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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Crittenden (APA-77)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Oscar - Hotel
 NKOH
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Gilliam Class Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, 31 July 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (S4-SE-BD1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1870) at Consolidated Steel Corp, Wilmington, CA.
  • Launched, 6 November 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission, 16 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS Crittenden (APA-77), 17 January 1945, CDR. Paul C. Crosley USN in command
  • During World War II USS Crittenden was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty-One, COMO. J.R. Palmer USN (13);
    TransDiv Sixty-Three, CAPT. F. M. O'Leary USN (20)
  • Following World War II USS Crittenden was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 4 to 10 November 1945
  • USS Crittenden (APA-77) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.2.6 (Target Vessel Group - Merchant Type Units - Transport Division 92 (TRANSDIV 92) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 28 August 1946, at Kwajalein Atoll
  • Towed to San Francisco, 1 January 1947
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 21 October 1948
  • Final Disposition, scuttled off San Clemente Island, California after explosives test 5 October 1948
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,247 t.(lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16.9'
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 27
    Enlisted 293
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 47
    Enlisted 802
    Cargo Capacity 85,000 cu. ft., 2,600 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA radar-directed gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,695 Bbls
    Diesel 375 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse turbo-electric drive
    two Babcock & Wilcox 450psi 750° boilers
    Ship's Service Generators
     one turbo-drive 250Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 150Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 100Kw 120/240V D.C.
    two propellers 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Crittenden 127k Operation Crossroads prospective target ships and support ships at Pearl Harbor in a photo released, 27 February 1946.
    Ships present from front to rear include USS Crittenden (APA-77), USS Catron (APA-71), USS Bracken (APA-64), USS Burleson (APA-67), USS Gilliam (APA-57), Fallon (APA-81), one unidentified ship, USS Fillmore (APA-83), USS Kochab (AKS-6), USS Luna (AKS-7) and an unidentified tanker and liberty ship. Identifiable on the right are USS LSM-203 and USS LSM-465. Further in the background are a floating drydock and a merchant ship hulk with unidentified fittings forward of the bridge.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-702126 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History History and Heritage Command
    Crittenden
    100307707    		 90k USS Crittenden (APA-77) at anchor in Bikini Atoll during Operation Crossroads, 1 January 1946.
    U.S. Government photo, courtesy of Jdogmad (real name unknown)    		 Robert Hurst
    Crittenden
    100307708    		 76k USS Crittenden (APA-77) at anchor in Bikini Atoll following the Crossroads "Able" atomic bomb test, 8 July 1946. Note the blast damage to the masts and the funnels.
    U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Archives Identifier (NAID) 81147 A U.S. Naval Photographic Center film 428-NPC-18612 "Operation Crossroads: Target Ships - Bikini"    		 Robert Hurst
    Crittenden 109k Ex-USS Crittenden (APA-77) off southern California, 5 October 1948, shortly before being sunk in the Demon 11 maneuvers there. Damaged in the Bikini atomic bomb tests, she was taken to San Francisco for study and then disposed of as an exercise target.
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # 80-G-396970, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Crittenden 55k Ex-USS Crittenden (APA-77) SINKEX, 5 October 1948, off San Diego.
    AP Wire photos.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Crittenden 57k
    Crittenden 81k
    Crittenden 360k Final moments of ex-USS Crittenden (APA-77), during the first phase of "Demon II" maneuvers, off the coast of California, 5 October 1948. She had previously been damaged in the Bikini Atomic Bomb tests in July 1946.
    U.S. National Archives, Photo # 80-G-396978 now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command    		 Mike Green
    USS Crittenden (APA-77)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR Crosley, Paul Cunningham, USN (USNA 1925)17 January 1945 - 28 August 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and R. A. Moody
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 20 October 2023