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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Tulare (LKA-112)
ex
USS Tulare (AKA-112) (1956 - 1969)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Oscar - Tango
NEOT
JANAP Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign - Incident Victor (1964-70)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (2)
Second Row - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2-Quemoy-Matsu, 1-Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (10)
Third Row - Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation - Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Tulare Class Amphibious Cargo Ship:

Laid down, 16 February 1953, as SS Evergreen Mariner, a Maritime Administration type (C4-S-1a) hull, under Maritime Administration contract (MC hull 32) at Bethlehem Pacific Coast Steel Corp., San Francisco, CA.

Launched, 22 December 1953

Commissioned USS Tulare (AKA-112), 12 January 1956, CAPT. Donald Whiley Todd in command

During the Vietnam War USS Tulare (AKA-112/LKA-112) participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Advisory Campaign 8 August to 29 September 1964	Tet69/Counteroffensive 6 March to 19 April 1969 2 May to 8 June 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive 6 to 10 March 1966 25 to 29 March 1966 6 to 9 May 1966 17 to 22 May 1966 29 to 31 May 1966 10 to 12 June 1966 21 to 26 June 1966	Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 9 to 14 June 1969 7 July to 7 August 1969 13 to 16 August 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 9 to 25 July 1966 5 to 14 August 1966	Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 9 to 11 January 1970
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 6 December 1967 to 27 January 1968	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 18 to 19 December 1970 27 to 28 December 1970 8 to 26 January 1971 1 to 5 May 1971
Tet Counteroffensive 5 to 7 February 1968 18 to 20 February 1968 23 February to 1 April 1968	Vietnam Ceasefire 20 to 21 December 1972 28 December 1972 to 7 January 1973 22 to 26 January 1973 5 to 15 February 1973
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV 2 to 20 April-1968 19 to 24 May 1968

Redesignated (LKA-112), 1 January 1969

Decommissioned, 31 March 1986

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet

Struck from the Naval Register, 31 August 1992

USS Tulare earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with ten campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Returned to the Maritime Administration National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Final Disposition, Sold 23 November 2011 to International Shipbreaking, Brownsville TX. Departed Suisun Bay for Mare Island, 24 Nov 2011 and departed Mare Island for Brownsville 30 Dec 2011. Sale price $1,138,000.00 ÿ> Specifications:
Displacement 9,190 t.(lt) 16,000 t.(fl)
Length 564'
Beam 76'
Draft 26'
Complement 435
Speed 20 kts.

