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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Towner (AKA-77)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - India - Zulu
 NHIZ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
Tolland Class Attack Cargo Ship
  • Laid down, 8 April 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1383), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp, Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 18 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS Towner (AKA-77), 1 December 1944, CDR. Robert P. Erdman, USN (Ret) in command
  • During World War II USS Towner was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Nineteen, COMO C. D. Edgar USN (12);
    TransDiv Fifty-Five
  • Following World War II USS Towner was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    6 to 14 September 194516 November to 2 December 1945
    10 to 19 October 1945 
    25 October to 15 November 194528 October to 15 November 1945

  • Decommissioned, 10 June 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 13 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946
  • Withdrawn from the National Defense Reserve Fleet in early 1947 and towed to Bath, ME. for reconversion to commercial service
  • Merchant Service
    Sold to Pacific Far East Lines Inc, 19 September 1947, renamed SS Philippine Bear
    Sold to Trans-Pacific Co. March 1957
    Renamed SS Kaimana, 13 November 1958
    Sold to Darama Inc., 23 June 1959
    Sold to Long Island Tankers Corp., 3 May 1960
    Renamed SS Guam Bear, 13 July 1960
    Sold to Pacific Far East Lines Inc., 7 September 1961
  • Final Disposition, abandoned as a constructive total loss in March 1967
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,635 t.(lt) 14,160 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 26' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers - 62
    Enlisted - 333
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Boats
    fourteen LCVPs
    eight LCMs
    Cargo Capacity 5,275DWT
    non-refrigerated 380,000 Cu ft.
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO - 10,425 Bbls
    Diesel - 805 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    three 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ships's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Towner (AKA-77)
    Towner 54k USS Towner (AKA-77) underway, circa 1944-45, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 80011, courtesy of James Russell     		US Naval Historical Center
    Merchant Service Pacific Far East Lines
    Towner 344k Ex-USS Towner (AKA-77) in merchant service as the Pacific Far East Liner SS Guam Bear, circa1960, location unknown,
    Photo copyrighted by A. Duncan.     		Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Towner (AKA-77)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Erdman, Robert Park, USN (Ret.) (USNA 1919)1 December 1944 - 30 January 1946
    02CDR. Brownfield, John Herbert, USN (USNA 1929)30 January 1946 - 10 June 1946
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Towner (AKA-77) Ship's History, December 1944 to September 1945
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Amphibious Cargo Ship (AKA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 24 April 2020