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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

APA-71 Catron


Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Whiskey - Quebec
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 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. D. MacInnes, USNR, in command
  • During World War II Catron was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign;
  • Catron was assigned to Operation Crossroads as a target vessel in 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 Bikini Atoll, 29 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Final Disposition, sunk by gunfire from Atlanta (CL-104), 6 May 1948 off Kwajalein
  • Catron received one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,247 t.(lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16'
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement 27 Officers 295 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations 47 Officers, 802 Enlisted
    Cargo Capacity 85,000 cu. ft., 600 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion Westinghouse turbo-electric drive, 2 boilers, 2 propellers, Design shaft horsepower 6,000
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Catron 75k Catron (APA-71) at anchor in San Francisco Bay, late 1946 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 Historical Center
    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; Crittenden (APA-77), Catron (APA-71), Bracken (APA-64), Burleson (APA-67), Gilliam (APA-57), Fallon (APA-81), one unidentified ship, Fillmore (APA-83), Kochab (AKS-6), Luna (AKS-7) and an unidentified tanker and liberty ship. Identifiable on the right are LSM-203 and 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 Historical Center
    View the Catron (APA-71)
    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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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2004 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 7 December 2007