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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Ozark (MCS-2)
ex
 USS Ozark (LSV-2) (1944 - 1966)

LSV-2/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Whiskey - Lima
 NAWL
MCS-2International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Bravo - Tango
 NDBT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Meritorious Unit Commendation (2) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)
Catskill Class Minelayer:
  • Laid down, 12 July 1941, at Willamette Iron and Steel Corp, Portland, OR. as Mine Layer CM-7
  • Launched, 15 June 1942
  • Redesignated Transport AP-107, 1 May 1943
  • Redesignated Landing Ship Vehicle LSV-2, 21 April 1944
  • Commissioned USS Ozark (LSV-2), 23 September 1944, CAPT. Frederick P. Williams in command
  • During World War II USS Ozark was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 10 April 1945
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 to 27 February 1945     		 

  • Following World War II USS Ozark was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 to 7 September 1945
  • Decommissioned, 25 June 1946, at Orange, TX.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Beaumont, TX., 17 August 1960
  • Redesignated Mine Countermeasures Support Ship MCS-2, 18 October 1956
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 September 1961
  • Reinstated on the Naval Register, 1 October 1963
  • Converted to a Mine Countermeasure Support Ship under the Navy 1963 Shipbuilding and Conversion Program at Norfolk Shipbuilding, Norfolk, VA.
  • Recommissioned, USS Ozark (MCS-2), 24 June 1966
  • Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 1 April 1974
  • USS Ozark earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, 17 November 1970
  • Permanent transfer to MARAD, 1 September 1971
  • Loaned to the US Air Force, 7 October 1975
  • Final Disposition, sunk unintentionally by a Maverick missile in 1981 in the Gulf of Mexico. The missile entered the starboard side of the ship 13 feet above the waterline and the delayed fuse ignited the warhead above the first deck. A 2 ft hole in the hull caused the sinking
    Specifications
    Displacement 5,875 t.(lt), 9,040 t.(fl)
    Length 451' 4"
    Beam 60' 2"
    Draft 20'
    Speed 20.3 kts.
    Armament (LSV Configuration)
    two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    twenty single 20mm AA gun mounts
    LSV Total Accommodation
    Officers 114
    Enlisted 450
    Boats
    LSV Configuration - thirty-one DUKWS plus LCVPs
    MCS Configuration - twenty 36' MSLs
    Aircraft two helicopters (MCS Configuration)
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 12,025 Bbls
    Diesel 750 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Electric geared turbines
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    four turbo-drive 500Kw 450V A.C. Ship's Service Generators
    four Combustion Engineering D-type boilers, 400psi 700°
    two propellers, 11,000shp
    Robert Hurst
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Ozark (LSV-2)
    Ozark
    10170204    		 247k Ozark (LSV-2) under way near her builders yard, Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland, OR., 16 September 1944. Her two superfiring 5"/38 gun mounts were removed before she left the shipyard in early October.
    Same as US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-76631, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green and Rick Davis
    Ozark
    10170214    		 235k Ozark (LSV-2) under way near her builders yard, Willamette Iron & Steel Corp., Portland, OR., 16 September 1944.
    Willamette Iron and Steel Corp. photo.    		 Rick Davis
    Ozark 38k USS Ozark (LSV-2) under way, circa 1944-1945, location unknown. Her camouflage is Measure 31 Design 15L Laurence Talbott USN crew member
    and the James F Justin Online Museum
    Oral History Collection
    Ozark 51k USS Ozark (LSV-2) under way, date and location unknown. Britt Fontenot
    USS Ozark (MCS-2)
    Ozark
    10170215    		 130k Stern view of USS Ozark (MCS-2) underway circa 1966, location unknown
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo # UA22.02
    Ozark 44k USS Ozark (MCS-2) underway circa 1967, location unknown
    US Navy photos    		  
    Ozark 28k
    Ozark 79k USS Ozark (MCS-2) underway date and location unknown Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Ozark 108k
    Ozark 44k USS Ozark (MCS-2) under waydate and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Ozark 124k Ex-USS Ozark (MCS-2) hard aground in September, 1979, after being ripped loose from her anchorage by Hurricane Frederic and driven onto a beach near Perdido Key, FL. After decommissioning ex-Ozarkr was later towed to Destin, FL., and anchored there to be used as a target by the US Air Force from Eglin Air Force Base. Ozark was hit multiple times with large practice (non-explosive) bombs but was not sunk until subjected to live missile tests in 1981.
    Source: US Navy All Hands Magazine, November, 1982, page 10.    		 Mike Green
    Ozark 113k Ex-USS Ozark (MCS-2) being salvaged by Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 (MDSU-2) in October, 1979 at a beach near Perdido Key, FL.
    Source: U.S. Navy All Hands Magazine, November, 1982, page 10.
    Source: US Navy All Hands Magazine, November, 1982, page 10.    		 Mike Green
    Ozark 149k Ex-USS Ozark (MCS-2) twelve hours before sinking. The ship was unintentionally sunk with a Maverick missile launched from an F-4 "Phantom" from Eglin AFB in 1981. The missile's warhead entered on her starboard side approximately 13 feet above the waterline, went through 2 decks and exploded above the hull leaving a hole approximately 3 feet in diameter in her hull. The hole in the bottom of the ship wasn't noticed until the next day when Air Force personnel and Hughes Missile Systems Co. engineers entered the ship for damage assessment. By this time, she was listing at 16 degrees and all personnel were ordered off the ship. The wreck currently lies upright and intact in approximately 330 feet of water, 28 to 30 miles due south of Destin, FL.
    Wikemedia Commons, Gordon Starr, photographer, with photo use permission.    		 Mike Green
    Ozark 126k Starboard side view of entry hole in the hull of ex-USS Ozark (MCS-2) milliseconds after impact.
    Wikemedia Commons, U.S. Air Force photo, Photo No. Unknown.    		 Mike Green
    USS Ozark (LSV-2 / MCS-2)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Williams Frederick Paul, USN (USNA 1925)23 September 1944 - 15 June 1946
    02LCDR. Howell, John George, USNR (USNA 1930)15 June 1946 - 29 June 1946
     Decommissioned29 June 1946 - 24 June 1966
    03CAPT. Little, Charles Eugene, USN24 June 1966 - 24 August 1967
    04CAPT. Hooffstetter, William Benson, USN24 August 1967- 20 June 1969
    05CAPT. Pstrak, Theodore Wesley, USN20 June 1969 - ?
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessl History Database
    Association of Minemen
    Minewarfare Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Mine Warfare Ship Type Index Back To the Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index Back to the Mine Layer (CM) Photo Index Back To The Vehicle Landing Ship (LSV) Photo Index Back To The Mine Countermeasures Support Ship (MCS) Photo Index
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    Last Updated 19 January 2024