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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Cullman (APA-78)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Oscar - Kilo
 NKOK
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
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - 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 1871) at Consolidated Steel Corp, Wilmington, CA.
  • Launched, 17 November 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission, 24 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS Cullman (APA-78), 25 January 1945, LCDR. William B. Dell, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Cullman was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty-Two, COMO. S.P. Jenkins;
    TransDiv Sixty-Five (flagship), CAPT. E.C. Rogers USN (18)
  • Following World War II USS Cullman was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    2 to 8 September 194529 September to 6 October 1945
    24 to 28 September 194522 October to 22 November 1945
    27 to 29 January 1946 

  • Decommissioned, 22 May 1946, at San Francisco
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 30 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register in July 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 September 1965, to Union Minerals and Alloys Corp.
    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 295
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 47
    Enlisted 802
    Cargo Capacity 85,000 cu. ft., 2,600 t.
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,695 Bbls
    Diesel 375 Bbls
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA radar-directed gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    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
    Cullman 75k USS Cullman (APA-78) under way in San Francisco Bay, CA., between December 1945 and February 1946. Cullman is returning troops from the Western Pacific to the United States as part of Operation "Magic Carpet.".
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 98713. Donated by Boatswain's Mate First Class Robert G. Tippins, USN (Retired), 2003.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS Cullman (APA-78)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Dell, William B.25 January 1945 - 20 October 1945
    02LCDR. Harding, Albert B.20 October 1945 - 2 April 1946
    03CAPT. Pancoast, Leonidas Walthall :RADM2 April 1946 - 22 May 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Data Base
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) 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 March 2017