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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Washburn (LKA-108)
ex
USS Washburn (AKA-108) (1945 - 1969)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Foxtrot - Echo NEFE

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
Second Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Fourth Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (5) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Quemoy-Matsu, Cuba, Vietnam)
Fifth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (7) - Republic of Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (7) - Philippines Liberation Medal
Sixth Row - United Nation Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Tolland Class Attack Cargo Ship:

Laid down, 24 October 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1701), at North Carolina Shipbuilding, Wilmington, N.C.

Launched, 18 December 1944

Acquired by the US Navy, 30 December 1944 from the Maritime Commission, and towed or ferried to her conversion yard at Hoboken, N.J.

Commissioned USS Washburn (AKA-108), 17 May 1945, at Todd-Hoboken Shipyard, Hoboken, N.J., CDR. W. C. Jackson, USNR, in command

During World War II USS Washburn (AKA-108) was assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater

After World War II USS Washburn was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East and China service for the following periods;

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
28 October to 18 November 1945	21 March to 6 April 1946
20 December 1948 to 2 January 1949	15 to 26 January 1946
	27 July to 3 August 1951
	14 to 29 November 1951
	6 to 15 February 1955

During the Korean War USS Washburn (AKA-108) participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Korean War Campaigns
North Korean Aggression 8 October to 2 November 1950	UN Summer-Fall Offensive 23 July to 6 August 1951 28 to 31 August 1951 5 to 12 September 1951 3 to 4 October 1951
Communist China Aggression 3 to 16 November 1950	Korea, Summer-Fall 1953 1 to 11 June 1953 4 July 1953 11 to 12 July 1953 18 to 24 July 1953 27 July 1953
Inchon Landing 15 to 17 September 1950

During the Vietnam War USS Washburn (AKA-108 / LKA-108) participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Advisory Campaign 9 December 1964 - 9 January 1965 14 to 20 February 1965 27 February to 1 March 1965 12 to 26 March 1965 28 March to 20 April 1965 4 to 14 and 24 to 29 May 1965	Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 9 June to 20 July 1969 7 August to 22 September 1969 29 September to 3 October 1969
Vietnam Defense Campaign 30 August to 1 September 1965	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV 22 April to 3 May 1968 11 May to 17 June 1968
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 18 to 30 September 1966 9 to 13 October 1966 11 to 14 November 1966 10 to 18 December 1966 26 December 1966 to 21 January 1967 4 February to 10 February 1967	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V 6 July to 1 August 1968
Tet Counteroffensive 28 February to 2 April 1968	Tet 69/Counteroffensive 28 to 31 May 1969 8 June 1969

Redesignated Amphibious Cargo Ship (LKA-108), 1 January 1969

Decommissioned, 16 May 1970, at San Diego, CA.

Returned to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 19 August 1970, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 September 1976

USS Washburn earned five battle stars during the Korean War service, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Withdrawn for stripping by the Navy, 21 March 1977

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 November 1979, to Apolina Ltd, Hong Kong pursuant to Trade-In Exchange Law (Public Law 95-177). Withdrawn, 20 December 1979, from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet and delivered to representatives of Apolina Ltd. Scrapped by Lung Fha Steel Co. Ltd, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, competed , 18 February 1980

Specifications:
Displacement 8,635 t.(lt) 14,200 t.(fl)
Length 459' 2"
Beam 63'
Draft 26' 4"
Speed 16.5 kts

Complement

Officers 38

Enlisted 387

Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.

Armament

one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount

four twin 40 mm AA gun mounts

sixteen single 20 mm AA gun mounts

Boats

fourteen LCVPs

eight LCMs

Cargo Capacity 5,275 DWT

non-refrigerated 380,000 Cu. ft.

