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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive


Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Catamount (LSD-17)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - November - Bravo
NJNB
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (7)
Fourth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam, Taiwan Straits)- Vietnam Service Medal (7) - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (15)
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)


Casa Grande Class Dock Landing Ship:
  • Laid down, date unknown, at Newport New Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA.
  • Launched, 22 December 1944
  • Commissioned USS Catamount (LSD-17), 15 March 1945, CAPT. Charles A. Swafford, USN in command
  • During the Korean War USS Catamount participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    20 September to 2 November 1950
    Second Korean Winter
    7 to 18 and 28 to 30 December 1951
    11, 13 to 14, and 20 January 1952
    23 January to 11 February 1952
    20 March to 2 April 1952
    Communist China Aggression
    3 November 1950 to 23 January 1951
    Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    5 June 1952
    24 to 25 November 1952
    28 December 1952 to 11 January 1953
    First UN Counter Offensive
    1 February to 21 April 1951
    Third Korean Winter
    15 to 31 January 1953
    Communist China Spring Offensive
    22 to 23 and 25 to 27 April 1951
    1 to 5 May 1951
     

  • During the Vietnam War USS Catamount participated in the following campaigns:

    Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Vietnam Advisory Campaign
    29 to 30 July 1958
    27 to 28 August 1958
    24 to 26 April 1961
    30 October to 7 November 1962
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    1 to 4 June 1967
    29 June to 5 July 1967
    18 to 22 July 1967
    18 to 26 August 1967
    5 to 15 October 1967
    26 October to 1 November 1967
    Vietnam Defense
    3 to 5 and 18 to 24 December 1965
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV
    29 November to 1 December 1968
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive
    25 to 28 December 1965
    26 January to 19 February 1966
    18 to 22 March 1966
    2 April to 5 May 1966
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI
    1 to 6 and 8 to 27 January 1969
    13 to 20 February 1969
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II
    29 April to 10 May 1967
    22 to 25 and 31 May 1967
    Tet 69/Counteroffensive
    25 February to 2 March 1969
    6 to 9 March 1969
    3 to 6 and 19 to 25 April 1969
    29 April to 3 May 1969
    5 to 8 May 1969
  • Decommissioned, 7 April 1970, at Bremerton, WA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 October 1976
  • USS Catamount earned seven battle stars for Korean War service, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Vietnam Service Medal with seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 4 December 1975 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for $178,148.15 to Max Rouse & Sons, Beverly Hills, CA.
    Specifications: (as reported by Office of Naval Intelligence, 7 April 1944)
    Displacement 4,032 (light draft), 7,930 (seagoing - loaded)
    Length 457' 9" o.a.
    Beam 72"
    Draft
    8' 2 ½" fwd, 10' ½" aft (light draft)
    15' 5 ½" fwd, 16' 2" aft (seagoing loaded)
    Speed 17 kts (design speed)
    Endurance 8,000 miles @ 15 knots
    Complement
    Officers 17
    Enlisted 237
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 22
    Enlisted 218
    Well Deck Capacity (varies with mission)
    three LCT (Mk V or VI) each w/ 5 medium tanks or
    two LCT (Mk III or IV) each w/ 12 medium tanks or
    fourteen LCM (Mk III) each w/ 1 medium tank or 1, 500 long tons cargo or
    forty-seven DUKW or
    forty-one LVT or
    Any combination of landing vehicles and landing craft up to capacity
    Aircraft (still in commission in late 40's or early 50's) were fitted/retro-fitted with a prefabricated steel grated "Portable Deck" suspended between the wing walls and supported by removable I-beam girders. The aft end of the portable deck contained a wooden helicopter platform, enabling the ship to land and launch 1 helicopter at a time. Stowage of helicopters was limited to capacity of the portable deck installed for the mission. Aircraft servicing was limited to re-fueling. With portable deck and aircraft platform installed, the Landing ship, dock was still capable of transporting, launching and repairing smaller amphibious craft and vehicles up to the size of a Landing craft, utility (LCU) in their well decks.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount in open tub (w/director)
    two quad 40mm AA gun mounts (w/directors)
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts (w/directors)
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts (local control)
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 11,720 Bbls
    Diesel 160 Bbls
    Gasoline 5,085 Gals
    Propulsion
    two Newport News Shipbuilding steam turbines
    two Babcock and Wilcox oil fired D-type boilers, two drum, single furnace, single uptake, 250psi
    single Newport New Main Reduction Gears
    two turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship' Service Generators
    twin propellers, 7,000shp

