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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Aquila (AK-47)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Zulu - November
NBZN
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with bronze "A" device)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
  • Laid down in 1936 as MV Tunis at Heslinger Shipbuilding Co., Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Launched in 1936
  • Laid up at New York in April 1940
  • Taken over by the Maritime Commission, 21 July 1941, by Executive Order, dated 6 June 1941, from her owners, A/S Helsingors Jernskibs-og Maskinbyggeri, Helsingor
  • Chartered to Marine Operating Co, Inc., renamed MV Aquila, Panama flagged, 21 July 1941.
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 11 August 1941, at New York
  • Commissioned, USS Aquila (AK-47), 24 October 1941, LCDR. Samuel S. Fried in command
  • Decommissioned, 9 October 1945, at Norfolk, VA. and returned to the Maritime Service the same day for disposal
  • Stuck from the Naval Register, 24 October 1945
  • Merchant Service
    Charter by Alcoa Steam Ship Co., at Portsmouth, VA., 9 October 1945, renamed MV Bonanza
    Returned to her owners DFDS, Denmark, 25 June 1946 in accordance with Public Law 101, renamed MV Tunis
    Sold in 1966, renamed MV Maria T
    Sold in 1972, renamed MV Mathios
  • Final Disposition, scrapped in Greece in 1978
    Specifications:
    Displacement2,054 t.(lt) 4,075 t.(fl)
    Length 288' 1"
    Beam 40' 6"
    Draft 18' 4"
    Speed 12.5kts.
    Complement
    Officers 18
    Enlisted 138
    Largest Boom Capacity 6 t.
    Cargo Capacity 1,650 DWT
    non-refrigerated 111,141 Cu ft.
    refrigerated 6,975 Cu ft.
    Armament
    two single 3"/50 cal dual purpose guns
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,555 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Burmeister & Wain Diesel engine
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 120Kw 220V D.C.
     one Diesel-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    single propeller, 2,400shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS Aquila (AK-47)
    Aquila
    		 78k The Danish cargo ship SS Tunis laid up at New York, probably in mid-1941 soon before her conversion to USS Aquila (AK-47).
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-25115 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Aquila
    US Navy photo # NH 92646    		 32k USS Aquila (AK-47) underway off Boston, 4 August 1942. US Navy photos Tommy Trampp
    Aquila 184k
    Aquila
    0913004701    		 111k USS Aquila (AK-47) underway near Norfolk Navy Yard, 28 June 1943, after overhaul. The radar mast was added during this overhaul.
    0913004701 - US National Archives, photo # 19-N-51947, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo, courtesy Shipscribe.com and
    0913004707 - US National Archives photo # 80-G-71409, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Mike Green - 0913004701
    Rick Davis - 0913004707
    Aquila
    0913004707    		 267k
    Aquila
    0913004708    		 172k USS Aquila (AK-47) underway off the Atlantic Coast, 4 July 1943
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-76557, a US Navy photo taken by an airship from NAS Weeksville, N.C., now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis
    Aquila
    0913004709    		 276k USS Aquila (AK-47) underway, 19 November 1943, off the Atlantic Coast.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-200269, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis
    Merchant Service
    Aquila 62k Ex-Aquila (AK-47) underway for DFDS, Denmark as SS Tunis David Nixon
    Aquila 237k SS Tunis at anchor in the Thames River just below London Bridge, date unknown. Tommy Trampp
    USS Aquila (AK-47)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Fried, Samuel Stark24 October 1941 - 1 August 1943
    02LCDR. Peterson, Carl Albert 1 August 1942 - 17 September 1942
    03LCDR. Melville, Stanley Edward17 September 1943 - 1 May 1944
    04LT. Rearden Jr., William Benedict, USNR1 May 1944 - 11 April 1945
    05LCDR. Woodside Jr., Albion B., USNR 11 April 1945 - 1 September 1945
    06LT. Wallace, Craig1 September 1945 - 9 October 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 5 March 2021