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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS St. George (AV-16)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Zulu - Oscar NAZO

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive Okinawa) - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Personnel Awards

Purple Hearts (3-KIA 6 May 1945, Okinawa)

USS St. George (AV-16) was transferred to Italy renamed INS Andrea Bafile (A5314)

Kenneth Whiting Class Seaplane Tender:

Laid down, date unknown, at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. Inc., Tacoma, WA.

Launched, 14 February 1944

Commissioned USS St George (AV-16), 24 July 1944, CAPT. Robert Gordon Armstrong USN in command

During World War II USS St. George was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 March to 30 June 1945

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

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
2 September 1945 to 3 March 1946
4 September to 20 October 1945	4 September to 20 October 1945

Decommissioned, 1 August 1946, at San Diego, CA.

Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego, CA.

Struck from the Navy Register, 1 July 1963 and simultaneously transferred to the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

USS St. George earned one battle star for her World War II service

Reacquired by the Navy, 11 December 1968

Sold to Italy, renamed INS Andrea Bafile (A5314)

Final Disposition, fate unknown

Specifications:
Displacement 8,510 t.(lt) 12,610 t.(fl) 14,000 t.(lim)
Length 492'
Beam 69' 6"
Draft 22'
Speed 18.7 kts.

Complement

Officers 113

Enlisted 964

Largest Boom Capacity 20 t.

Armament

two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts

two quad 40mm AA gun mounts

two tw8h 40mm AA gun mounts

sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 9,675Bbls

Diesel 760Bbls

Gasoline 312,475Gals

Propulsion

one Allis Chalmers steam turbine

two Foster and Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 765°

double Falk Main Reduction Gear

three turbo-drive Ship's Service Generators, 500Kw 450V A.C.

one propeller, 8,500shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
USS St. George (AV-16)
	434k	*USS St. George* (AV-16)** commissioning ceremony, 24 July 1944, at Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corp. Inc., Tacoma, WA. Note USS YMS-479 moored astern of *St. George*. US Navy photo	David Buell
	242k	Aboard *USS St. George* (AV-16)**, probably CAPT. Robert G. Armstrong USN with an unidentified Rear Admiral, date and location unknown.. US Navy photo	David Buell
	94k	Stern view of *USS St. George* (AV-16)** underway in Puget Sound, 31 July 1944, one week after commissioning. She is newly painted camouflage scheme Measure 32 Design 8x. U.S. National Archives Photo # unknown, from record group RG-19-LCM, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	Robert Hurst
	935k	Broadside view of *USS St. George* (AV-16)** at anchor, probably soon after commissioning. She is newly painted camouflage scheme Measure 32 Design 8x. US Navy photo	David Buell
	671k	Starboard bow view of *USS St. George* (AV-16)** at anchor, probably soon after commissioning. She is newly painted camouflage scheme Measure 32 Design 8x. US Navy photo	David Buell
	107k	*USS St. George* (AV-16)** underway, date and location unknown. Her camouflage scheme is 32/8x. US Navy photo	Haze Gray & Underway
09411612	94k	*USS St. George* (AV-16)** at anchor at Eniwetok Atoll, 11 November 1944, with a Martin PBM Mariner on deck aft. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH 43512	Robert Hurst
	684k	*USS St. George* (AV-16)** at anchor at Kerama Retto, 29 April 1945. This remarkable photo of a Kamikaze diving on the USS St. George just as the proximity fuse of an anti-aircraft shell fired by the ship detonated. Note the smoke from the AA guns on the stern. An instant later the plane was blown to bits. Photo by Paul D. Guttman PH2/c.	Robert Guttman for his father Paul D. Guttman PH2/c.
09411613	125k	*USS St. George* (AV-16) center, hit by a Japanese kamikaze suicide plane at Kerama Retto, 6 May 1945. The plane exploded on the fantail, killing three men and wrecking the aircraft crane. St. George** left Kerama Retto, 12 July for drydocking and repairs at Guam, returning, 21 August to Okinawa. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH 65833, courtesy collection of Admiral H.W. Hill, USN, Ret	Robert Hurst
INS Andrea Bafile (A5314)
	450k	Ex-*USS St. George* (AV-16) in Italian naval service as INS Andrea Bafile (A5314)**, moored in the harbor at La Spezia, Italy, 1 March 1970.	Photo by Carlo Martinelli
	116k	*INS Andrea Bafile* (A5314)** entering port, circa 1970, location unknown. Italian Navy photo.	Robert Hurst
	57k	*INS Andrea Bafile* (A5314)** underway, date and location unknown.	Hazegray & Underway
	98k	*INS Andrea Bafile* (A5314)** moored at Taranto Arsenal, December 1987.	Giorgio Fedele, Italian Navy

USS St. George (AV-16)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CAPT. Armstrong, Robert Gordon USN (USNA 1926)	24 July 1944 to 9 September 1945
02	CAPT. Voit, James Burke, USN (USNA 1921-B)	9 September 1945 - 1 August 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
US Navy Patrol Squadrons - USS St George (AV-16)
MARAD Vessel History Database

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 22 July 2022