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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Larch (AN-21)
ex
 USS Larch (YN-16) (1942 - 1944)
 Larch (YN-16) (1941 - 1942)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Oscar - Tango
 NBOT
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

USS Larch (AN-21) was transferred to Turkey and renamed TCG AG4 (P-304)
Aloe Class Net Laying Ship:
  • Laid down, 18 October 1940, at Marietta Manufacturing Co., Point Pleasant, WVA.
  • Launched, 2 July 1941
  • Placed in service as Larch (YN-16), 13 December 1941, LT. George. B. Coale, USNR, in command
  • Commissioned USS Larch (YN-16), 13 December 1942, at Trinidad, BWI, LT. Carl C. Dilcer, USNR, in command
  • Redesignated (AN-21), 20 January 1944
  • Decommissioned, 28 June 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 March 1947
  • Transferred, 10 May 1948, to Turkey under terms of the Military Assistance Program, renamed TCG AG-4 (P-304)
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 700 t.(fl) 805 t.(lim)
    Length 162' 2""
    Beam 30' 6"
    Draft 11' 8" (lim)
    Speed 12.5 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 4
    Enlisted 44
    Armament
    one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    two .50 cal machine guns
    one y-gun.
    Largest Boom Capacity 12 t.
    Propulsion
    one Enterprise DSG-6 Diesel-electric engine
    Single Westinghouse Main Reduction Gear
    two Diesel-drive 60Kw 120V D.C. Ships Service Generators
    Single propeller, 800shp
    Fuel Capacity - Diesel 620 Bbls
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Larch (YN-16)
    larch
    19-LCM-25866    		 22k Larch (YN-16) underway at half speed during her pre-commissioning trials in the Kanawha River, 14 November 1941, painted in overall No.5 Navy Gray.
    US Navy Bureau of Ships photo # 19-LCM-25866, from the collections of the Still Pictures Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD.    		 Robert Hurst and Stan Svec
    larch 22k
    USS Larch (AN-21)
    larch 35k USS Larch (AN-21) in the background prepares to take it on board, the car of the blimp K-68 laying on the beach at Blanquilla Island during the salvage operations that followed the non-rigid airship's forced landing there on 6 August 1943.
    Source ZP-51 Historical Files, History and Archives Division, NHHC.    		 Robert Hurst
    TCG AG4 (P-304)
    larch 46k Ex-USS Larch (AN-21) in Turkish naval service TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor and dressed over all with flags, circa 1956.
    Official Turkish Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships 1956-57".    		 Robert Hurst
    Larch 171k TCG AG-4 (P-304) conducting salvage operations near Istanbul, date unknown. Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired
    Larch 53k TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor, date and location unknown. Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired
    Larch 272k TCG AG-4 (P-304) moored, date and location unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    Larch 298k TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor, date and location unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    Larch 194k TCG AG-4 (P-304) at anchor, circa 1969, location unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    Larch 48k Drawing of TCG AG-4 (P-304) by Cüneyt Demir.  
    Larch 51k TCG AG-4 (P-304) moored to a buoy in the Gulf of Izmir, date unknown. Cüneyt Demir
    USS Larch (YN-16 / AN-21)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Coale, George Benjamin, USNR (Officer in Charge)13 December 1941 - 12 April 1942 YN-16
    02LTjg. Dilcer, Carl Claude, USNR (Officer in Charge)12 April 1942 - 13 December 1942 YN-16
    02LT. Dilcer, Carl Claude, USNR13 December 1942 - 13 January 1944 YN-16
    03LT. Naulty III, Charles William, USNR13 January 1944 - 12 July 1944 YN-16 / AN-21
    04LT. Kell, David Michael, USNR12 July 1944 - 15 December 1945 AN-21
    05LT. Kitchell, Glen, USN15 December 1945 - 28 June 1946 AN-21
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Yard and District Craft Photo Index Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Yard Net Tender (YN) Photo Index Back To Net Laying Ship (AN) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 September 2016