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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Polaris (AF-11)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Charlie - Bravo NBCB

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1)
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Fourth Row - Korean Service Medal (6) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal

Aldebaran Class Stores Ship:

Laid down, 23 July 1938, as MV Donald McKay, a Maritime Commission type (C-2 Cargo) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 18) at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, PA.

Sold to Moore-McCormack Lines, 27 June 1939

Acquired by the US Navy, 28 January 1941

Commissioned USS Polaris (AF-11), 4 April 1941, CDR. Edwin D. Graves Jr. in command

During World War II USS Polaris was assigned to both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters and participated in the following action:

Campaign and Dates
Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
Convoy UGS-36 1 April 1944

Decommissioned, 18 January 1946, at San Francisco, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 7 February 1946

Transferred, 10 August 1948, to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Reacquired from the Maritime Commission and reinstated on the Naval Register, 6 October 1948

Recommissioned, 1 July 1949

During the Korean War USS Polaris participated in the following campaigns:

Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Korean War Campaigns
First UN Counter Offensive 12 February to 22 March 1951	Second Korean Winter 3 to 6, 11 to 12, 20 to 21 and 29 to 31 December 1951 3 to-6 and 13 to 14 January 1952 24 to 30 March 1952
Communist China Spring Offensive 30 April to 6 May 1951	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 2 to 3 June 1952
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 9 to 10 and 24 to 25 July 1951 8 to 12 September 1951 20 to 23 September 1951 10 to 15 and 24 to 27 October 1951	Korea, Summer-Fall 1953 24 to 26 May 1953 3 to 6 June 1953

USS Polaris performed China Service for the following periods; 26 to 27 March 1954, and 17, 18 and 24 May 1954

Decommissioned, 12 January 1957

Struck from the Naval Register, 10 October 1957

Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Permanent custody transferred, 25 April 1969, to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Final Disposition sold for scrapping,13 June 1974, to Levin Metals Corp.

USS Polaris earned one battle star for World War II service and six battle stars for Korean War service

Specifications:
Displacement 8,700 t.(lt) 13,875 t.(fl)
Length 459' 1"
Beam 63' 0"
Draft 25' 10" (limiting)
Speed 16.4 kts. (trial)

Complement

Officers 21

Enlisted 232

Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.

Cargo Capacity 5,495 DWT

non-refrigerated 110,000 Cu ft.

refrigerated 149,600 Cu ft.

Armament

one single 5"/51 cal gun mount

four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts

ten single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacity Diesel 8,400 Bbls

Propulsion

one Sun Shipbuilding 2-stroke, 4 cylinder single-acting Doxford Diesel
Ship's Service Generators
one Diesel-drive 230Kw 120V/240V D.C.
three Diesel-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C.

single propeller, 6,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
Merchant Service Moore McCormack Lines
	133k	Moore-McCormack Lines MV Donald McKay being assisted by tugs, date and location unknown. US Maritime Commission photo.	Robert Hurst
USS Polaris (AF-11)
	59k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** at anchor off New York soon after conversion, circa May 1941. A recognition feature retained by this ship throughout her career is the pair of forward kingposts. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-23940, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Robert Hurst
	193k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** at anchor off New York soon after conversion, circa May 1941. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-23939, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Jim Kurrasch Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
19-N-23942	170k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** at anchor off New York soon after conversion, circa May 1941. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-23942, and 19-N-23941 US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
19-N-23941	192k		US Naval History and Heritage Command
	97k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** under way departing Halifax harbor, Nova Scotia, Canada, 11 May1942. Photo from the Nova Scotia Archives, HB Jefferson collection. For educational and non commercial use.	John Chiquoine
	121k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** photographed, 21 April 1943, in the Atlantic east of Norfolk, Va., by a blimp based at Weeksville, N.C. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # BuAer 64276, a US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Robert Hurst
	162k	Sketch of *USS Polaris* (AF-11)** artist unknown. Printed on the back of the image is "Compliments of Bacharach Industrial Instrument Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1943"	Tommy Trampp
	148k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** under way, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	57k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** probably soon after recommissioning in July 1949. Note the wide, flat bridge front, also a prominent feature of her original sisters of the Arcturus (AKA-1) class. US Navy photo # USN 1044035, from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Robert Hurst
	44k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** at anchor, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	285k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** Recommissioning Ceremony, 1 July 1949, at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA. US Navy photo from the collections of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum File name: AF 11 3908-7-49, US Navy Photo, 7/1/49.	Darryl Baker
	109k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** under way, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	148k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11)** in the background at Mare Island Naval Shipyard with ex-USS PCC-802 in the foreground, in South Korean service, as *ROKS Sam Kak San* (PC-703), Photo dated 16 June 1950. Actual date may be in July 1949. Note Polaris** is flying a Union Jack at her bow. US Navy photo # NH 85485 now in the collections of the Naval Historical Center	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	85k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11) with USS Antietam (CV-36) and USS Hopewell (DD-681) alongside. These photos were likely taken during Antietam**'s only combat tour to WestPac and Korea, 8 September 1951 to 2 May 1952.	Robert M. Cieri
	139k		Robert M. Cieri
09061115	131k	*USS Polaris* (AF-11) coming alongside USS Boxer (CVA-21)** off the coast of Korea, in 1953. U.S. Navy photo from USS Boxer (CVA-21) 1953 cruise book	Robert Hurst
	168k	Aircraft carrier *USS Midway* (CVA-41) and the destroyer USS Twining (DD-540) during an underway replenishment with USS Polaris (AF-11). Midway*, with assigned Carrier Air Group 1* (CVG-1), circumnavigated the globe between 27 December 1954 and 14 July 1955. US Navy photo from the USS Midway (CVA-41) 1955 cruise book.	Robert Hurst

USS Polaris (AF-11)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Graves Jr., Edwin Darius	4 April 1941 - ?
02	CDR. Miller, Carson Rial USN (USNA 1922)	9 August 1942 - ?
03	CDR. Stroik, Edward Albert, USNR	21 July 1944 - ?
04	CDR. Olsen, Harold John	15 October 1944 - 8 January 1945
05	CDR. Stansbury, John Alexander USN (USNA 1916)	8 January - 10 November 1945
06	LTjg. William, Milo Michel, USNR	10 November 1945 - 1 December 1945
07	LTjg. Stipleman, Raymond, USNR	1 December 1945 - 1 January 1946
08	LTjg. Sullivan, William A., USNR	1 January 1946 - 18 January 1946
	Decommissioned	18 January 1946 - 1 July 1949
09	CAPT. Meola, Vincent James	1950 - 18 December 1951
10	CDR. Hayden, Eugene Benjamin, USN	18 December 1951 - 28 December 1952
11	CDR. Mason, Guy Adams, USN	28 December 1952 - 1954
12	CDR. Schwabe, Leo Robert, USN	1954 - 1 January 1956


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

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

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Last Updated 6 December 2024