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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Towner (AKA-77)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - India - Zulu
NHIZ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
Tolland Class Attack Cargo Ship
  • Laid down, 8 April 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1383), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp, Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 18 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS Towner (AKA-77), 3 December 1944, CDR. Robert Park Erdman, USN (Ret.) in command
  • During World War II USS Towner was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Nineteen, COMO C. D. Edgar USN (12);
    TransDiv Fifty-Five
  • Following World War II USS Towner was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    6 to 14 September 194516 November to 2 December 1945
    10 to 19 October 1945 
    25 October to 15 November 194528 October to 15 November 1945

  • Decommissioned, 10 June 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 13 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946
  • Withdrawn from the National Defense Reserve Fleet in early 1947 and towed to Bath, ME. for reconversion to commercial service
  • Merchant Service
    Sold to Pacific Far East Lines Inc, 19 September 1947, renamed SS Philippine Bear
    Sold to Trans-Pacific Co. March 1957
    Renamed SS Kaimana, 13 November 1958
    Sold to Darama Inc., 23 June 1959
    Sold to Long Island Tankers Corp., 3 May 1960
    Renamed SS Guam Bear, 13 July 1960
    Sold to Pacific Far East Lines Inc., 7 September 1961
  • Final Disposition, declared a constructive total loss in March 1967, abandoned 3 July 1967
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,635 t.(lt) 14,160 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 26' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers - 62
    Enlisted - 333
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Boats
    fourteen LCVPs
    eight LCMs
    Cargo Capacity 5,275DWT
    non-refrigerated 380,000 Cu ft.
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO - 10,425 Bbls
    Diesel - 805 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    three 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ships's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		SizeImage DescriptionContributed
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    USS Towner (AKA-77)
    Towner54kUSS Towner (AKA-77) underway, circa 1944-45, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 80011, courtesy of James Russell    		US Naval Historical Center
    Merchant Service Pacific Far East Lines
    Towner344kEx-USS Towner (AKA-77) in merchant service as the Pacific Far East Liner SS Guam Bear, circa 1960, location unknown,
    Photo copyrighted by A. Duncan.    		Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Towner
    100207703    		98kSS Guam Bear (Ex-USS Towner (AKA-77)) sinking in Apra Harbor, Guam after collison with the 19,291-ton Humble Oil tanker SS Esso Seattle around 6:30AM, 14 January 1967, local time and date. Guam Bear was too seriously injured for further service and was abandoned and scuttled 3 July 1967.John Spivey
    USS Towner (AKA-77)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Erman, Robert Park, USN (Ret.) [USNA 1919]1 December 1944 - 30 January 1946
    02CDR. Brownfield, John Herbert, USN [USNA 1926]30 January 1946 - 10 October 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    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 PageBack To The Amphibious Ship Type IndexBack To The Amphibious Cargo Ship (AKA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 21 June 2024