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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Uniform - Whiskey
 NAUW
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)
Kenneth Whiting Class Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 23 August 1943, as a Maritime Commission C3-S-A1 hull under a Maritime Commission contract at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc., Tacoma, WA.
  • Launched, 23 February 1944
  • Commissioned USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17), 21 August 1944, CAPT. Etheridge Grant USN in command
  • During World War II USS Cumberland Sound was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS Cumberland Sound was assigned to occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 25 November 1945
  • USS Cumberland Sound was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.1.2 (Technical Group - Instrumentation Units) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned, 27 May 1947, at San Diego, CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 July 1961
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 23 April 1962, at Pacific Reserve Fleet San Diego, for disposal
  • Sold to National Metal & Steel Corp, Terminal Island, CA., 23 April 1962 (PD-X-617 dated 8 March 1962) for $209,765.63
  • Converted to a cargo barge in June 1964
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,510 t.(lt) 14,000 t.(fl)
    Length 492'
    Beam 69' 5"
    Draft 22'
    Speed 18.7 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 113
    Enlisted 964
    Largest Boom Capacity 20 t.
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts
    two quad 40mm AA gun mounts
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    one Allis Chalmers steam turbine
    two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double Falk Main Reduction Gear
    three 500Kw 450V A.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Cumberland Sound
    09411709    		 73k
    Namesake
    Cumberland Sound - is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is a western arm of the Labrador Sea located between Baffin Island's Hall Peninsula and the Cumberland Peninsula. It is approximately 160 miles long and 50 miles wide. (Wikipedia)    		 Tommy Trampp
    Cumberland Sound 92k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) under way in Puget Sound, 28 August 1944, a week after commissioning. Note she is painted camouflage scheme 32/8Ax.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-70446, RG-19 LCM, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Cumberland Sound 87k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) at anchor in Puget Sound, circa 28 August 1944.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-70454, RG-19 LCM, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Cumberland Sound 131k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) under way off the US Pacific coast during her shakedown period, 20 September 1944.
    US Navy photo # NH 55532 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Cumberland Sound 1005k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) under way off the US Pacific coast during her shakedown period, 20 September 1944.
    US Navy photo by LTtjg Mills from an airship of squadron ZP-31, piloted by LTjg. Hannen.    		 David Buell
    Cumberland Sound 70k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Haze Gray & Underway
    Cumberland Sound 33k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) under way, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Cumberland Sound 97k One of USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) dual 40mm gun mounts in action at Ulithi. At left are twin .50 cal. guns on the tail of a PBM on board Cumberland Sound.
    US Navy photo from World War II Today    		 William Stevens
    Cumberland Sound 161k USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17) Commanding Officer, Captain Etheridge Grant, USN, (center), checks charts with a Japanese Navy pilot and LT. Rogers, USN, (at right), as the seaplane tender prepares to enter Tokyo Bay, 28 August 1945.
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-344500 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the National Archives.    		 Us Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS Cumberland Sound (AV-17)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Grant, Etheridge, USN :RADM21 August 1944 - 2 November 1945
    02CAPT. Horney, Harry Ray2 November 1945 - 1 January 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
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Seaplane Tender (AV) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 10 April 2020