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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Torrance (AKA-76)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - India - Victor
 NHIV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
Tolland Class Attack Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 1 April 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1382), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp, Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched and delivered to the Maritime Commission at Wilmington, N.C., 6 June 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy, 20 June 1944, and towed to Hoboken, N.J. for conversion to an Attack Cargo Ship
  • Commissioned USS Torrance (AKA-76), 18 November 1944, at Bethlehem Steel Co. Hoboken, N.J., LCDR.George A. Euerle, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Torrance was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater;
    TransRon Seventeen, COMO. T. B. Brittan USN (20);
    TransDiv Forty-Nine and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 25 March to 30 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS Torrance was assigned to Occupation service from 12 November to 1 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 20 June 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 22 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet James River. Lee Hall, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 July 1946
  • USS Torrance earned one battle star for World War II service
    Merchant Service
    Sold, 15 September 1947, for merchant service, to Alcoa Steamship Co., New York, NY, renamed SS Alcoa Roamer
    Sold to Clairship Navigation Corp., New York, N.Y., 30 March 1968 and renamed SS Eldorado
    Sold at auction by U.S. Marshal to Levin Metals Corp., 20 January 1970
    Resold to Richmond Shipping Co., 4 May 1970, renamed SS Richmond, reflagged Panamanian
    Resold to a Far East shipbreaker later in 1970
    Resold for further trading, renamed SS Singapore Trader
    Ran aground in October 1971 in the St. Lawrence Seaway, on a voyage with general cargo from Japan to Detroit, MI.
    After being refloated, vessel was arrested in Montreal, Canada and sold at auction in 1972
    Final Disposition, scrapped in Santander Spain, starting in August 1972
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,635 t.(lt) 14,160 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 26' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers - 62
    Enlisted - 333
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Boats
    fourteen LCVPs
    eight LCMs
    Cargo Capacity 5,275DWT
    non-refrigerated 380,000 Cu ft.
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO - 10,425 Bbls
    Diesel - 805 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    three 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ships's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Torrance (AKA-76)
    Torrance 105k Launch of Torrance (AKA-76) at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp, Wilmington, N.C., circa early-1944 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Torrance 100k USS Torrance (AKA-76) off New York Navy Yard, 18 November 1944.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo #19-N-78527, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.     		Mike Green
    Torrance
    100207611    		 122k USS Torrance (AKA-76) underway in the harbor at New York, 23 November 1944. She is painted camouflage measure 32/8T.
    U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo # 78526 now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.     		Nicholas Tiberio
    Torrance 62k USS Torrance (AKA-76) anchored at Saipan, circa 5 to 22 May 1945. Brian Anderson for his grandfather, Clarence Russell "Russ" Anderson MoMM 3/c USNR USS Torrance
    Torrance 198k USS Torrance (AKA-76) under way, probably in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa 1945-1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 80010. Courtesy of James Russell.     		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Torrance 866k USS Torrance (AKA-76) entering a floating dry dock at Guam, 8 August 1945. Her camouflage scheme 32/8t is weathered and faded.
    US National Archives, Photo # 80-G-399555, a US Navy photo, courtesy of C. Lee Johnson, usndazzle.com     		Mike Green
    Merchant Service Alcoa Steamship Co. waterman Steamship Co.
    Torrance 75k Ex-USS Torrance (AKA-76) as the Alcoa Steamship Co.'s SS Alcoa Roamer berthed in a US port in the Fifties, location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Torrance 390k SS Alcoa Roamer working cargo at Bremerhaven, Germany in April 1967 chartered by Isthmian Lines, New York, NY. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Torrance 385k
    Torrance
    100207610    		 209k Ex-USS Torrance (AKA-76) as the Alcoa Steamship Co.'s SS Alcoa Roamer moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    ©World Ship Society     		Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Torrance 375k SS Eldorado [ex-USS Torrance (AKA-76)] working cargo at Bremerhaven, Germany in September 1968 in Waterman charterers colors. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Torrance (AKA-76)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Euerle, George A., USNR18 November 1944 - 18 December 1945
    02CDR. List, Frank Voris, USN (USNA 1933)18 December 1945 - 20 June 1946
    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 Vessel History Database
    USS Torrance (AKA-76) War Diaries, History and Action Reports, November 1944 to December 1945
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 30 June 2023