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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Deal (AKL-2)
ex
 USS Deal (AG-131) (1947 - 1949)
 US Army FS-263 (1944 - 1947)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - Bravo - Golf
 NPBG
USAV FS-263 Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Camano Class Light Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down in 1944 as FS-263 for the US Army at Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Whitestone, Long Island, N.Y.
  • Delivered to the US Army Transportation Service
  • Coast Guard-manned and commissioned USAV FS-263 at New York, 16 August 1944, LTjg. W. G. Hill, USCGR in command
  • Decommissioned, 12 October 1946
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 2 March 1947, at Apra, Guam
  • Commissioned, Miscellaneous Auxiliary, USS Deal (AG-131), 3 August 1947, LTjg Peter G. Pattern in command
  • Reclassified Light Cargo Ship, (AKL-2), 31 March 1949
  • Decommissioned, 8 September 1955, at Portland, OR.
  • Laid up, 13 April 1955, in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Columbia River Group, Astoria, OR.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Sold, 18 December 1961, sold to a Columbian buyer, renamed MV Don Carlos, for trade in the Caribbean, reflagged Columbia
  • 8 January 8, 1963 the ship is still registered in Columbia, represented in Galveston by Hansen And Tidemann, Chartered by AD S. Cargo Ltd. of Miami, renamed
  • Name changed to MV Olga Patricia, 11 Aug 1964, reflagged Panama
  • May 1963, the ship is in Miami and Biscayne Harbor now owned by Florida Lines
  • Sold to Viscaya Inc. in 1966
  • Converted to a pirate radio station at Dade Drydock Corporation, Miami, FL. in March 1966
  • Renamed MV Laissez Faire, date unknown
  • Deal's career after Naval service included operation's off the coast of England as a pirate radio station as M/V Olga Patricia and M/V Laissez Faire
  • Current Disposition, commercial fishing vessel F/V Earl J. Conrad, Jr. (USCG Doc. No. 547733) operating out of Reedville, VA.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 550 t.
    Length 177'
    Beam 33'
    Draft 10'
    Speed 12 kts.
    Complement 42
    Propulsion
    two 500hp GM Cleveland Division 6-278A 6-cyl V6 Diesel engines
    twin propellers
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Deal (AKL-2)
    Deal
    094913108    		 69k
    Namesake
    Deal Deal Island is a census-designated place in Somerset County, Maryland,
    Photo - Deal Island, Photo by David Pietroski, from Delmarva now.
    Map Location map of Deal Island Maryland    		 Tommy Trampp
    Deal 48k USS Deal (AKL-2) entering Sasebo harbor, Japan, circa 1954. Photo courtesy of Les Wright, former Deal XO.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Commercial Service
    Deal 57k Ex-USS Deal (AKL-2) as the M/V Olga Patricia moored pierside at Miami, FL. in 1966. Svenn Martinsen
    Deal 65k M/V Olga Patricia operating as a pirate radio station off the coast of England in 1966. Svenn Martinsen
    Deal 86k Ex-USS Deal (AKL-2) renamed M/V Laissez Faire operating as pirate radio station off the coast of England in 1967. Svenn Martinsen
    Deal 536k M/V Laissez Faire operating as pirate radio station off Frinton-on Sea, Essex, in July 1967. At this time she was home to Britain Radio (closed down on 22 February 1967) and Radio 227.
    Photos from "Pirate Radio: An Illustrated History" by Keith Skues and David Kindred.    		 Robert Hurst
    Deal 570k
    Deal
    094913107     		109k F/V Earl J. Conrad, Jr. operating as one of Omega Protein of Reedville, VA. menhaden fishing vessels idling near the seine skiffs of the F/V Tideland in the Chesapeake Bay near Reedville, VA., date unknown.
    Photo courtesy Ocean Smart. US    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Deal (AG-131 / AKL-2)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg Pattern Peter Gause3 August 1947 - 21 June 1950
    02LCDR. Sanders, C. F., USN21 June 1950 - 15 August 1951
    03LT. Maynard, Robert Louis, USNR15 August 1951 - 22 July 1952
    04LT. Smith Jr., Francis W., USNR22 July 1952 - ?
    05LT. Fellard, Charles R.January 1954 - February 1954
    06LT. Ireland, Clifton RoscoeFebruary 1954 - ?
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information Web Sites
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The Radio Rose of Texas, Chapter 10, by Derek Burroughs, Jr.
    Offshore Pirate Radio
    Ocean Smart.US
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Freight and Supply Vessel Photo Index Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG) Photo Index Back To The Light Cargo Ship (AKL) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 8 October 2021