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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Tanner (AGS-15)
ex
 USS Pamina (AKA-34) (1945 - 1946)

Tanner International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - Alpha - Zulu
 NCAZ
Pamina International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Uniform - Kilo
 NKUK
Tanner (AGS-15) Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Citation
Bottom Row - National Defense Service Medal - Vietnam Service Medal (2)- Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Pamina (AKA-34) 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 (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Artemis Class Attack Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down in 1944 as a Maritime Commission type (S4-SE2-BE1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1895) at Welsh-Kaiser Co. Providence. R.I.
  • Launched, 5 January 1945
  • Commissioned USS Pamina (AKA-34), 10 February 1945, LCDR. E. P. Teague USNR in command
  • During World War II USS Pamina was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty-One, COMO. J.R. Palmer USN (13);
    TransDiv Sixty-Two, CAPT. H.E. Paddock USN (15) and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 16 to 19 May 1945

  • Following World War II USS Pamina was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    2 to 10 September 1945
    19 September to 13 October 1945

  • Reclassified a Survey Ship and renamed, USS Tanner (AGS-15), 15 May 1946
  • During the Vietnam War USS Tanner participated in the following campaigns:

    Vietnam War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III
    17 October to 16 November 1967
    3 to 24 December 1967     		Tet Counteroffensive
    10 February to 6 March 1968

  • Decommissioned, 1 August 1969, at Mare Island, Vallejo, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1969
  • USS Pamina earned one battle star for World War II service
  • USS Tanner earned two campaign stars for Vietnam War service
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping 1 August 1970
    AKA Specifications:
    Displacement 4,087 t.(lt) 7,080 t(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16' (lim)
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 27
    Enlisted 276
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo capacity 980 DWT
    non-refrigerated 110,000 Cu. ft.
    Boats
    one LCP(L)
    twelve LCVPs
    two LCMs
    Troop Capacity 264
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,540 Bbls
    Diesel 365 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse turbo-electric engines
    two Wickes boilers, 450psi 750°
    Ship's Service Generators
    two turbo-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    one turbo-drive 150Kw 450V A.C.
    two turbo-drive 250Kw 450V A.C.
    twin propellers, 6,000shp.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Pamina (AKA-34)
    Tanner 34k USS Pamina (AKA-34) under way, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Tanner 70k USS Pamina (AKA-34) arriving at San Francisco in late 1945 or early 1946 on a Magic Carpet voyage bringing servicemen home from the western Pacific.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 78581, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    Tr yon 153k
    Namesake

    Zera Luther Tanner—born on 5 December 1835 in Warsaw, N.Y.—was appointed acting Ensign on 18 August 1862. During the Civil War, he served in the bark USS Midnight and supply ship USS Rhode Island. On 1 December 1864, when the latter captured British paddle wheel steamer Vixen, he was placed in command of her prize crew; and, on 13 January 1865, he led the group of boats from Rhode Island which landed at Fort Fisher. During the ensuing decades, while serving on many ships and shore stations, Tanner became a pioneer in and an authority on hydrography. He invented the Tanner sounding machine and is remembered for his book, “Deep Sea Exploration”, as well as for many articles expanding man's knowledge of the sea. Promoted to captain and retired on 29 June 1906, Tanner died at Washington, D.C., on 16 December 1906.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Tanner
    100203433    		 108k USS Tanner (AGS-15) in port, during the late 1940s.
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command photo # Nh 82210, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975    		 Robert Hurst
    Tanner 190k USS Tanner (AGS-15) under way date and location unknown. David Wright
    Tanner 37k USS Tanner (AGS-15) at anchor off San Salvador, circa 1953 Terry D. Gann USS Tanner
    Tanner 76k USS Tanner (AGS-15) probably in northern Canadian waters. Tanner was engaged in survey operations during the summer of 1955 around Baffin Island and in Hudsons Bay. The "Chickasaw" HO4S-1 helicopter (probably BuNo 127811) belonged to the "Fleet Angels" of Helicopter Utility Squadron (HU)2 assigned to Tanner during this expedition. Photos courtesy of the Liebrecht - Finney Collection
    Tanner 115k
    Tanner 122k
    Tanner 170k
    Tanner 60k
    Tanner 77k
    Tanner 61k USS Tanner (AGS-15) anchored at Mersin, Turkey, circa 1955-58,
    US Navy photo    		 Larry, Liebrecht
    Maury 295k USS Tanner (AGS-15) moored at Genoa, Italy, 8 September 1956. Photo by Carlo Martinelli
    Tanner 1225k Stern view of USS Tanner (AGS-15) moored at Genoa, Italy, 31 March 1957. Photos by Carol Martinelli
    Tanner 1416k
    Tanner
    100203434    		 142k USS Tanner (AGS-15) underway, circa 1964, location unknown.
    U.S. Navy "All Hands" magazine May 1964, p. 29.     		Robert Hurst
    Tanner 56k USS Tanner (AGS-15) underway, circa 1965, location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Robert Hurst
    Tanner 550k USS Tanner (AGS-15) moored inboard of USS Sheldrake (AGS-19) at Genoa, Italy, 1 February 1965. Photo by Carol Martinelli
    Tanner 52k USS Tanner (AGS-15) underway, circa late 1966-early 1967, location unknown.
    US Navy photo from DANFS.    		 Terry D. Gann USS Tanner, courtesy Daniel Bittleston USS Tanner
    Tanner 361k USS Tanner (AGS-15) underway, date and location unknown.
    Photos courtesy Destroyer Escort Historical Museum.    		 Tim Rizzuto/Ed Zajkowski
    Tanner 358k
    Tanner 175k USS Tanner (AGS-15) under way in 1967, location unknown. Wolfgang Hechler
    Tanner 54k USS Tanner (AGS-15) at anchor in South Vietnamese waters in 1967. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Tanner 66k USS Tanner (AGS-15) moored pierside at Pearl Harbor, May 1968 ©Richard Leonhardt
    Tanner 119k USS Tanner (AGS-15), Soundboat Div., Vietnam patch. ©Tommy Trampp

