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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patch at left contributed by Joe Radigan, patch at right by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Annapolis (AGMR-1)
ex
 USS Gilbert Islands (AKV-39) (1959 - 1963)
 USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107) (1945 - 1959)

International Radio Call Signs,

1945 - USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107)
November - Kilo - Alpha - Tango
NKAT
1964 - USS Annapolis (AGMR-1)
November - Echo - Whiskey - Alpha
NEWA
   

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation [AGMR]
2nd Row: American Campaign Medal / Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) / World War II Victory Medal
3rd Row: Navy Occupation Service Medal ("Asia" and "Europe" clasps) / National Defense Service Medal (2) [CVE & AGMR] / Korean Service Medal
4th Row: Vietnam Service Medal (8) [AGMR] / Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Medal with Palm) [AGMR] / Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal [AGMR]
Commencement Bay Class Escort Aircraft Carrier
  • Initially commissioned, 5 February 1945, as the Escort Aircraft Carrier USS Gilbert Islands (CVE-107), CAPT. Lester K. Rice USN in command
  • Decommissioned, 21 May 1946, and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Philadelphia Group
  • Recommissioned, 7 September 1951, at Philadelphia, Capt. Carl E. Giese USN, in command
  • Decommissioned, 15 January 1955.
  • While in reserve, reclassified as a Cargo Ship and Aircraft Ferry AKV-39, 7 May 1959
  • Struck from the Naval Register in June 1961
  • Reinstated in the Naval Vessel Register
  • Converted to a Major Communications Relay Ship, redesignated AGMR-1, 1 June 1963
  • Renamed Annapolis, 22 June 1963.
  • Recommissioned USS Annapolis (AGMR-1), 7 March 1964, at New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y., CAPT. John J. Rowan USN, in command
  • During the Vietnam War USS Annapolis participated in the following campaigns:

    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnam Defense
    15 September to 12 October 1965
    29 October to 27 November 1965
    16 to 24 December 1965     		Tet Counteroffensive
    30 January to 13 February 1968
    8 March to 1 April 1968
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive
    25 December 1965 to 11 January 1966
    26 January to 24 February 1966
    15 March to 10 April 1966
    2 May to 11 June 1966     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV
    2 to 10 April 1968
    10 May to 14 June 1968
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II
    7 August to 2 September 1966
    21 to 22 September 1966
    29 September to 21 October 1966
    29 November to 21 December 1966
    16 February to 3 April 1967
    26 April to 31 May 1967     		Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V
    19 July to 30 August 1968
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    1 to 3 June 1967
    25 June to 9 August 1967
    6 September to 9 October 1967
    10 November to 5 December 1967
    27 December 1967 to 29 January 1968     		Tet 69/Counteroffensive
    6 to 29 March 1969

  • Decommissioned, 20 December 1969, at Philadelphia
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 October 1976
  • USS Annapolis earned eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 1 November 1979 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS)
    Specifications
    Displacement 11,373 t.(lt)
    Length 557' 7"
    Beam 75'
    Draft 30'
    Speed 18 kts.
    Complement
    CVE - 1066
    AGMR 700
    Armament
    CVE
    two single 5'/38 dual purpose gun mounts
    thirty-six 40mm AA guns
    twenty 20mm AA guns
    AGMR
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    Propulsion two Allis-Chalmers geared turbines, two shafts
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed By /
    Source
    Annapolis 259k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) under way, 12 June 1964, leaving the New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, N.Y., where she was converted to a Major Communications Relay Ship (June 1963 - February 1964). In the background are two Brooklyn - Staten Island Ferries.
    US Navy photo # USN-1103576 from the collections of the US Naval Photographic Center, Naval Station Washington, D.C. 20390    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Annapolis 395k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) under way, circa 1964, location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Adam Lewis
    Annapolis 98k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) under way, circa 1964, location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the US Navy Memorial collection    		 Robert Hurst and Stan Svec
    Annapolis 72k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Hazegray & Underway
    Annapolis 35k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) moored pierside, Naval Station Subic Bay Philippine Island, 27 June 1966. ©Richard Leonhardt
    Annapolis 61k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) under way, off the coast of Vietnam in 1967.
    US Navy photo    		  
    Annapolis 256k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) refueling from USS Caliente (AO-53) off the coast of Vietnam in 1967. Photo by Bill Doughtery USS Caliente
    Annapolis 58k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) crew men load a SH-3A Sea King helicopter belonging to HCS-2 (HS-2 "Golden Falcons") from USS Hornet (CVS-12) with firefighting foam to be delivered to USS Forestal CV-59, during the tragic flight deck fire that the carrier suffered in July 1967. Photo by David Eastman ETN3 USS Annapolis, contributed by his brother Philip Eastman USS Monmouth County
    Annapolis 1356k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) at anchor at either Taranto Italy or Athens Greece, circa July-August 1969. Charles Swartz, DCFA USS Annapolis
    Annapolis 140k USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) under way, circa 1969, location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.

    Model of USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) by Michael R. Allen
    Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis

    Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis Annapolis

    USS Annapolis (AGMR-1)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Rowan, John Joseph, USN (USNA 1942)7 March 1964 - 26 April 1965
    02CAPT. Newland Jr., John William26 April 1965 - 25 April 1966
    03CAPT. Bress, Henry (Hank)25 April 1966 - 9 January 1967
    04CAPT. Casper, William Frederick9 January 1967 - February 1968
    05CAPT. Wacker, William JohnFebruary 1968 - January 1969
    06CAPT. Miller Jr., Kirk Crothers, USN (USNA 1946)January 1969 - 20 December 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
    USS Annapolis (AGMR-1)
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Escort Carrier Index Back To the Service Ship Type Index Back To the Gilbert Islands (CVE-107) Main Page Back To The Aircraft Transport (AKV) Photo Index Back To The Major Communications Relay Ship (AGMR) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 17 November 2023