Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Jaguar (IX-120)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - India - Lima
 NJIL
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Armadillo Class Mobile Station Tanker
  • Laid down, 18 October 1943, as SS Charles T. Yerkes, a Maritime Commission type (Z-ET1-S-C3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MCE 1909) at California Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, CA.
  • Renamed Jaguar 27 October 1943
  • Launched, 20 November 1943
  • Acquired by the US Navy 15 December 1943
  • Commissioned USS Jaguar (IX-120), 18 December 1943, LCDR. T. E. Hammond in command
  • During World War II USS Jaguar was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS Jaguar was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 3 October to 6 November 1945
  • Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 10 June 1946
  • Delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA), 10 June 1946, at Norfolk, VA., named reverted to SS Charles T. Yerkes
  • Merchant Service
    Sold, May 1948, to Ocean Tankers Ltd., Dover, DE. renamed SS Harry Peer
    Resold in 1949 to Tini Steamship Co., Ltd., Dover, DE., and converted to a grain carrier by Alabama Drydock Co., Mobile, AL.
    Resold in 1951 to Cia de Nav Las Cruces SA, , renamed SS Illenao, reflagged Panamanian
    Resold in 1954 to S. N. Difonis, Athens, (name retained), Panamanian flag
  • Final Disposition, grounded near Prongs Lighthouse, Bombay, 4 June 1954, while bound from Fremantle to Bombay with wheat - refloated with extensive bottom damage also to machinery and boilers, declared total loss, sold to local breakers
    Specifications:
    Displacement 3,665 t.(lt) 14,500 t.(fl)
    Length 441' 6"
    Beam 56' 11"
    Draft 28' 4"
    Speed 11 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 10
    Enlisted 104
    Cargo Capacity 8,500 DWT
    Oil 63,000 Bbls
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    one single 3"/50 cal gun mount
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 13,700 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Joshua Hendy Ironworks, Sunnyvale, CA., triple-expansion reciprocating engine
    two Babcock & Wilcox boilers, 220psi 450°
    three recip-drive 20Kw 120V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single 4 blade, 18' 6" propeller, 2,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    United States Maritime Commission
    Gemsbok
    094611702    		 140k United States Maritime Commission Tanker Design Z-ET-1-S-C3.
    US National Archives photo thanks to Auke Visser's Famous T-Tanker Pages     		 
    USS Jaguar (IX-120)
    Jaguar
    094612003    		 287k
    Namesake
    Jaguar - is a large felid species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to darker rosettes on the sides. With a body length of up to (6 ft 1 in), it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Jaguar 181k Liberty Ships fitting out at California Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, CA., 25 November 1943. From left to right:
    Dry Cargo Ships
    SS John A. Roebling
    SS Ralph A. Cram
    Armadillo Class Mobile Station Tankers
    Caribou (IX-114)- ex SS Nathaniel B. Palmer
    Elk (IX-115) - SS William Winter
    Gazelle (IX-116)- SS Cyrus K. Holliday
    Gemsbok (IX-117) - SS Carl R. Gray
    Giraffe (IX-118) - SS Sanford B. Dole
    Ibex (IX-119) - SS Nicholas Longworth
    Jaguar (IX-120) - SS Charles T. Yerkes     		Gerard Mueller-Debus
    Merchant Service
    Jaguar 64k ex-Jaguar (IX-120) in Merchant service as the Cia de Nav Las Cruces SA's grain carrier SS Illenao underway, circa 1951-54, place unknown. David Nixon
    USS Jaguar (IX-120)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional 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 Ship (IX) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 9 August 2021