    For more photos and information about USS Pamina / USS Tanner, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
  • MARAD Vessel History Database
  • USS Tanner (AGS-15)
  • Postal Covers related to the ship
    • Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Teague, Edwin P., USNR10 February 1945 - 1946USS Pamina (AKA-34)
    02CAPT. Royall, William Freeman, USN (USNA 1927) :RADM1946 - 1948USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    03CAPT. Dayton, Milton Theodore, USN (USNA 1927)1948 - 1949USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    04CAPT. Gullett, William Mayo, USN (USNA 1927)1949 - 1950USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    05CAPT. Cohn, James Edward, USN (USNA 1927) :RADM1950 - January 1952USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    06CAPT. McDonald, Edwin Anderson, USN (USNA 1931)January 1952 - August 1953USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    07CAPT. Newcomb, Arnold Houghton, USN (USNA 1935)August 1953 - 1954USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    08CDR. Linder, Philip Francis, USN1954 - 27 Februry 1956USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    09CAPT. Boyle, Francis Dennis, USN (USNA 1934) :RADM27 February 1956 - 9 January 1957USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    10CDR./CAPT. Aymond, John Paul, USN9 January 1957 - 9 January 1958USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    11CAPT. Gavitt, Severance Woodbury, USN 9 January 1958 - 18 February 1959USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    12CAPT. Salvia, Onofrio Frederick, USN (USNA 1939)18 February 1959 - 26 February 1960USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    13CAPT. Dawson, George Ely, USN26 February 1960 - 11 February 1961USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    14CAPT. Gehman, Harold Webster, USN (USNA 1939)11 February 1961 - 8 June 1962USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    15CAPT. Ohlin, Stanley Nelson USN8 June 1962 - 17 January 1964USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    16CAPT. Zimmermann Jr., Edwin Julius, USN :RADM17 January 1964 - 25 March 1965USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    17CAPT. Rush, Philip Jennings, USN26 March 1965 - 25 March 1966USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    18CAPT. Lipfert, Ralph Gerhardt, USN (USNA 1945)25 March 1966 - 20 August 1967USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    19CAPT. Smyth, Robert Peter, USN20 August 1967 - 10 September 1968USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    20CAPT. Sampson, Richard Albert Holm, USN10 September 1968 - 1 August 1969USS Tanner (AGS-15)
    Courtesy Robert Gregorowicz, Darryl Baker, 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 Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Amphibious Cargo Ship (AKA) Photo Index Back To The Survey Ship (AGS) Photo Index
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 5 January 2024