Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Catron (APA-71)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Whiskey - Quebec
 NJWQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Gilliam Class Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (S4-SE2-BD1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1864) at Consolidated Steel Corp, Wilmington, CA.
  • Launched, 28 August 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission, 27 November 1944
  • Commissioned USS Catron (APA-71), 28 November 1944, LCDR. Donald MacInnes, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Catron was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Nineteen, COMO. C.D. Edgar USN (12);
    TransDiv Fifty-Seven, CAPT. G.F. Galpin USN (21) and participated in the following campaigns;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 7 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS Catron was assigned Occupation service in the Far East from 18 to 30 October 1945
  • USS Catron (APA-71) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.2.6 (Target Vessel Group - Merchant Type Units - Transport Division 93 (TRANSDIV 93) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
    [Note from Fred Davis USS Catron--"All of the 1st Div. that [were] on deck at the that time died of cancer, there are 3 left alive." (3 August 2003)]
  • Decommissioned at Kwajelein, 28 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS Catron earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sunk by gunfire from USS Atlanta (CL-104), 6 May 1948 off Kwajalein
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,247 t.(lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16.9'
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 27
    Enlisted 293
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 47
    Enlisted 802
    Cargo Capacity 2,600 DWT
    non-refrigerated 85,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA radar-directed gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,695 Bbls
    Diesel 375 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse turbo-electric drive
    two Babcock & Wilcox 450psi 750° boilers
    Ship's Service Generators
     one turbo-drive 250Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 150Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    two propellers 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Catron 75k USS Catron (APA-71) at anchor in San Francisco Bay, late 1945 or early 1946.
    US Navy photo # NH 98709 donated by Boatswain's Mate First Class Robert G. Tippins, USN (Retired), to the US Naval Historical Center in 2003.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Crittenden 127k Operation Crossroads prospective target ships and support ships at Pearl Harbor in a photo released, 27 February 1946.
    Ships present from front to rear include; USSCrittenden (APA-77), USS Catron (APA-71), USS Bracken (APA-64), USS Burleson (APA-67), USS Gilliam (APA-57), USSFallon (APA-81), one unidentified ship, USS Fillmore (APA-83), USS Kochab (AKS-6), USS Luna (AKS-7) and an unidentified tanker and liberty ship. Identifiable on the right are USS LSM-203 and USS LSM-465. Further in the background is a floating drydock and a merchant ship hulk with unidentified fittings forward of the bridge.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-702126 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage
    Catron
    100307102    		 214k USS Catron (APA-71) at anchor in Pearl Harbor, T.H., between February 1946 and May 1946. The bow of USS Crittenden (APA-77) is visible in the upper left.
    U.S. Department of Defense. Defense Atomic Support Agency photo 374-ANT-18-VJ-1-902, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Identifier (NAID) 146763124    		 Robert Hurst
    Catron
    100307103    		 171k USS Catron (APA-71) at Bikini Atoll following the Crossroads "Able" atomic bomb test, 20 July 1946. She is partly covered with decontamination spray.
    U.S. Department of Defense. Defense Atomic Support Agency photo 374-ANT-18-BBCR-227-501, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Identifier (NAID) 146763068    		 Robert Hurst
    Catron
    100307104    		 126k USS Catron (APA-71) at Bikini Atoll following the Crossroads atomic bomb tests, 12 August 1946. Surviving the tests but contaminated by radioactivity, she was decommissioned, 29 August 1946, and remained in the Pacific for radiological and structural study until sunk as a target by the light cruiser USS Atlanta (CL-104) off Kwajalein, 6 May 1948.
    U.S. Department of Defense. Defense Atomic Support Agency photo 374-ANT-18-ABCR-227-289-43B U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Identifier (NAID) 146763058    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Catron (APA-71)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. MacInnes, Donald, USNR28 November 1944 - 2 April 1946
    02CAPT. Ellis, Edward Billings, USNR2 April 1946 - 28 August 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 17 November 2023 p>