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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Gemini (AP-75)
ex
 USS Matinicus (AK-52) (1942)


International Radio Call Signs

USS Matinicus (AK-52)
1942 International Radio Call Sign
Nan - Item - Mike - Baker
 NIMB
USS Gemini (AP-75)
1942 International Radio Call Sign
Nan - Yoke - Tare - Uncle
 NYTU
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
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
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Stratford Class Transport
  • Completed in 1919 as the lake-type freighter SS Coperas at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Renamed, SS Aetna in 1937, and later renamed SS Saginaw
  • Acquired by the Navy, 27 September 1941
  • Renamed Matinicus and designated as Miscellaneous Unclassified (AG-38)
  • Reclassified Cargo Ship (AK-52), 7 January 1942, while undergoing conversion at Bethlehem Steel Company, Boston, MA.
  • Commissioned USS Matinicus (AK-52), 4 August 1942, LCDR. Woody L. Cain in command
  • Redesignated a Transport and renamed USS Gemini (AP-75), 15 August 1942
  • Decommissioned, 8 April 1946, at Oakland, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946
  • Transferred, 30 June 1946, to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Purchased, 21 November 1947, by the Saginaw Deck & Terminal Co. for resale to Oly Fenno S.S. Co. Ltd., 2 December 1947, renamed SS Ramsdal, reflagged Finland
  • Resold in 1959 to O/Y Ridal A/B (Rudolf Johnsson), Åbo.
  • Ramsdal was stranded, 27 May 1964, 3 miles NW of Dunbar, refloated 28 May 1964
  • Resold in 1965 to Fenno SS. Ltd., O/Y (J. Konkola), Åbo, renamed SS Transdal
  • Resold in 1967 to Tramppilaiva O/Y, Åbo
  • Final Disposition, Transdal arrived at Helsinki, 26 September 1967 for demolition
    Specifications:
    Displacement 3,555 t. (lim.)
    Length 261
    Beam 43' 6"
    Draft 15' 9" (lim.)
    Speed 8.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 43
    Enlisted 328
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 30
    Enlisted 235
    Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
    Cargo Capacity 35,000 Cu ft.
    Armament
    two single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 2,770 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Manitowec vertical triple-expansion steam engine
    two Scotch boilers, 190psi, sat
    one turbo drive Westinghouse Ship's Service Generator, 60Kw 120V D.C.
    one Hercules emergency Diesel Ship's Service Generator, 40 KW 120 D.C.
    single propeller, 1,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS Matinicus (AK-52)
    Gemini 157k Berthed at the Bethlehem Steel East Boston piers, 7 August 1942, are from left to right; USS Matinicus (AK-52), USS Manasquan (AG-36) and USS Menemsha (AG-39) during their weather ship duty. At right is USAT Acadia. This was a week before Matinicus was renamed Gemini.
    Photo # NPS 14314 A US Navy photo now in the collections of NPS Charlestown Navy Yard    		 John Chiquoine
    USS Gemini (AP-75)
    Gemini 173k USS Gemini (AP-75) moored pierside probably at Boston, MA., soon after completing her troopship conversion. Except for her high bridge and gun positions, her appearance and rig remain very similar to her original configuration as a small World War I-built Great Lakes cargo ship.
    A U.S. Army Signal Corps photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Stan Svec and Robert Hurst
    Gemini 73k USS Gemini (AP-75) under way, off Boston Navy Yard, 21 October 1942.
    US National Archives photo # RG-19-LCM a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Stan Svec and Robert Hurst
    Gemini 79k USS Gemini (AP-75) under way, off Boston Navy Yard, 21 October 1942.
    US National Archives photo # RG-19-LCM Photo # 19-N-35410 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Gemini 235k USS Gemini (AP-75) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Navy Memorial.    		 Stan Svec
    Gemini
    092207510    		 317k USS Gemini (AP-75) approaching her berth in Iceland where she is with the Service Force, 30 June 1943.
    US Army Air Force photo # usafA372-7531    		 John Chiquoine
    Gemini
    19-N-90234    		 74k USS Gemini (AP-75) under way near the US Naval Drydocks, Hunters Point, San Francisco, CA., 24 August 1945.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo # 19-N-90234 and
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo No. 19-N-90236, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Gemini
    19-N-90236    		 89k
    Merchant Service
    Gemini 68k Ex-USS Gemini (AP-75) in merchant service as the Finnish flagged break-bulk freighter SS Ramsdal under way, date and location unknown. Stan Svec
    Gemini
    092207509     		120k Ex-USS Gemini (AP-75) in merchant service as the Finnish flagged break-bulk freighter SS Ramsdal entering Copenhagen, circa 1960's.
    Photo taken by Schovfinn. Image courtesy of shipspotting.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Matinicus (AK-52) / USS Gemini (AP-75)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Cain, Woody L. 6 August 1942 - 5 January 1944
    02LCDR. Rogers, USNR5 January 1944 - 24 April 1945
    03LCDR. Patchett, USNR24 April 1945 - ?
    04LCDR. Ohlin, Stanley Nelson USN5 July 1945 - 8 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves. Photo courtesy Bill Gonyo
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG) Photo Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 1 November 2024