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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Cortland (APA-75)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Oscar - Bravo
 NKOB
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Gilliam Class Attack Transport:
  • Laid down, 12 July 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (S4-SE-BD1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1868) at Consolidated Steel Corp, Wilmington, CA.
  • Launched 18 October 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission 31 December 1944
  • Commissioned USS Cortland (APA-75), 1 January 1945, CDR. Francois Charles Blesbois Jordan USN in command
  • During World War II USS Cortland was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty-One, COMO. J. R. Palmer USN (13)
     TransDiv Sixty-One, COMO. J. R. Palmer USN (13)
  • Following World War II USS Cortland was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    2 September to 7 December 19452 September to 7 December 1945

  • USS Cortland (APA-75) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.2.6 (Target Vessel Group - Merchant Type Units - Transport Division 92 (TRANSDIV 92) for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946
  • Decommissioned 30 December 1946, at Norfolk VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register. 4 April 1947
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 31 March 1948, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 July 1966, to Boston Metals Co. (PD-X-731 dated 21 June 1966) for $72,666.66, delivered to Boston Metals, 5 August 1966
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,247 t.(lt), 7,080 t.(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16.9'
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 27
    Enlisted 293
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 47
    Enlisted 802
    Cargo Capacity 2,600 DWT
    non-refrigerated 85,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA radar-directed gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,695 Bbls
    Diesel 375 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse turbo-electric drive
    two Babcock & Wilcox 450psi 750° boilers
    Ship's Service Generators
     one turbo-drive 250Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 150Kw 450V A.C.
     one turbo-drive 100Kw 120/240V D.C.
    two propellers 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Cortland 12k USS Cortland (APA-75) at anchor, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Cortland 132k Overhead view of USS Cortland (APA-75) as she stands toward Pearl Harbor, T.H., 1 March 1946. Note that while she retains her single pedestal mount 5-inch/38 aft, her 40-millimeter battery has been reduced by 50% and she carries few 20-millimeter guns. Also note motion picture screen erected aft at the base of the mainmast, accommodation ladder ready for lowering on the port side, and sailors nearby preparing an LCV(P) (landing craft) for hoisting-out on the port side, aft.
    US National Archives photo # 19-LCM-114543 a US Navy Bureau of Ships, photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Cortland 153k USS Cortland (APA-75) at anchor, circa mid-1946, while employed in the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 83403. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975.    		 Mike Green
    USS Cortland (APA-75)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Jordan, Francois Charles Blesbois, USN (USNA 1928)1 January 1945 - 4 April 1946
    02CDR. Haines, John Lyman, USN, USN (USNA 1938)4 April 1946 - 30 December 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
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 24 March 2017