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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Alcor (AD-34)
ex
 USS Alcor (AR-10) (1941 - 1944 )
 USS Alcor (AG-34) (1941)


International Radio Call Signs,

USS Alcor (AG-24 - AR-10)
1941 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Easy - Nan - Peter
 NENP
USS Alcor (AD-34)
1944 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - William - Dog - Able
 NWDA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
  • Built in 1928 as SS Dixie at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 3 March 1941, from Southern Pacific Steamship lines (Morgan Line), for $1,325.000.00
  • Converted for Naval Service at Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD.
  • Commissioned as the Miscellaneous Auxiliary USS Alcor (AG-34), 4 September 1941, CDR. Edward A. Mitchell in command
  • Reclassified as a Repair Ship and designated (AR-10), 22 December 1941
  • Reclassified as a Destroyer Tender and designated (AD-34), 6 November 1944
  • Decommissioned, 5 August 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 August 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Sold for scrapping, 25 July 1950, to Patapsco Scrap Corp., Inc. (PD-X-498) for $113,500.00, withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet, 10 August 1950
  • Final Disposition, scrapping completed, 5 October 1951
    Specifications:
    Displacement 12,250 t. (lim)
    Length 445'
    Beam 60'
    Draft 25' 8"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 34
    Enlisted 700
    Largest Boom Capacity10 t.
    Armament
    (1941) four single 3"/23 cal gun mounts, replaced with
    (1942) four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    (1941) one single 5'?51 cal gun mount on the stern, replaced with
    (1945) one twin 40mm AA gun mount on the stern
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 6,700 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one De Laval steam turbine
    four Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 340psi 620°
    double De Laval Main Reduction Gear
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    one propeller, 7,100shp
    .
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service Morgan SS Co.
    Alcor 62k SS Dixie photographed by her builder around the time of her entry into service with the Morgan Line in January 1928. This photo was attached to the inspection report by the Joint Merchant Vessel Board dated 15 August 1928 that assigned the identification number 4794 to the ship.
    US National Archives, RG-19, General Correspondence 1925-40, file QS1-(4794), box 3870, Photo No. None, courtesy Shipscribe,com.    		 Mike Green
    Alcor 143k SS Dixie Promenade deck and interior views, August 1934. Keli E. Rylance. Head, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries
    USS Alcor (AG-34)
    Alcor 52k USS Alcor (AG-34) being assisted by Baltimore harbor tugs, probably after completing conversion at the Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Yard. Her four 3"/23 guns, visible fore and aft, were installed at the end of September 1941. They were replaced by 3"/50 guns in August 1942. Note what appears to be a tower for searchlights aft of the bridge.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-25597, RG-19-LCM, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Alcor (AR-10)
    Alcor 149k USS Alcor (AR-10) tied up to a pier at NOB Norfolk, 4 May 1943, as seen from USS Ancon (AGC-4).
    US National Archives Photo # 80-G-358940, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis and John Chiquoine.
    USS Alcor (AD-34)
    Alcor
    19-N-96577, RG-19-LCM    		 133k USS Alcor (AD-34) underway near the Norfolk Navy Yard, 5 January 1945, after being refitted for duty in the Pacific. The searchlight tower aft of the bridge has grown into a tall lattice radar tower. Her 5"/51 gun on the stern has been replaced with a twin 40mm mount.
    US National Archives photos # 19-N-96577, RG-19-LCM and # 19-N-96578, RG-19-LCM, US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		Robert Hurst
    Alcor
    19-N-96578, RG-19-LCM    		 130k
    Alcor 64k USS Alcor (AD-34) under way, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Alcor 52k USS Alcor (AD-34) under way, date and location unknown. Russ Padden
    Alcor 114k USS Alcor (AD-34) tending destroyers at Pearl Harbor in early 1945.
    US Navy photo # NH 76374 from the collections of the US Naval Historical and Heritage Command, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Alcor 38k USS Alcor (AD-34) moored pierside, NavSta Pearl Harbor, HI. in 1945. Joseph M. Connell
    Alcor 97k USS Alcor (AD-34) photographed from a plane from Naval Air Station, Norfolk, VA., 5 January 1945.
    US Navy Photograph # 80-G-307267, Still Pictures Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Alcor (AG-34 / AR-10 / AD-34)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Mitchell, Edward Alexander USN (USNA 1917)4 September 1941 - 10 December 1941AG-34/AR-10
    02CDR. Busbey Jr., Leroy White, USN (USNA 1918)10 December 1941 - 15 April 1942AG-34/AR-10
    03LCDR. Evans, George Blaine, LCDR USN15 April 1942 - August 1944AR-10
    04CDR. Murphy, John Damian USN? - August 1944AR-10
    05CDR. Millard, Junius Weakley CDR USNRAugust 1944 - 24 May 1946AR-10/AD-34
    06CAPT. Doughty, Hartwell Thomas USNR24 May 1946 - 5 August 1946AD-34
    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 Service Ship Type Index Back To The Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG) Photo Index Back To The Repair Ship (AR) Photo Index Back To The Destroyer Tender (AD) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 May 2024