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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Kenwood (IX-179)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - India - Golf
NAIG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Philippine Liberation Medal


Kenwood Class Mobile Floating Fuel Storage Ship:
  • Built in 1916 at Fore River Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, MA., as SS Texas, an Emergency Fleet Corporation design 1047 tanker, for the Texas Oil Co.
  • Assigned Registry Number (ID-4539) by US Navy
  • Acquired by the Maritime Commission, 5 March 1942, from the Texas Oil Co., at Cristobal C.Z.
  • Chartered by the Texas Oil Co., 5 March 1942
  • Transferred Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union, 31 July 1943, renamed SS Apsheron
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 30 June 1944
  • Transferred to War Emergency Tankers, Inc., under a General Agency Agreement, renamed SS Johren
  • Acquired by the Navy at Brisbane, Australia, 16 November 1944
  • Commissioned Miscellaneous Unclassified USS Kenwood (IX-179), 6 December 1944. LCDR Rommie L. West USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Kenwood was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 10 January 1946, at Subic Bay, P.I.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 21 January 1946
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission for disposal, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 29 January 1948, to Asia Development Corp., Shanghai, China (PD-X-302) for $271,000.00 as part of a 15 ship sale
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,368 t.(lt) 9,830 t.(fl)
    Length 416' 8"
    Beam 66'
    Speed 10 kts.
    Complement 70
    Armament
    one 4" gun mount
    two 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion system unknown
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image
    Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service Texas Oil Co.
    Kenwood
    094617908
    89k The Texas Oil Co. tanker SS Texas underway, circa 1942-1943, location unknown.
    picryl.com - Thomas Crane Public Library
    John Spivey
    Kenwood 82k SS Apsheron at San Francisco circa 1943 with probable ice damage to her bow. This ship, completed in 1916 as the American tanker SS Texas, was loaned to the U.S.S.R. in 1943 under Lend Lease. Shortly after her return by the Soviets in 1944 she became USS Kenwood (IX-179).
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo # NH 89881
    Mike Green
    USS Kenwood (IX-179)
    Kenwood 376k USS Kenwood (IX-179) Material Condition - Report of requested repairs. Christopher E. Case
    Kenwood 393k
    Kenwood 319k USS Kenwood (IX-179) Letter of Appreciation from Commanding Officer LCDR R.L. West USNR to Texas Oil Co., Subject R.L. Jones past Master SS Texas. Christopher E. Case
    Kenwood 370k USS Kenwood (IX-179) - Failure to depart on time - Commanding Officers Comments on (page 1) Christopher E. Case
    Kenwood 275k

    USS Kenwood (IX-179)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. West, Rommie Lee, USNR6 December 1944 - March 1945
    02LT. Chambers, Roy A., USNRMarch 1945 - June 1945
    03LCDR. Hyde, William Albert, USNRJune 1945 - November 1945
    04LCDR. Chambers, Roy A., USNRNovember 1945 - 10 January 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler

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

    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Kenwood MARAD Vessel History Database
    Johren 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 Unclassified 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 5 July 2024