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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

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 (4-Vietnam, 4-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:

Launched, 22 December 1944, at Newport New Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA.

Commissioned USS Catamount (LSD-17), 15 March 1945, CDR. C. A. Swafford 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:

**Vietnam War Campaigns**
Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
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
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

Decommissioned, 31 March 1970

Struck from the Naval Register, 15 October 1976

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.

USS Catamount received seven battle stars for Korean War service and seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service

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
Landing Craft

Officers 6

Enlisted 30
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

Size	Image Description	Source
36k	*USS Catamount* (LSD-17)** at anchor, circa 1948, location unknown.	Robert Hurst
89k	*USS Catamount* (LSD-17)**'s well deck makes a unique swimming hole for NROTC midshipmen being training in techniques of amphibious warfare. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, September 1949.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
97k	An LCVP bucks in the well of *USS Catamount* (LSD-17), during mine clearance operations off Chinnampo, North Korea, 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 Historical Center
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.
65k	*USS Catamount* (LSD-17)** underway in San Francisco Bay, 1958. Photo by Allied Photographers.	Robert M. Cieri
77k	*USS Catamount* (LSD-17)** underway, circa 1962, location unknown.	Photo by George Arthur USS Dynamic (MSO-432), submitted by Floyd Farrar
107k	*USS Catamount* (LSD-17)** underway, circa 1962, location unknown.	Photo by George Arthur USS Dynamic (MSO-432), submitted by Floyd Farrar

USS Catamount (LSD-17)
DANFS history entry located the US Naval History and Heritage Command

Commanding Officers
CDR. Swafford, Chester Arthur	9 April 1945 - ?
CDR. Loveland, Kenneth :RADM	1950 - ?
CDR. Thompson Jr., Ray Selwyn	1952 - ?
CDR. Payne, Raymond	1954 - ?
CDR. Groff, Bruce Franklin, Sr.	no dates
CDR. Grabowsky, Leon	1957 - ?
CDR. Smith, Clayton Waite	1960 - 13 October 1962
CDR. Slawson, Harry Filmore	13 October 1962 - ?


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

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Last Updated 19 November 2010