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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USCGC Asterion (WAK-123)
ex
 USS Asterion (AK-63) (1942 - 1944)
 USS Asterion (AK-100) (1942)
 SS Evelyn (ID-2228) (1918)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Romeo - Mike - Xray
 NRMX

USS Asterion (AK-63) was transferred to the Coast Guard during World War II
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Asterion Class Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 17 January 1912, as SS Evelyn, a steel-hulled steamer, for the A. H. Bull Steamship Line, at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA.
  • Launched, 9 May 1912
  • Delivered, 11 June 1912
  • Assigned the identification number, Id No. 2228, 9 January 1918, however, not taken over by the US Navy, but remaining in merchant service
  • Acquired by the Navy in 1942 for conversion to a Q-ship
  • Commissioned USS Asterion (AK-100) in March 1942, at Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., LCDR. Glen Walker Legwen, Jr., in command
  • Redesignated (AK-63), 25 September 1942
  • During World War II USS Asterion was assigned to the American Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    American Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    USS Asterion (SS Evelyn) A/S operation
    22 March 1942 to 31 January 1943
  • Decommissioned, 12 January 1944 at Boston Navy Yard
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 22 January 1944
  • Commissioned USCGC Asterion (WAK-123), 12 January 1944
  • Decommissioned by the US Coast Guard, 20 July 1944, and turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 1 March 1946, to the Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD., removed 10 September 1946
  • USS Asterion earned one battle star for her World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,610 t.
    Length 328' 2"
    Beam 46' 1"
    Draft 21' 6"
    Speed 10 kts.
    Complement 141
    Armament
    four single 4"/50 gun mounts (2 concealed)
    two single 40mm AA gun mounts (concealed)
    two single 20mm AA gun mounts
    one hedgehog (concealed)
    twenty-four Y-guns
    four K-guns
    Propulsion
    one triple expansion vertical steam engine
    single propeller, 1,200shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Asterion 82k SS Evelyn moored pierside, circa 1917-18, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 102439 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Asterion 128k SS Evelyn at Boston, date unknown. Tommy Trampp
    USS Asterion (AK-63)
    Asterion 72k USS Asterion (AK-63) underway while operating as the "Q ship" Evelyn, 10 May 1942. Asterion was employed by Navy as a "Q ship" without success. She was later turned over to Coast Guard, commissioned USCGC Asterion (WAK-123) and assigned to CINCLANT from January to July 1944. She was homeported at Boston, MA., and served on weather patrol.
    US Navy photo from "U.S. Coast Guard Cutters and Craft of World War II" by Robert L Scheina.    		 Robert Hurst
    Asterion 128k USS Asterion (AK-63) photographed by a Coast Guard aircraft at 1100 hours, 10 May 1942, 16 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, (26-48N, 79-45W) while operating as a "Q-ship" on an anti-submarine decoy mission. She was masquerading under her former identity as S.S. Evelyn in hopes of bringing a submarine within range of her concealed gun battery. She was using the call sign WKCE.
    US Coast Guard Historian's Office, Photo # None (negative), courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Asterion 109k USS Asterion (AK-63) photographed by a Coast Guard aircraft at 0945 hours, 11 May 1942, 12 miles south southeast of Key Largo at the eastern end of the Florida Keys (24-53N, 80-23W) while operating as a "Q-ship" on an anti-submarine decoy mission. She was masquerading under her former identity as S.S. Evelyn in hopes of bringing a submarine within range of her concealed gun battery. She was using the call sign WKCE.
    US Coast Guard Historian's Office, Photo No. None (negative), courtesy Shipscribe.com    		 Mike Green
    Asterion 150k USS Asterion (AK-63) photographed by a Coast Guard aircraft at 0740 hours, 12 May 1942 14 miles south east of Islamorada in the east central Florida Keys (24-43N, 80-28W) while operating as a "Q-ship" on an anti-submarine decoy mission. She was masquerading under her former identity as S.S. Evelyn in hopes of bringing a submarine within range of her concealed gun battery. She was using the call sign WKCE.
    US Coast Guard Historian's Office, Photo No. None (negative), courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Asterion (AK-63)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Legwen Jr., Glenn WalkerMarch 1942 - 18 November 1943
    02LCDR. Neville, Lawrence Robert, USN (USNA 1933)18 November 1943 - 10 December 1943
    04ENS. Clarke, Charles A., USN10 December 1943 - 12 January 1944
    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
    U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office - Asterion; USS AK-100; WAK-123; ex-Evelyn
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 4 July 2014