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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Boreas (AF-8)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Lima - Mike
 NALM
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
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Arctic Class Stores Ship:
  • Built in 1919 as SS Yaquina at Moore Shipbuilding Co., Oakland, CA. for the United States Shipping Board (USSB)
  • Renamed Boreas, 29 October 1921
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 6 December 1921
  • Upon delivery, laid up in reserve at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 6 December 1921
  • Commissioned in ordinary, 6 August 1940
  • Converted for Naval service at Todd-Robbins Dry Dock and Repair Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Placed in full commission as USS Boreas (AF-8), 24 April 1941, CDR. George M. O'Rear USN in command
  • During World War II USS Boreas was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS Boreas was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 20 October to 18 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 15 February 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 March 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Lee Hall, VA., 18 July 1946 for disposal
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 24 July 1947, to Patapsco Steel Scrap Co., Bethlehem, PA. (PD-X-360 dated 19 May 1947) for $44,550.00. Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet anchorage, 28 November 1947
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,654 t.(lt) 11,570 t.(fl)
    Length 416' 6"
    Beam 53'
    Draft 26' 5"
    Speed 11 kts
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Complement
    10 officers
    228 enlisted
    Cargo Capacity 3,170 DWT
    non-refrigerated 45,000 Cu ft
    refrigerated 226,000 Cu ft
    Armament
    two single 5"/51 surface gun mount
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 10,585 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric Curtiss type turbine
    two Normand boilers, 250psi Sat°
    double General Electric Main Reductions Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
     two turbo-drive 70Kw 120V D.C.
     one turbo-drive 60Kw 120V D.C.
    single propeller, 2,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    SS Yaquina (ID 3851) [United States Shipping Board]
    Boreas 53k SS Yaquina (ID 3851) on her maiden voyage, circa 1920, loading 1500 tons of rice from San Francisco to New York City. Shipped by M. S. Cowen and Company. Yaquina is painted in Type 21 design D camouflage. Photo from Pacific Marine Review magazine. Aryeh Wetherhorn
    USS Boreas (AF-8)
    Boreas 90k Broadside view of USS Boreas (AF-8) underway soon after commissioning. Major modifications included installation of two single 5"/51 guns, one at the bow and one at the stern, and four single 3"/50 guns at the corners of the amidships superstructure. The boat deck amidships was also enclosed, distinguishing her from her sisters.
    US National Archives, RG-19-NS Box 2, Photo No. 19-N-23753, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Boreas 100k USS Boreas (AF-8) near Mare Island Navy Yard, 10 October 1941. Shipyard modifications included splinter protection bulwarks around her 5"/51 guns.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. Unknown, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Boreas 47k Broadside view of USSBoreas (AF-8) off Mare Island, 6 June 1943.
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # AF 8 4161-43, dated 6/6/43.    		 Darryl Baker
    Boreas 143k Forward plan view of USS Boreas (AF-8) at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 6 June 1943. The floating crane is YD-33 and the cruiser on the opposite pier is USS Minneapolis (CA 36).
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # AF 8 4174-43, dated 6/6/43.    		 Darryl Baker
    Boreas 120k Aft plan view of USS Boreas (AF-8) at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., 6 June 1943. The floating crane is YD-33 and the cruiser on the opposite pier is USS Minneapolis (CA 36).
    Mare Island Navy Yard photo # AF 8 4176-43, dated 6/6/43.    		 Darryl Baker
    Boreas
    09060808    		 191k USS Boreas (AF-8) sailors in New Zealand, Feb 1945.
    Uploaded to Wikimedia by BDMatch (real name unknown) on 10 January 2020
    		Robert Hurst
    Boreas 533k A souvenir piece of the 188 ft. long homeward bound pennant from USS Boreas (AF-8).
    Photo taken, 20 October 2015 by BDMatch (real name unknown).    		 Robert Hurst Robert Hurst
    USS Boreas (AF-8)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. O'Rear, George McFadden, USN (USNA 1919)24 April 1941 - 1941
    02LCDR. Burgess, Elwood Eclair, USN (USNA 1922)1941 - December 1941
    03CDR. Davis, Ransom Kirby, USN :RADMDecember 1941 - 1 January 1943
    04CDR. Burgess, Elwood Eclair, USN (USNA 1922)1 January 1943 - 14 December 1943
    05CDR.Taylor, Cyril Echard, USN14 December 1943 - 12 March 1945
    06LCDR. Dennis, Bruce George, USNR 12 March 1945 - 15 February 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 Main Photo Index Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Stores Ship (AF) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 17 May 2024