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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Octorara (IX-139)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Romeo - Charlie
 NJRC
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 - Philippines Liberation Medal
Octorara Class Mobile Station Tanker:
  • Built in 1921 as the tanker SS La Purisima, at Southwestern Shipbuilding Co., San Pedro, CA.
  • Assigned Registry Number (ID-4647) by the US Navy
  • Acquired by the War Shipping Administration, 20 April 1942, from Union Oil Co. of California, at Eureka, CA.
  • Lend Lease to the Soviet Union, 28 September 1943, at Los Angeles, CA., renamed SS Taganrog I
  • Returned to the War Shipping Administration, 25 May 1944, and leased to Union Oil Co of California
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission, 11 September 1944, at Oakland, CA.
  • Commissioned USS Octorara (IX-139), 11 September 1944, at Moore Drydock Co., Oakland, CA.
  • Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 8 April 1946, at Mobile, AL.
  • Laid up in the Maritime Commission National Defense Reserve Fleet, at Mobile, AL.
  • Sold, 28 February 1948, to Pinto Island Metal Co.
  • Final Disposition, resold to Bethlehem Steel Co. in 1947 for scrapping
    Specifications:
    Displacement 11,579 t.(fl)
    Length 407' 5"
    Beam 51'
    Draft 25' 6"
    Speed 10.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 12
    Enlisted 76
    Armament
    two single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity Oil 54,900 Bbls
    Fuel Capacity 2,330 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Lewellen Iron Works Vertical triple-expansion steam engine
    three single-ended cylindrical scotch boilers, 200psi sat.
    two recip-drive 15Kw 120V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 2,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service Union Oil Company
    Octorara
    094613901    		 27k The Union Oil Company tanker SS La Purisima underway, date and location unknown.
    armed-guard.com.     		John Spivey
    USS Octorara (IX-139)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    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 Section ID Number Photo Index Back To The Miscellaneous Ship (IX) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 7 January 2022