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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.
	67k	SS Arcadia Victory under way with a tug alongside, date and location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
USNS Asterion (T-AF-63)
09066306	165k	*USNS Asterion* (T-AF-63)** underway off the coast of South Vietnam, circa late 1960s. © C. Lennon	Gerhard Muller-debus
	150k	*USNS Asterion* (T-AF-63)** underway with a tug alongside, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Tommy Trampp
	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
	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
	29k		Ron Reeves

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

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 14 June 2024