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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

AKA-84 Waukesha

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Lima - India
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) - Philippine Liberation Medal
Tolland Class Attack Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 3 July 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1395), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp. Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 6 September 1944
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission and towed to her conversion yard at New York City
  • Converted to an Attack Cargo Ship at Todd-Erie Shipyard, New York, N.Y.
  • Commissioned USS Waukesha (AKA-84) (date unknown) at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn N.Y., LCDR. John S. Herold, USNR, in command
  • Decommissioned, 10 July 1946, at Norfolk VA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 10 July 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 31 July 1946
  • Sold for commercial service by the Maritime Commission in 1947 to Luckenbach Steamship Co. N.Y., renamed SS Mary Luckenbach
    MSTS was given the responsibility for crewing two hospital ships being deployed to Korea. While undergoing its initial sea trials, and before its full civilian crew could be embarked, the USS Benevolence (T-AH 13) was rammed and sunk by the SS Mary Luckenbach off San Francisco on August 25, 1950. Out of a crew of 505, 23 died including the prospective master of the ship, Captain William "Pineapple Bill" Murray.
  • Resold in 1960 to States Marine Line, renamed SS Bayou State
  • Sold to Taiwan Shipbreakers, arriving Kaohsiung 29 September 1970
  • Final Disposition, scrapped October 1970 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,635 t.(lt) 13,910 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 26' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts
    Complement
    Officers 62
    Enlisted 333
    Armament
    one 5"/38 DP gun mount
    four twin 40 mm AA gun mounts
    sixteen single 20 mm AA gun mounts
    Boats
    fourteen LCVP
    eight LCM
    Cargo Capacity 380,000 cu ft, (5,275 t.)
    Propulsiontwo General Electric Co. steam turbines geared to single screwed shaft, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Waukeska (AKA-84)
    Waukesha 75k After Japans surrender Marines of the 4th Regiment, 6th Division, come ashore at Yokosuka during initial landings in the Tokyo Bay area, 30 August 1945. They are in full battle gear in preparation for any treachery from the Japanese. Their LCVP is from Waukesha (AKA-84), and they appear to be pulling a 75mm pack howitzer. In the distance are the Japanese battleship Nagato (in the center) and Yokosuka dockyard facilities (at right)
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-490432, a US Navy photo no in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Scott at LBS Products
    Commercial Service
    Waukesha 309k Ex-Waukesha (AKA-84) in commercial service as States Marine Lines SS Bayou State underway on the River Weser while approaching Bremen, Germany, June 1964. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Waukesha 93k SS Bayou State working cargo at the San Diego Marine Terminal, 20 March 1966.
    @copyThomas Elllsworth photo # B-66-2A.    		 Photo courtesy CAPT. Thomas Ellsworth USN Ret. This photo should not be further reproduced without the permission of the donor. Contact Thomas Ellsworth.
    View the Waukesha (AKA-84)
    DANFS history entry located on 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
    US Coast Guard License Examiner's Report
    Time Magazine Article "Rescue in the Fog" Monday Sep. 04, 1950
    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
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 3 August 2007