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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Pollux (AKS-4)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Tango - November
NITN

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (5)
Fourth Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Taiwan Straits, Quemoy-Matsu, 7-Vietnam) - Vietnam Service Medal (7) - Philippine Liberation Medal
Fifth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Castor Class General Stores Issue Ship:

Laid down, 2 October 1941, as SS Nancy Lykes, a Maritime Commission type (C2-Cargo) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC Hull 131) at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Hoboken, N.J.

Launched, 5 February 1942

Purchased by the Navy, 23 March 1942

Converted to a General Stores Issue Ship at Robbins Dry Dock and Repair Co., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Commissioned USS Pollux (AKS-4), 27 April 1942, CAPT. E. J. Kidder in command

During World War II USS Pollux was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater

Following World War II and beyond USS Pollux was assigned to Occupation and China Service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
29 March 1947 to 15 June 1947	29 March 1947 to 15 June 1947
19 September to 2 December 1947	19 September to 2 December 1947
17 March to 24 May 1948	17 March to 24 May 1948
8 to 23 May 1949	20 to 28 June 1949
	25 July to 6 August 1949
	9 April 1954
	25 to 29 January 1955
	6 to 14 February 1955
	2 to 3 March 1955

USS Pollux (AKS-4) was assigned to Joint Task Force 1, Task Unit 1.8.1 Service Group - Repair and Service Unit for Operation Crossroads the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946

Placed in commission in reserve, 3 April 1950

Recommissioned, 5 August 1950, CAPT. Harry Benjamin Dodge in command

During the Korean War USS Pollux (AKS-4) participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Korean War Campaigns
North Korean Aggression 30 October to 2 November 1950	Communist China Spring Offensive 3 to 4 May 1951
Communist China Aggression 3 November to 3 December 1950	UN Summer-Fall Offensive 22 to 23 September 1951
First UN Counter Offensive 31 January to 4 February 1951 1 to 3 March 1951 9 to 12 April 1951

During the Vietnam War USS Pollux (AKS-4) participated in the following campaigns:

Campaigns and Dates	Campaigns and Dates
Vietnam War Campaigns
Vietnam Defense 23 August to 8 September 1965 1 to 10 November 1965 18 to 25 November 1965 30 November to 2 December 1965	Tet Counteroffensive 30 January to 1 February 1968 10 to 25 March 1968 1 April 1968
Vietnamese Counteroffensive 4 January to 13 January 1966 19 to 31 January 1966 5 to 15 March 1966 26 March to 7 April 1966 26 May to 4 June 1966 14 to 25 June 1966	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV 2 to 18 April 1968 25 May to 10 June 1968 17 to 24 June 1968
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 9 August to 4 September 1966 16 to 28 October 1966 3 to 14 November 1966 26 December 1966 to 10 January 1967 17 to 23 January 1967 7 to 26 March 1967	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V 31 July to 18 A8ugust 1968 24 August to 3 September 1968 5 to 22 October 1968
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 1 to 17 June 1967 4 to 19 August 1967 29 August to 7 September 1967 17 October to 3 November 1967 9 to 16 November 1967 31 December 1967 to 16 January 1968 23 to 29 January 1968

Decommissioned, 31 December 1968 at Yokosuka, Japan

Struck from the Naval Register, 1 January 1969

USS Pollux earned five battle stars for Korean War service and seven campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 2 September 1969, to Mitsui & Co. Ltd., Japan

Specifications:
Displacement 7,350 t.(lt) 14,400 t.(fl)
Length 459' 2"
Beam 63'
Draft 26' 5"
Speed 16.5 kts (trial)

Complement

Officers 15

Enlisted 184

Cargo Capacity 4,660 t.

non-refrigerated 23,800 Cu ft

refrigerated 347,769 Cu ft

Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.

Armament

one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount

four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts

Fuel Capacity NSFO 10,850 Bbls

Propulsion

one General Electric-Curtis steam turbine

two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 765°

double General Electric Main Reduction Gears Ship's Service Generators
two turbo-drive 250Kw 120V/240V D.C.
two Diesel-drive 80Kw 120V/240V D.C.

