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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Talamanca (AF-15)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Juliet - Victor
 NEJV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Mizar Class Stores Ship:
  • Built in 1931 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA. as SS Talamanca a passenger/freighter combination liner and fruit cargo carrier for the United Mail Steamship Co., New York, N.Y.
  • Acquired by the Navy, 16 December 1941, from the United Mail Steamship Co.
  • Converted for Naval service at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, MD.
  • Commissioned USS Talamanca AF-15, 28 January 1942, CDR. Nathan W. Bard in command
  • Decommissioned, 29 November 1945, at New Orleans, LA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 December 1945
  • Returned to United Fruit Co., 26 July 1947
  • Sold, 1 November 1958, to Elder & Fyffes, renamed SS Sulaco, reflagged Great Britain
  • Final Disposition, scrapped at Bruges, Belgium, arrived 8 August 1964, scrapping completed in 1965
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,963 t.(lt) 11,875 t.(fl)
    Length 446' 10"
    Beam 60'
    Draft 25' 2"
    Speed 18 kts. (trial)
    Cargo Capacity 2,100 DWT
    refrigerated 171,700 Cu ft.
    Complement
    Officers 18
    Enlisted 220
    Largest Boom Capacity 4 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/51 cal gun mount
    three single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 12,240 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Electric turbo-electric engines
    three Babcock and Wilcox header type boilers, 350psi, 666°
    three turbo-drive 500Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    twin propellers, 11,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Pre WWII Merchant Service
    Talamanca
    09061507    		 722k Launching of SS Talamanca at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, VA. The ship's sponsor was Mrs. Herbert Hoover. Dale Hargrave
    USS Talamanca (AF-15)
    Talamanca 44k USS Talamanca (AF-15) under way, 30 June 1942, location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Post WWII Merchant Service United Fruit Lines Merchant Service Elder & Fyffes Lines
    Talamanca 265k Ex-USS Talamanca (AF-15) in merchant service as United Fruit Company's SS Talamanca underway, circa 1946 to 1947, location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    Talamanca 86k SS Talamanca moored pierside, circa 1946 to 1969, location unknown. David Nixon
    Talamanca 200k Ex-Talamanca (AF-15) moored pierside in merchant service as Elder & Fyffes' SS Sulaco, circa 1959-64, location unknown. David Nixon and
    Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Talamanca 76k SS Sulaco under way off Avonmouth, United Kingdom, date unknown.
    Photo from the Malcolm Cranfield Collection.    		 David Nixon
    Talamanca 209k SS Sulaco under way in harbor with the assistance of a tug, date and location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Talamanca (AF-15)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Bard, Nathan Wayne28 January 1942 - ?
    02CDR. Moureau, Ralph Henning16 November 1943 - ?
    03LCDR. Howland, Roger L.24 August 1944
    04LCDR. Dooley, Ralph C.14 September 1945 - 29 November 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Data Base
    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 24 July 2020