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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Starlight (AP-175)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Victor - Foxtrot
 NEVF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)
Storm King Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 9 October 1943, as SS Starlight, a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract, (MC hull 1358), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp., Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 23 December 1943
  • Acquired by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on a bareboat charter
  • Converted to an auxiliary transport by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co., Staten Island, N.Y.
  • Commissioned USS Starlight (AP-175), 15 February 1944, CDR. William O. Britton, USNR, in command
  • During WWII USS Starlight was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 29 July 1944     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, Binmaley Beach, 9 January 1945
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, Dulag, 20 October and 18 November 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 25 March to 17 June 1945

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

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    21 October to 1 November19458 to 18 February 1946
    13 to 20 April 1946 
  • Decommissioned, 12 August 1946
  • USS Starlight earned four battle stars for World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 14 August 1946, for disposal
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 August 1946
  • Merchant Service
    Sold, 2 April 1948, to Luckenbach SS Corp., renamed SS Florence Luckenbach
    Sold in October 1959 States Marine Lines, N.Y., renamed SS Badger State
    Final Disposition, lost due to explosion of ammunition cargo, 26 December 1969, while under contract to MSC
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,600 t.(lt) 12,200 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 23' (lim)
    Speed 15.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers -35
    Enlisted - 325
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers - 64
    Enlisted - 1,539
    Cargo Capacity116,186 Cu. ft. (non-refrigerated)
    Largest Boom Capacity 50 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 Capacity - NSFO 9,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Combustion Engineering boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    three 500Kw 120V/240V D.C. turbo-drive Ships Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS Starlight (AP-175)
    Starlight 375k USS Starlight (AP-175) commissioning ceremony, 15 February 1944, CDR. William O. Britton, USNR assuming command. Michael Kleaveland
    Starlight
    19-N-66449    		 81k USS Starlight (AP-175) off New York Navy Yard, 4 May 1944. Starlight's radar mast was stepped on top of the foremast rather than on the superstructure as in her sister, USS Storm King (AP-171). This displaced the lookout station, and the two kingposts in the bow had to be connected by a lattice crossbar to provide a new location for it. This ship also received two Welin davits on the main deck aft of the superstructure.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, Photo #'s 19-N-66449, 19-N-66453 and 19-N-66451 US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Starlight
    19-N-66453    		 84k
    Starlight
    19-N-66451    		 89k
    Starlight
    092217510    		 107k USS Starlight (AP-175) underway at sea off New York, 12 May 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 8T.
    U.S. Navy photo # 80-G-232418, taken by a blimp of squadron ZP-14    		 Robert Hurst
    Starlight 78k USS Starlight (AP-175) under way, date and location unknown. Her camouflage is pattern measure 32 design 8T. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Starlight
    092217510    		 136k USS Darby (DE-218) underway in late 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 22D. The transport in the background wearing camouflage 32/8T is USS Starlight (AP-175). Both ships were probably on the way to the landings at Lingayen Gulf in late 1944.
    U.S. Navy photo # 80-G-335073     		Robert Hurst
    Starlight 220k USS Starlight (AP-175) off loading at pier 3 Manila from 4-7 August 1945. The units embarked were 780th Field Artillery and the 41122-E Medical Battalion.
    Photo by Carl Mydans, Life Magazine. Used for educational and non-commercial purpose.    		 John Chiquoine
    Merchant Service Luckenbach Steamship Co.. States Marine Line.
    Starlight 106k Ex-Starlight (AP-175) moored at the Port of Stockton, CA. while loading a cargo of cotton. She is in the service of Luckenbach SS Corps. as that companies bulk cargo freighter SS Florence Luckenbach, circa 1949 to 1959.
    Union Oil Co. postcard photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Starlight 415k Ex-Starlight (AP-175) underway as States Marine Lines, SS Badger State, circa 1959 to 1969, location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus, ©William Schell.
    USS Starlight (AP-175)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Britton, William Omerod BUPERS Orders to Assume Command of USS Starlight15 February 1944 - 25 November 1944
    02CAPT. Holden Jr., Edward Clarence, USNR :VADM25 November 1944 - 3 August 1945
    03CAPT. Stokes, Philip Gaines :RADM3 August 1945 - 12 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 13 December 2024