway, circa 1942, place unknown.	Edward Grune Courtesy USS Oberon Association
USS Oberon (AKA-14)
	221k	Oberon (AKA-14) underway in Hampton Roads, off Norfolk, VA., circa April 1943, Note Southern Railway Pier 4 in background.	Edward Grune Courtesy USS Oberon Association
	67k	Oberon (AKA-14) underway off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA., 7 February 1944. Note the change in fore and aft 40mm gun mounts single 40mm's changed to twin 40mm's with MK51 directors. US Navy photo # 92295 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Frank Jankowski, 1981.	US Naval Historical Center
	95k	Oberon (AKA-14) at anchor, circa the later 1940s. US Navy photo # 104075 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	US Naval Historical Center
	39k	Oberon (AKA-14) at anchor, date and place unknown.	Russ Padden
	84k	Oberon (AKA-14) underway in the late 1940s or early 1950s, probably while entering San Diego Harbor, CA. US Navy photo # 104076 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	US Naval Historical Center
	48k	Oberon (AKA-14) in the background of this photo of Cusk (SSG-348) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA., 7 December 1950. US Navy photo # 90847 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy Jack Howland, 1980.	US Naval Historical Center

View the Oberon (AKA-14)
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

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Last Updated 25 May 2007