Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

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 - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (1)
Catskill Class Minelayer:
  • Laid down, 12 July 1941, at Williamette 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 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 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, date unknown'
  • 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
  • Loaded 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
  • Ozark earned three battle stars for World War II service in addition to the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation
    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 duel purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    twenty single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Total Accommodation (LSV Configuration)
    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
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Ozark (LSV-2)
    Ozark 72k PCU Ozark (LSV-2) underway 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.
    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.    		 Mike Green
    Ozark 38k USS Ozark (LSV-2) underway, 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
    USS Ozark (MCS-2)
    Ozark 44k USS Ozark (MCS-2) underway circa 1967, location unknown
    US Navy photos    		  
    Ozark 28k
    USS Ozark (LSV-2 / MCS-2)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Association of Minemen
    Naval Minewarfare Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Mine Layer (CM) Photo Index Back To the Transport (AP) Photo Index Back To The Vehicle Landing Ship (LSV) Photo Index Back To The Mine Countermeasures Support Ship (MCS) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Joe Radigan
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 22 July 2011