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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Asterion (T-AF-63)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Romeo - Kilo - Oscar
NRKO
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
National Defense Service Medal - Vietnam Service Medal (1)


Asterion Class Stores Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 June 1944, as SS Arcadia Victory, a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 41) at California Shipbuilding, Corp. Wilmington, CA.
  • Launched, 27 July 1944
  • Delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for operation under a General Agency Agreement with American President Lines, 3 September 1944, at Los Angeles, CA.
  • Rechartered/released under various contracts to American President Lines from 2 May 1946 to 19 May 1950
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, OR., 19 May 1950
  • Rechartered to American President Lines, 13 July 1950
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration, 9 July 1952 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA.
  • MSTS charter to Pope & Talbot Inc. 31 May 1955
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration for lay up, 28 October 1955, in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA. Group
  • Chartered by Pacific Far East Lines, 16 April 1956
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration for lay up, 24 October 1957, in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA.
  • Transferred to the US Navy, 7 November 1961
  • Renamed Asterion, and classified as Store Ship, AF-63, 4 December 1961
  • Converted for Naval service at Willamette Iron and Steel Co., Portland, OR.
  • Placed in service by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) in September 1962
  • Placed out of service, 8 June 1973, at Yokohama, Japan
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration for disposal, 31 August 1973
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 31 August 1973, to N. W. Kennedy, Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. Canada, broken up in Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 12,130 t.(fl)
    Length 455' 2"
    Beam 62'
    Draft 28' 6"
    Speed 17 kts.
    Complement 56 civilian mariners
    Armament none
    Propulsion steam turbine, single shaft, 8,500hp.

    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service American President Lines Pope & Talbot Steamship Co.
    Asterion 67k SS Arcadia Victory under way with a tug alongside, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    USNS Asterion (T-AF-63)
    Asterion
    09066306
    165k USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) underway off the coast of South Vietnam, circa late 1960s.
    © C. Lennon
    Gerhard Muller-debus
    Asterion 150k USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) underway with a tug alongside, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo
    Tommy Trampp
    Asterion 113k USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the 1968-69 edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships"
    Robert Hurst
    Asterion 42k USNS Asterion (T-AF-63) steams into San Francisco Bay under her own power after colliding with the Japanese Kokoku Maru in dense fog on 5 May 1963, thirty-five miles north of the Golden Gate. One Japanese crewman was killed and two injured. The remainder of the forty-four man Japanese crew was rescued by the US Coast Guard.
    UPI photo.
    Ron Reeves
    Asterion 29k

    USNS Asterion (AF-63)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    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
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    Last Updated 14 June 2024