Armament

six twin 3"/50 guns dual purpose gun mounts

six .50 cal. machine guns

Propulsion geared turbine, single propeller

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	296k	Tulare (AKA-112), a converted mariner, outbound from San Francisco Bay to sea, 7 December 1955, prior to commissioning for builders trials. *Tulare* is almost a hundred feet longer than her sister ships and displaces 15,000 tons. She was constructed by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Pacific, San Francisco, CA. US Navy photo # USN 684239	National Museum of the US Navy
	95k	Tulare (AKA-112) prior to commissioning, outbound from San Francisco Bay to sea, 7 December 1955, for builders trials. She was the first US attack cargo ship with a helicopter platform. Her quadrupod masts carry standard contemporary radars: SPS-10 forward for surface search, SPS-6 aft for air search. US Navy photo and text from "U.S. Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History" by Norman Friedman.	Robert Hurst
100211235	119k	Tulare (AKA-112) prior to commissioning, underway in San Francisco Bay, 8 December 1955, for builders trials. U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo 19-NN-AKA-112 Tulare-153566 from the US National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 6931994.	Robert Hurst
	1018k	Tulare (AKA-112) prior to commissioning, outbound from San Francisco Bay to sea in December 1955, probably for builders trials. Photo source "San Francisco Examiner" photo archives	David Buell
	949k	Tulare (AKA-112) prior to commissioning, outbound to sea in January 1956 from San Francisco Bay nearing the Golden Gate Bridge, probably for builders trials.	David Buell
	1389k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** mooring, probably at Naval Station Treasure Island San Francisco, 16 January 1956. Note her boats on the pier.Photo source "San Francisco Examiner" photo archives	David Buell
100211236	1771k	*USS Tulare* (AK-112)** wins double awards, the "Assault Boat Insingia and the Engineering Red "E", newspaper article, 12 July 1957 and 1957 Far East Cruise book showing the the painting of the awards including the Gunnery "E" on the ships's superstructure.	Stormy Maddux for her father Paul Maddux, USS Tulare (AKA-112)
100211237	108k
	234k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** conducting amphibious training with US Marine Corps Reserves in June 1958 at Coronado, CA. USMC photos from the files of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum	Darryl Baker
	211k		Darryl Baker
	74k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** underway, circa 1960, location unknown. US Navy photo # K-67590	Robert Hurst
	92k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** underway, in 1963 in the Pacific Ocean US Navy photo	Tommy Trampp
100211234	601k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112) participating in an underway replenishment in 1965 with a Sacramento Class AOE and USS George Clymer (APA-27)** (not visible) off her port side Photo by Gary Hornung taken from USS George Clymer	Bob Canchola
	29k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** departing Pearl Harbor, 1966	USS Tulare web site
	17k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** during amphibious operations, date and location unknown.
	54k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** at Hong Kong, BCC, June 1966	Les McCallum USS Tulare
091902256	949k	*USS Cimarron* (AO-22) conducting an underway replenishment in 1966 with USS Tulare (AKA-112) to starboard and USS George Clymer (APA-27)** (not visible) off her port side Photo by Gary Hornung taken from USS George Clymer	Bob Canchola
	15k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** loading Marines for Vietnam at San Diego, 1967	USS Tulare web site
	12k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** at anchor Chu Lai, South Vietnam, 1967	USS Tulare web site
	89k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112) coming alongside USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2)** off the coast of South Vietnam in 1969. Photo taken by H.R. Adams CSC USN	Larry Lee
	76k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** underway in 1969, location unknown. US Navy photo by PHCS G. W. Walsh, Jr.	Robert Hurst
	239k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** underway circa 1970, location unknown. Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum File No. LKA 112 975X1-4-70 TH, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
	178k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** entering the port of Vancouver, B.C., 20 July 1971. City of Vancouver Archives, Photo No. AM1506-S3-3-: CVA 447-5571, by Walter E. Frost.	Mike Green
	76k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** underway at San Diego, CA., date unknown.	Russ Padden
	88k	*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** underway off Oakland, CA., October 1979.	Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
	40k	Ex-*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** laid up in reserve at the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA, circa 2000. National Maritime Administration photos.	Ron Reeves
	34k
	39k
	252k
	233k
	224k	Ex-*USS Tulare* (AKA-112)** in the breakers yard at International Shipbreaking, Brownsville TX., early 2012.	Ed Mersich USS Tulare web site

For more photos and information about USS Tulare, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
MARAD Vessel History Database
National Register Eligibility Assessment
Decommissioning Program

Commanding Officers
01	CAPT. Todd, Donald Whiley	12 January 1956 - 10 September 1956
02	CAPT. MacKenzie, Colin Jack	10 September 1956 - 16 September 1957
03	CAPT. Crawford, Earl Russell :RADM	16 September 1957 - 25 September 1958
04	CAPT. Rutter Jr., James Boyd	25 September 1958 - 9 October 1959
05	CAPT. O'Brien Jr., Leslie James :RADM	9 October 1959 - 17 December 1960
06	CAPT. Schwartz, John Randolph, USN	17 December 1960 - 2 March 1962
07	CAPT. Ramage, Donald Brewster, USN (USNA 1938)	2 March 1962 - 11 July 1963
08	CAPT. Byrnside Jr., Benjamin Claude, USN (USNA 1941)	11 July 1963 - 14 July 1964
09	CAPT. Elder, William Ernest	14 July 1964 - 30 October 1964
10	CAPT. Robinson Jr., Samuel James, USN (USNA 1943)	30 October 1964 - 15 October 1965
11	CAPT. Streeper, Harold Preston (Jeep), USN	15 October 1965 - October 1966
12	CAPT. Thompson, Robert Drysdale, USN (USNA 1946)	14 October 1966 - 16 March 1968
13	CAPT. Russell Jr., Thomas Beckwith, USN :RADM	16 March 1968 - 3 June 1969
14	CAPT. Law, Jason Pierce, USN (USNA 1948-B)	3 June 1969 - 18 September 1970
15	CAPT. Bogwell, Wallace Bruce	18 September 1970 - October 1971
16	CAPT. Cheek, Glen Reid	October 1971 - May 1973
17	CDR. Bussard Jr., Vernon Randolph	May 1973 - May 1974
18	CDR. McCullough, Robert France	May 1974 - ?
19	CAPT. Roundtree, Jack Lewis	1977 - July 1979
20	CDR. McKinney, James Bradley, USN (USNA 1960)	July 1979 - January 1980
22	CAPT. Breece, James Philip, USN (USNA 1961)	January 1980 - 15 February 1980


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 14 February 2025

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Tulare (LKA-112)ex USS Tulare (AKA-112) (1956 - 1969)

USS Tulare (LKA-112)
ex
USS Tulare (AKA-112) (1956 - 1969)