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 10,425 Bbls

Diesel 805 Bbls

Propulsion

one General Electric geared turbine

two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers 450psi 750°

double General Electric Main Reduction Gear

three 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

one propeller, 6,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	339k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** near New York Navy Yard. Photo date, 17 May 1945, date of commissioning.	David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN Ret. USS Washburn and Wolfgang Hechler
	131k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** off San Clemente Island, CA. during amphibious operations, as the crew was going to General Quarters, September 1946.	David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN Ret. USS Washburn
	1657k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** at San Diego, 16 April 1949, crew photo in three panels. Benton E. Buell MMC, bottom row far right third panel.	David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN Ret. USS Washburn
	1273k
	1668k
	252k	Mare Island Naval Shipyard model of *USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** photographed 26 August 1949. Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 4340-8-49.	David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN Ret. USS Washburn
	362k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** under way, circa 1950, location unknown. US Navy photo via US Naval Institute.	David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN Ret. USS Washburn
	80k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** under way, date and location unknown.
	437k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** under way, in January 1952, location unknown. US Navy photo.	Wolfgang Hechler
	387k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** at anchor, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Mike Smolinski
	1074k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** at anchor, date and location unknown. USN photo via the US Naval Institute.	David Buell for his father CWO4 Benton E. Buell, USN Ret. USS Washburn
	44k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** departing San Diego June 1957 for amphibious landing exercises at Camp Pendelton, CA. US Navy photo	Dale Haskin
	70k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** departing San Diego, CA., date unknown.	Russ Padden
	45k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** under way in 1968, location unknown. US Navy photo.	Robert Hurst
	371k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** in bound from sea at Pearl Harbor, date unknown. US Navy photo.	Wolfgang Hechler and Mike Smolinski
	390k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Wolfgang Hechler
	248k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** underway in port, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	David Buell
100210818	546k	*USS Washburn* (AKA-108)** underway off San Diego, CA., date unknown. Photo by Nobe Smith.	Nicholas Tiberio

USS Washburn (AKA-108 / LKA-108)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Jackson, William Clarence, USNR	17 May 1945 - 1946
02	CAPT. Sloat, Frank Truman, USN (USNA 1930)	1946 - July 1947
03	CAPT. Allen Jr., Burrell Clinton, USN (USNA 1930)	July 1947 - 1948
04	CAPT. Prichard, James Alexander, USN (USNA 1927) :RADM	1950 - May 1951
05	CAPT. Foster, Edward Lee, USN (USNA 1931)	May 1951 - September 1952
06	CAPT. Lewellen, Bafford Edward, USN (USNA 1931) :RADM	September 1952 - December 1953
07	CAPT. Fuetsch, Bernhardt Alois, USN (USNA 1930)	December 1953 - October 1954
08	CAPT. Greer Jr., Harry Holt, USN (USNA 1934)	October 1954 - ?
09	CAPT. Clay, Donald Noble, USN (USNA 1935)	18 September 1956 - 5 October 1957
10	CAPT. Ward, Robert Elwin McCraner, USN (USNA 1935)	5 October 1957 - 2 December 1958
11	CAPT. Sellers Jr., Frank Este, USN (USNA 1935)	2 December 1958 - January 1960
12	CAPT. MacLean, Roderick Kenneth, USN	January 1960 - 4 February 1961
13	CAPT. Reilly, James Dunham, USN (USNA 1939)	4 February 1961 - 25 August 1962
14	CAPT. Dunlap Jr., Ernest Huston, USN (USNA 1939)	25 August 1962 - 19 October 1963
15	CAPT. Brown, Garrison, USN (USNA 1942)	19 October 1963 - 23 October 1964
16	CAPT. Gibson, Robert Carey, USN (USNA 1944)	23 October 1964 - June 1965
17	CAPT. Dick, John Henry, USN :RADM	June 1965 - 19 October 1966
19	CAPT. Geiger, Anson Duane, USN (USNA 1945)	19 October 1966 - 17 July 1967
20	CAPT. Paddock, Richard Armitage, USN :RADM	17 July 1967 - 1968
21	CAPT. Renaldi, Richard Raymond, USN	1968 - 1 October 1969
22	CAPT. Sullivan, William Patrick, USN	1 October 1969 - 15 May 1970


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves. Photos courtesy Bill Gonyo

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
MARAD Vessel History Database
USS Washburn (AKA-108) War Diaries May 1945 to November 1945 and History

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 10 June 2022

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Washburn (LKA-108)ex USS Washburn (AKA-108) (1945 - 1969)

USS Washburn (LKA-108)
ex
USS Washburn (AKA-108) (1945 - 1969)