single propeller, 6,000shp

Size	Image Description	Source
32k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** underway, 19 June 1943, location unknown. USN photo.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
61k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** underway, 21 October 1944, in San Francisco Bay after an overhaul. The superstructure of this later C2 cargo ship was shorter and more compact than that of the two earlier ships in this class. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo # USN 91585, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Mike Green
533k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** crew members de-mothballing the ship at San Francisco Naval Shipyard at Hunters Point , 2 July 1950. Photo file name AKS 4 5299-7-50, a US Navy photo from the collections of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
459k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** Commanding Officer CAPT. Harry B. Dodge review list of supplies with the ship's Supply Officer LCDR. Alan M. Hamerslag in August 1950. Photo file name AKS 4 17381-50, a US Navy photo from the collections of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
24k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** underway, date and location unknown.	Gunter Krebs
82k	Forward port quarter view of *USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** while underway off Navy Supply Center Oakland, CA., 7 January 1952. Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 11505-1-52, 1/7/52	Darryl Baker
91k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** moored at the Marine Terminal Pier, Subic Bay, Philippines, 7 April 1959. Note the additional fittings on her kingposts for the rapid transfer of cargo while underway. US Navy photo courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Mike Green
215k	*USS Ranger* (CVA-61) taking on supplies from USS Pollux (AKS-4) Photo from the Ranger**'s 1959 Cruise Book (3 January–27 July), probably taken in the Western Pacific.	John Slaughter, Webmaster USS Ranger History & Memorial site
62k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** at anchor, circa 1960, location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
97k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** at anchor off the coast of Japan. The active volcano Mount Sakurajima is visible off her starboard beam. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1964	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
40k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4) moored pierside aft of USS Castor (AKS-1)*, date unknown and location unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands"* magazine, September 1968 issue.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
122k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4) during a replenishment at sea with USS Perkins (DDR-877) and USS Oriskany (CVA-34)** off Okinawa in 1960.	Doug Smith
120k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4) and USS Midway (CVA-41)** conducting an underway replenishment (UNREP) in 1964, location unknown.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
304k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4) and USS Intrepid (CVS-11)** conducting an underway replenishment (UNREP), mid-late 1966, off the coast of Vietnam. US Navy photo.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
122k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4) steaming alongside USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14)** during the carriers WESTPAC deployment, circa 1966-67.	Gene McCallister USS Ticonderoga.
60k	*USS Pollux* (AKS-4)** underway date unknown and location unknown. US Navy photo from USS Pollux Cruisebook	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.

USS Pollux (AKS-4)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Kidder, Edmund James, USN (USNA 1918)	27 April 1942 - 19 August 1943
02	CDR. Bixby, Harry Llewellyn, USN (USNA 1921-B)	19 August 1943 - 1 August 1944
03	LCDR. Kercher, Merril A., USNR	1 August 1944 - December 1945
04	LCDR. McMurtry, Douglas R., USNR	December 1945 - March 1946
05	CDR. Crandell, Donald Allen, USN (USNA 1926)	March 1946 - ?
07	CAPT. Anderson, Herbert Augustus, USN	1949 - 3 April 1950
	In Commission in Reserve	3 April 1950 - 5 August 1950
08	CAPT. Dodge, Harry Benjamin, USN (USNA 1930)	5 August 1950 - 1951
09	CAPT. Ramey, John William, USN (USNA 1932) :RADM	July 1952 - December 1952
10	CDR. Martin, John Croysdale, USN (USNA 1934)	December 1952 - ?
11	CDR. Frankel, Bernard, USN	1954 - 1955
12	CDR. Meiere, Joseph William, USN	1955 - 20 November 1956
13	CAPT. Winkel, Robert Paul, USN	20 November 1956 - 13 January 1958
14	CAPT. Wells, Wade Cantrel, USN	13 January 1958 - September 1959
15	CAPT. Wallace, William Edward, USN	September 1959 - 22 July 1960
16	CAPT. Johnson, Richard Edward, USN (USNA 1938)	22 July 1960 - September 1961
17	CAPT. Fischer Jr., Harry Frederick, USN (USNA 1940)	September 1961 - 14 September 1962
18	CAPT. Witter, Ward Wayne, USN (USNA 1940)	14 September 1962 - 29 May 1963
19	CAPT. Sherman, Vining Alden, USN	29 May 1963 - 19 May 1964
20	CAPT. McQuary, John Edward, USN	19 May 1964 - 15 May 1965
21	CAPT. Kelley, Edward George, USN	15 May 1965 - 18 October 1966
22	CAPT. Shepherd, John Tyler, USN (USNA 1943)	18 October 1966 - October 1967
23	CAPT. Flitton II, Charles Neville, USN	October 1967 - 31 December 1968
99	CAPT. McClaren, Wesley James, USN (USNA 1945)	no dates


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
MARAD Vessel History Database

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Last Updated 15 January 2021