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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Ormsby (APA-49)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Mike - Bravo
 NKMB
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)
Individual Awards

Purple Hearts (2 KIA - Guam, 21 July 1944)
Ormsby Class Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, 21 July 1942, as SS Twilight, a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-B1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 288), at Moore Dry Dock Co., Oakland, CA.
  • Assigned to the Navy as Naval Transport Ormsby (AP-94), 5 October 1942
  • Launched, 20 October 1942
  • Reclassified Attack Transport (APA-49), 1 February 1943
  • Acquired by the Navy, 10 March 1943
  • Commissioned USS Ormsby (APA-49), 28 June 1943, CAPT. Leonard Frisco, USNR, in command
  • During World War II Ormsby was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation
    Tarawa, 20 to 29 November 1943     		Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 25 July 1944
    Marshall Islands operation
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to 4 February 1944     		Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, Peleliu, 6 September to 14 October 1944
    Hollandia operation
    Aitape operation, 21 to 27 April and 1 to 5 May 1944     		Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 13 to 25 October and 14 November 1944

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

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    13 to 19 September 1945 
    4 October to 4 December 19454 October to 4 December 1945

  • Decommissioned, 15 March 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946
  • USS Ormsby earned six battle stars for service in World War II
  • Merchant Service
    Delivered to the Maritime Commission, 16 May 1946, at Mobile, AL. for disposal
    Acquired by the United State Line (pending Sale), 3 February 1947
    Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet, 11 June 1947, and delivered to United States Line
    Name changed to SS Pioneer Isle, October 1947
    Name changed to SS American Producer, November 1948
    Severely damaged when she struck the pier at San Francisco in March 1969, while outbound for Da Nang,Vietnam, with a cargo of bombs
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 22 May 1969, to Mitsui & Co., Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 13,910 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 3"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 24'
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    46 Officers
    478 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    83 Officers
    1,465 Enlisted
    Boats
    two LCM(3)s
    twenty-two LCVPs
    two LCPUs
    Cargo Capacity 2,700 DWT
    non-refrigerated 150,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 8,900 Bbls
    Diesel 675 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared drive turbine
    two Foster-Wheeler D-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 250Kw 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    one propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Ormsby 120k Aft plan view of USS Ormsby (APA-49) moored at San Francisco, 4 July 1943, while conducting inclining experiments.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 4866-43    		 Darryl Baker
    Ormsby 103k Forward plan view of USS Ormsby (APA-49) moored at San Francisco, 4 July 1943, while conducting inclining experiments.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 4867-43    		 Darryl Baker
    Ormsby 87k USS Ormsby (APA-49) amidships looking aft at San Francisco, 17 July 1943.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 5239-43    		 Darryl Baker
    Ormsby 78k Plan view forward of USS Ormsby (APA-49) mooring at San Francisco, 17 July 1943. Note the barrels on the mooring line between the ship and the covered barge.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 5243-43    		 Darryl Baker
    Ormsby 92k Broadside view of USS Ormsby (APA-49) off San Francisco, 18 July 1943.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # 5253-43    		 Darryl Baker
    Ormsby
    100304910    		 574k Marines disembarking from USS Ormsby (APA-49) date and location unknown.
    US National Archives Identifier 74241607    		 David Upton
    Ormsby
    100304911    		 123k An unidentified LST unloading the U.S. Marines 2nd Airdrome Battalion from USS Ormsby (APA-49), 25 August 1943, off Nukufetau Atoll.
    U.S. Marine Corps photo by J.A. Miller.    		 Robert Hurst
    Ormsby 91k USS Ormsby (APA-49) arriving at Astoria, Oregon, circa 1945. The ship had just come through a very violent northern Pacific storm, as evidenced by the condition of her paint. Ormsby called at Astoria two time during her career, 22 May 1945 and 20 December 1945. Because of the noted weather in the northern Pacific this photo is more than likely her arrival on 20 December 1945 David Robinson
    Merchant Service United States Lines
    Ormsby 55k Ex-USS Ormsby (APA-49) in commercial service as the United States Line's SS American Producer approaching Bremen, Germany, December 1962. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    Ormsby 224k SS American Producer under way, date and location unknown.
    Originally copyrighted by the late ©Alex Duncan     		Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    Ormsby 144k SS American Producer under way, date and location unknown. Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus
    USS Ormsby (APA-49)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Frisco, Leonard, USNR 28 June 1943 - 19 December 1944
    02CDR. Smith, Russell Simonds, USN (USNA 1925)19 December 1944 - 10 June 1945
    03CDR. Truitt, Ira Walter, USN10 June 1945 - 15 March 1946
    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
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 March 2023