Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Timbalier (AVP-54)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - Oscar - Mike
 NCOM
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Europe clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 9 September 1942, at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA.
  • Launched, 18 April 1943
  • Completed at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Commissioned, USS Timbalier (AVP-54), 24 May 1946, CAPT. James E. Johnson in command
  • USS Timbalier was assigned to Occupation service in Europe from 11 March to 24 May 1953
  • Decommissioned, 15 November 1954
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 May 1960
  • Sold to Panagiotis Kikkinos, Piraeus, Greece, placed into commercial service as the Greek cruise ship MV Rodos, 20 December 1960
  • Final Disposition scrapped at Eleusis Greece in 1989
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,800 t.(fl)
    Length 310' 9"
    Beam 41' 2"
    Draft 13' 6"
    Speed 18.2 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 14
    Enlisted 201
    Aviation Units Accommodations
    Officers 59
    Enlisted 93
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four dual 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel 1,955 Bbls
    Gasoline 84,340 Gals
    Propulsion
    two Fairbanks Morse Diesel 38D 1/8, engines
    single Fairbanks Morse Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
    two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
    one Diesel-drive 200Kw 450V A.C.
    two propellers, 6,080shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed By /
    Source
    USS Timbalier AVP-54
    Timbalier
    09435412    		 106k
    Namesake
    Timbalier - Timbalier Bay is a bay in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. The bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico and lies near New Orleans along the southwestern coast of Lafouche Parish. Timbalier Island lies between Barataria Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
    Photo - Timbalier Island
    Map - Timbalier Bay map, ©Standard Map.com    		 Tommy Trampp
    Timbalier 101k Timbalier (AVP-54) being christened by Mrs. S. B. Dunlap during launching ceremonies, 18 April 1943, at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47206, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Timbalier 104k Timbalier (AVP-54) launching, 18 April 1943, at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47206-A, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Timbalier 103k Timbalier (AVP-54) nearest pier 6-A and inboard of Valcour (AVP-55) at Bremerton Navy Yard, 10 January 1945. The two AVPs were built at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA. and towed to the Navy Yard for completion. Timbalier was eventually towed back to the Lake Washington Shipyards and completed there while Valcour was completed at Bremerton Navy Yard. The photo is taken from the flight deck of USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14). That ship was having 20mm galleries relocated from the aft end of the flight deck to the sides.
    Bremerton Navy Yard photo # 96-45    		 Tracy White
    Timbalier 100k Aerial view of Timbalier (AVP-54) nearest pier 6-A and inboard of Valcour (AVP-55) at Bremerton Navy Yard, 10 January 1945. The two AVPs were built at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA. and towed to the Navy Yard for completion. Timbalier was eventually towed back to the Lake Washington Shipyards and completed there.
    Bremerton Navy Yard photo # 97-45    		 Tracy White
    Timbalier 67k USS Timbalier (AVP-54) in Puget Sound, 22 May 1946, two days before commissioning. Probably photographed by Todd Pacific Shipyards, Inc.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-116680, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collections, now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Timbalier 100k USS Timbalier (AVP-54) tending two Martin PBM-3D Mariner seaplanes soon after World War II. The quadruple 40mm gun mount on the fantail was added in around 1948.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-483681, a US Navy photo, now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Timbalier 78k USS Timbalier (AVP-54) underway, circa 1946, location unknown. Haze Gray & Underway
    Timbalier 65k USS Timbalier (AVP-54) moored to a buoy in 1946, location unknown. The masts, boom, and stack of another ship are visible just behind her.
    US Navy photo # NH 98808 for the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command     		Robert Hurst
    Merchant Service
    Timbalier 68k Ex-Timbalier (AVP-54) in Greek service as MV Rodos at anchor in a Greek port, circa 1961, location unknown. Photo Captain Aldo Fraccaroli, from "Janes Fighting Ships" 1961-62 edition. Robert Hurst
    Timbalier 60k MV Rodos laid up at Piraeus, Greece, May 1981. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Timbalier
    09435413    		 117k MV Rodos laid up at Eleusis, Greece, 7 July 1986.
    Photo courtesy Peter J. Fitzpatrick. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Timbalier (AVP-54)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Johnson, James Everett24 May 1946 - 10 January 1947
    02CDR. Hannegan, Edward Allen :RADM10 January 1947 - November 1947
    03White, William WaldronNovember 1947 January 1948
    04Jackson Jr., Andrew McBurney :VADMJanuary 1948 - December 1948
    05Fitzgerald, Charles< TuckermanDecember 1948 - September 1949
    06CAPT. Wagner, Edwin OttoSeptember 1949 - December 1950
    07CAPT. Chafee, George BenedictDecember 1950 - October 1951
    08CAPT. Heyward Jr., Alexander Salley :VADMOctober 1951 - October 1952
    09CAPT. Johnson, Harlan ThodeOctober 1952 - 18 August 1953
    10CAPT. Head, Nelson Mead, USN (USNA 1931)18 August 1953 - July 1954
    11CAPT. MacCubbin, Alfred LouisJuly 1954 - 15 November 1954
    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
    Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
    US Navy Patrol Squadrons - USS Timbalier (AVP-54)
    Profile and Sky Views - Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tenders - Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 6 October 2023