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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Lyon (AP-71)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Romeo - November
 NYRN
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (4)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Elizabeth C. Stanton Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 21 August 1939, as SS Mormactide, a Maritime Commission type (C3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 65) at Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, MS.
  • Launched, 12 October 1940
  • Delivered, 10 March 1942 to Moore-McCormack Lines and placed in commercial service
  • Custody acquired by the US War Department, 8 August 1942
  • Acquired by the US Navy and transferred to Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, N.Y., for conversion, 13 September 1942
  • Commissioned USS Lyon (AP-71), 16 September 1942, CAPT. Martin J. Gillan in command
  • During World War II USS Lyon was first assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    North African occupation
    Algeria, Morocco landings, 8 to 11 November 1942     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 to 30 April 1945
    Sicilian occupation, 9 to 15 July 1943  
    Salerno landings, 9 to 21 September 1943  
    Invasion of Southern France, 15 August to 25 September 1944  

  • Following World War II USS Lyon was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    15 October to 3 November 1945
    6 to 20 January 1946

  • Decommissioned, 3 May 1946, at New York, N.Y., returned to the Maritime Commission and subsequently returned to her owners, Moore-McCormack Lines
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 8 May 1946
  • USS Lyon earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Renamed SS Mormactide, she remained under the ownership of Moore-McCormack Lines until 1966, when she was
  • Sold to Grace Lines in August 1966, renamed SS Santa Regina
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 18 January 1972, to Dah Yung Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 7,954 t.(lt) 14,909 t.(fl)
    Length 491' 8"
    Beam 69' 6"
    Draft 26' 6" (lim)
    Speed 18 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 47
    Enlisted 356
    Troop Capacity 1,981
    Cargo Capacity 290,140 cu.ft.
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Armament
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    two single 40mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 16,200 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric steam turbine
    two Foster Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi, 765°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
     one Diesel-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C.
     two turbo-drive 350Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    single propeller, 8,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS Lyon (AP-71)
    Lyon 143k
    Namesake

    Born 28 February 1797 in Buckland, Mass., Mary Lyon was a pioneer in women’s education in America. She founded Mount Holyoke Seminary, now Mount Holyoke College, in 1836. Miss Lyon died at the college 5 March 1849.
    Photo from Mount Holyoke College    		 Bill Gonyo
    Lyon
    19-N-35854    		 97k USS Lyon (AP-71) off Norfolk Navy Yard, 7 October 1942. Note she has retained the seven pairs of kingposts that were fitted to her as a merchant ship and also of note is the 4"/50 gun at the stern on a platform just aft of and below the after pair of 3"/50 guns.
    US National Archives photo #'s 19-N-35854, 19-N-35855 and 19-N-35856 US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Lyon
    19-N-35855    		 115k
    Lyon
    19-N-35856    		 98k
    Lyon 42k USS Lyon (AP-71) moored at US Army Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA. pier loading troops.
    Official US Army photo produced by US Army Signal Corps, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 20 October 1942. Photo now in the collections of the Library of Virginia. Image No. C1:2/01/025    		 The Library of Virginia, US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
    Lyon
    092207110    		 285k USS Lyon (AP-71) moored at US Army Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA. Task Force "A." pier 4. In the foreground at the Light Tanks, US Army 756th Tank Battalion, November 1942. Note the deep wading trunks added to the M5 Stuart Light Tanks.
    A US Army Signal Corps photo, now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 David Upton
    Oberon
    100201428    		 214k USS Oberon (AKA-14), USS Monrovia (APA-31) and USS Lyon (AP-71), Operation Husky, the Allied Invasion of Sicily, underway between Algiers, Algeria and Gela, Sicily, 6-9 July 1943.
    TimeLife_image_116064061 by Bob Landry, Life Magazine. For personal non-commercial use only.     		David Upton
    Oberon
    092207111    		 303k USS Lyon (AP-71), Operation Husky, the Allied Invasion of Sicily, Gela Landings, "Dime" beaches, 10-12 July 1943.
    TimeLife_image_116108620 by J. R. Eyerman, Life Magazine. For personal non-commercial use only.     		David Upton
    Lyon 74k USS Lyon (AP-71) in San Francisco Bay circa February 1946. She has lost the pairs of kingposts at the extreme bow and stern. Her armament is also gone, probably having been removed soon after the end of the war.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 77393, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Merchant Service Moore McCormack Steamship Co. Grace Lines Prudential Steamship Corp.
    Lyon 346k Ex-USS Lyon (AP-71) under way with a tug alongside while in merchant service after World War II as the Moore McCormack Lines SS Mormactide
    Photo ©B. Rohbrecht.    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Lyon 294k Ex-USS Lyon (AP-71) departing Vancouver, B.C., Canada, date unknown, while in merchant service after World War II as the Grace Lines SS Santa Regina
    Photo ©W Schell.    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Lyon 332k Ex-USS Lyon (AP-71) under way while in harbor, date unknown, while in merchant service after World War II as the Prudential Steamship Corps. SS Santa Regina
    Photo ©M Cassar    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Lyon (AP-71)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Gillan Jr., Martin Joseph16 September 1942 - February 1943
    02CAPT. Sorensen, Thor C.16 September 1944 - ?
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    General Plans from the San Francisco Maritime Park Association
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 20 May 2022