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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS John Land (AP-167)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Papa - India
 NDPI
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal
Bottom Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
La Salle Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 14 November 1942, as SS John Land a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-B1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 294) at Union Engineering Co., San Francisco, CA.
  • Launched, 22 January 1943
  • Assigned to Seas Shipping Co. under a General Service Agency Agreement, 23 August 1943
  • Converted for Navy service as a Naval Transport at United Engineering Co., San Francisco, CA.
  • Commissioned USS John Land (AP-167), 8 April 1944, at San Francisco, CA., CAPT. Frederick A. Graf in command
  • During World War II USS John Land was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 June to 28 July 1944     		Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 13 to 25 October and 14 November 1944
    Tinian capture and occupation, 24 to 28 July 1944 Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 to 13 January 1945
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 8 September to 14 October 1944     		Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 9 to 16 March 1945

  • Following World War II USS John Land was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 3 September to 2 October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 5 August 1946, at Seattle, WA.
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 6 August 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register in October 1946
  • USS John Land earned six battle stars for World War II service
  • Merchant Service
    Acquired by Waterman Steamship Corp., 2 September 1948, under a General Services Agency Agreement, renamed SS Jeff Davis
    Sold by the Maritime Commission 29 September 1948, to the Waterman Steamship Co.
    Resold to Ocean Carriers Inc., in April 1953, renamed SS Sea Comet (II)
    Resold to Grace Line Inc. in August 1957, renamed SS Santa Regina
    Resold to Farrell Lines Inc., 18 September 1961, renamed SS African Gulf
    Resold to Liberty Navigation & Trading Co., Inc., 23 May 1963, renamed SS Norberto Capay
    Resold to Galacia Steamship Co., 8 July 1968
    Final Disposition, (US Marshalls sale) sold for scrapping at Kaohsiung, 18 March 1969
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,556 t.(lt) 13,910 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 23' (lim)
    Speed 16.5 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 33
    Enlisted 349
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 74
    Enlisted 1,516
    Cargo Capacity 2,100 DWT
    non-refrigerated, 121,356 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
    twelve single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 10,300 Bbls
    Diesel 880 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric steam turbine
    two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 250Kw 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS John Land (AP-167)
    John Land 215k Church Call aboard USS John Land (AP-167) during the Philippines Campaign. The white haired man seated in the front row to the left of the Chaplin is President Sergio Osmena of the Philippines. President Osmena embarked on the 13 of October and waded ashore with General MacArthur at Leyte Gulf of 20 October 1944. George Matteson
    John Land 88k USS John Land (AP-167) in San Francisco Bay, CA. in late 1945 or early 1946, she is returning troops from the Western Pacific to the United States as part of Operation "Magic Carpet."
    USN Navy photo #: NH 98730, donated to the US Naval Historic Center by Boatswain's Mate First Class Robert G. Tippins, USN (Retired), 2003.         		US Naval Historic Center
    John Land 59k USS John Land (AP-167) anchored in San Francisco Bay, circa 1945-1946
    USN Navy photo #: NH 83399, from the collections of the US Naval Historic Center, courtesy of D. M. McPherson, 1975.         		US Naval Historic Center
    Merchant Service Waterman Steamship Co. Grace Lines Farrell Lines
    John Land 70k Ex-USS John Land (AP-167) underway while in merchant service as SS Jeff Davis in the colors of a Waterman affiliate company, date and location unknown. Gerhard Mueller Debus
    John Land
    092216708    		 50k Ex-USS John Land (AP-167) moored pierside at Vancouver, B.C. in March 1955 while in merchant service as Ocean Carriers Inc.'s SS Sea Comet II.
    Photo by ©Walter E. Frost.    		 Gerhard Mueller Debus
    John Land
    092216707    		 97k Ex-USS John Land (AP-167) arriving probably at a U.S. port in the Gulf of Mexico while in merchant service as SS Santa Regina in Grace Line colors, circa 1959. Gerhard Mueller Debus
    John Land
    092216706    		 302k Ex-USS John Land (AP-167) moored pierside outboard of a floating derrick in a U.S. Great Lakes port, probably Chicago, IL., while in merchant service as SS Santa Regina in Grace Line colors, circa 1959 to 1960. Gerhard Mueller Debus
    John Land
    092216705    		 254k Ex-USS John Land (AP-167) underway while in merchant service as SS African Gulf in Farrell Line colors, circa 1961 to 1963, location unknown. Gerhard Mueller Debus
    USS John Land (AP-167)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Graf, Frederic Augus, USN (USNA 1926)t8 April 1944 - 24 April 1945
    02CAPT. Studabaker, David James, USNR24 April 1945 - 5 August 1946
    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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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 11 March 2022