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Source
    Catamount 109k Ship's sponsor Mrs. David Satterfield christening Catamount LSD-17, 22 December 1944, at Newport New Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA.
    Photo from the shipyard in house publication "Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. Bulletin".
    S. Dale Hargrave
    Catamount 121k USS Catamount (LSD-17) under way either during builders trials or soon after commissioning. Ron Atwood
    Catamount 174k USS Catamount (LSD-17) commissioning ceremony, 15 March 1945, at Newport New Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA. Ron Atwood for his father LTjg. Wayne R. Atwood SC USNR USS Catamount
    Catamount 111k
    Catamount 217k
    Catamount 73k
    Catamount 29k USS Catamount (LSD-17) at anchor, date and location unknown. Janine Hilton
    Catamount 53k LCT(6)- 687 entering the well deck of USS Catamount (LSD-17) date and location unknown. Janine Hilton
    Catamount 49k
    Catamount 59k LCT(6)- 588 in the well deck of USS Catamount (LSD-17) date and location unknown. Janine Hilton
    Catamount 36k USS Catamount (LSD-17) at anchor, circa 1948, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Catamount 89k USS Catamount (LSD-17)'s well deck makes a unique swimming hole for NROTC midshipmen being trained in techniques of amphibious warfare.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, September 1949.
    Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Catamount 84k From left to right; unknown LSD, USS USS Colonial (LSD-18), USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) and USS Catamount (LSD-17) rendezvous at a Japanese port, date unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine November 1954.
    Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Catamount 65k USS Catamount (LSD-17) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.

    NS0311648b
    241k

    A view of USN ships supporting the Operation Redwing, Test Cherokee, Hydrogen Bomb Test at Bikini Atoll in May 1956. USS Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) and USS Catamount (LSD-17), two unidentifiable auxiliaries and an unidentifiable destroyer escort anchored before the first air-dropped hydrogen bomb test.

    LIFE magazine, J.R. Eyerman photographer, shared by Peter DeForest.

    Catamount 65k USS Catamount (LSD-17) under way in San Francisco Bay, 1958.
    Photo by Allied Photographers.
    Robert M. Cieri
    Catamount 77k USS Catamount (LSD-17) under way, circa 1962, location unknown. Photo by George Arthur USS Dynamic (MSO-432), submitted by Floyd Farrar
    Catamount 107k USS Catamount (LSD-17) under way, circa 1962, location unknown. Photo by George Arthur USS Dynamic (MSO-432), submitted by Floyd Farrar
    Catamount
    10121726
    71k USS Catamount (LSD-17) at anchor in Subic Bay, Philippines, July 1967.
    Photo courtesy Eric Bollin, USN
    Robert Hurst
    Catamount 53k USS Catamount (LSD-17) underway, circa 1968, location unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Robert Hurst
    Catamount 80k USS Catamount (LSD-17) passing Point Loma while out bound to sea from San Diego, date unknown.
    US Navy photo.
    Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Catamount 214k USS Catamount (LSD-17) emblem, designed by LT. Forney N. Richardson, was adopted in February 1968. It features the head of a Catamount (also known as a mountain lion, or Puma) as its central device.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 69470-KN
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Catamount 184k A LCVP bucks in the well of USS Catamount (LSD-17), during mine clearance operations off Chinnampo, circa November 1950. USS Forrest Royal (DD-872), flagship for this operation, is in the left background.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-422837 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Catamount 184k USS Catamount (LSD-17) surrounded by small craft as she offloads amphibious forces and supplies in South Vietnam. Photo was received by the Naval Photographic Center in March 1967.
    US Naval Photographic Center Photo # K-36241 a US Navy photo by JOC J. F. Falk now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Catamount 148k A monitor flame boat leaving the well deck of USS Catamount (LSD-17) during tests conducted off the coast of San Diego, California, 6 August 1968.
    US National Archives Photo # K-55228 a US Navy photo by CWO Sheehan USN now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Catamount 216k Two monitor flame boats enter the well deck of USS Catamount in the harbor at San Diego California after undergoing tests, 6 August 1968.
    US National Archives Photo # K-55270 a US Navy photo by CWO Sheehan USN now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    US Naval History and Heritage Command

    USS Catamount (LSD-17)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Swafford, Chester Arthur, USN9 April 1945 - 9 September 1946
    02CDR. Fortune Jr., James Hunter, USN (USNA 1933)9 September 1946 - 13 June 1948
    03LCDR. Lienhard, Bernard Aloysus, USN13 June 1948 - 27 January 1950
    04CDR. Loveland, Kenneth, USN (USNA 1933) :RADM27 January 1950 - 1952
    05CDR. Thompson Jr., Ray Selwyn, USN (USNA 1936)1952 - 1954
    06CDR. Payne, Raymond, USN (USNA 1936)1954 - 1955
    07CDR. Judson, Jr., Charles Sterling, USN1955 - 1956
    08CDR. Grabowsky, Leon, USN (USNA 1941)1957 - ?
    09CDR. Smith, Clayton Waite, USN (USNA 1943)1960 - 13 October 1962
    10CDR. Slawson, Harry Filmore, USN13 October 1962 - 6 July 1963
    11CDR. Graves Jr., Luther James, USN (USNA 1946) 6 July 1963 - 5 August 1964
    12CDR. Shaw, Burton Arthur, USNR5 August 1964 - 6 September 1966
    13CDR. Kramer, George, USN6 September 1966 - 12 August 1967
    14CDR. Groff Sr., Bruce Franklin, USN12 August 1967 - February 1969
    15CDR. Mills, Joel Robert, USNFebruary 1969 - 7 April 1970
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

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    Last Updated 10 November 2023