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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31)
ex
 USS Mobjack (AGP-7) (1943 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Romeo - Zulu
 NBRZ


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (20 September 1944) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
Personnel Awards

Purple Heart (one 20 September 1944)
Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 5 February 1942, at Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.
  • Launched, 2 August 1942
  • Reclassified as a Motor Torpedo Boat Tender, 11 March 1943
  • Commissioned USS Mobjack (AGP-7), 17 October 1943, CDR. D. B. Coleman in command
  • During World War II USS Mobjack (AGP-7) was assigned to th Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Consolidation of Solomon Islands
    Consolidation of northern Solomon Islands, 24 April to 24 August 1944     		Borneo operations
    Balikpapan operations, 26 June 1945
    Western New Guinea operations
    Designated duty in connection with Motor Torpedo Boat operations, 1 July to 15 November 1944     		 

  • Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 21 August 1946, at San Francisco, CA.
  • USS Mobjack earned three battle stars for World War II service
  • Transferred, the same day, to the custody of the Department of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey
  • Renamed and commissioned USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31), in service from 1946 to 1956
  • USC&GSS Pioneer was sold for scrapping, 4 May 1966, to National Metal and Steel Corp., Terminal Island, CA;
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,750 t.(fl)
    Length 310' 9"
    Beam 41' 1"
    Draft 13' 6"
    Speed 18.2 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 40
    Enlisted 320
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel 2,000 Bbls
    Gasoline 82,650 Gals
    Propulsion
    Fairbanks Morse Diesel 38D8 1/8 engines
    double Fairbanks Morse Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     two Diesel-drive 200Kw 450V A.C.
    two propellers, 6,400shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Mobjack (AGP-7)
    Mobjack
    09432719    		 143k
    Namesake
    Mobjack - Mobjack Bay is a bay on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. It lies between the Rappahannock River on the north and the York River on the south. The bay appears in early documents as "Mockjack Bay"; it was said that echoes on the bay would mock "Jack", a term for a sailor.
    Photo - Mobjack Bay Marina, North (Marinas.com)
    Map - Mobjack Bay, Virginia (Knotworkin.com)    		 Tommy Trampp
    Mobjack 122k Mobjack (AGP-7) fitting out at Houghton, WA., 10 July 1943
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51142, from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Mobjack 162k Mobjack (AGP-7) fitting out at Houghton, WA., 10 July 1943. Three less-advanced Barnegat-class AVPs are also visible fitting out afloat.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51141 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Mobjack 118k Mobjack (AGP-7) fitting out at Houghton, WA., 10 July 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51140 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Mobjack 61k Mobjack (AGP-7) Photographed off Houghton, WA., 17 September 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51132 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Mobjack 70k Mobjack (AGP-7) off Houghton, WA., 17 September 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51133 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Mobjack 69k Mobjack (AGP-7) off Houghton, WA., 17 September 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51137 from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Titania
    100201320    		 253k USS Mobjack (AGP-7) forward of Attack Cargo Ship USS Titania (AKA-13) in drydock at Navy Advanced Base Section Dock no. 2 (USS ASBD-2) at Manus, Admiralty Islands, prior to undocking, 21 March 1945.
    U.S. Navy photo 80-G-330641 from the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 148728590    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack 262k USS Mobjack (AGP-7) inbound passing under the Golden Gate Bridge as she enters San Francisco Bay, CA., 12 December 1945
    Photo ©Nobe Smith Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, VA.     		Bill Gonyo
    USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31)
    Mobjack 51k Starboard view of ex-Mobjack (AGP 7) in service as the US Coast and Geodetic Survey ship USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) in 1946. The ship has been transferred to the Department of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey, but has not been converted to C&GS configuration
    NOAA photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection.    		 Mike Green
    Mobjack 83k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) under way off the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, in 1947.
    Photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection. Image ID: theb0381. NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; CAPT. Harry D. Reed, C&GS.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack
    09432720    		 72k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay while outbound to sea, circa 1952.
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Photo Library.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack 98k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) passing underneath the Golden Gate Bridge while returning from a mapping mission in Alaska, date unknown. Pioneer towed the first marine magnetometer and discovered magnetic striping, the key to plate tectonics.
    USN photo.     		Bud Patras
    Mobjack 29k Stern view of USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) at sea off Kwajalein Island in 1960.
    Photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection. Image ID:theb0337. NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; C&GS Season's Report Deane 1960-38    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack 167k USC&GSS Pathfinder (OSS-30) and USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) moored pierside at Kodiak, Alaska in June 1961.
    NOAA photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection.    		 Mike Green
    Mobjack 79k USC&GSS Pathfinder (OSS-30) and USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) moored pierside at Kodiak, Alaska, 4 July 1961.
    NOAA photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection.    		 Mike Green
    Mobjack 104k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    Photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection. Image ID:theb0231. NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; NOAA Office of NOAA Corps Operations.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack 101k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) on survey operations in the Indian Ocean in 1964.
    Photos from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection. Image IDs theb0383 and tjeb0384. NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; NOAA Office of NOAA Corps Operations.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack 80k
    Mobjack 143k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) under way, location unknown.
    Photo from NOAA's Fleet Then and Now - Sailing for Science Collection. Image ID: theb3949.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mobjack 41k USC&GSS Pioneer (OSS-31) at sea, date and location unknown.
    NOAA photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Mobjack (AGP-7)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Coleman, David Buncombe :RADM17 October 1943 - August 1944
    02LCDR. McClain, John Henry USNAugust 1944 - September 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
    Profile and Sky Views - Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tenders -Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) Photo Index Back To The Motor Torpedo Boat Tender (AGP) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 20 October 2023