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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Belusan (IX-187)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - India - Whiskey
 NAIW
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
Belusan Class Mobile Floating Fuel Storage Ship:
  • Built in 1920 as MV Vistula at Howaldtswerke, Kiel, Germany
  • Chartered by Standard Oil of New Jersey, 20 April 1942, at Baton Rouge, LA.
  • Acquired by the War Emergency Tanker Inc., 10 April 1944
  • Transferred to the Navy from the War Shipping Administration, 11 February 1945, at Brisbane, Australia
  • Commissioned Miscellaneous Unclassified USS Belusan (IX-187), 14 February 1945, LCDR. William G. Allen, USN (Ret.) in command
  • During World War II USS Belusan was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 7 January 1946, at Subic Bay, P.I.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 21 January 1946
  • Returned to the War Shipping Administration for disposal, 7 January 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, (PDX-402), 13 March 1948 at Subic Bay, P.I. to the Asia Development Corp.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,537 t.(lt) 20,000 t.(fl)
    Length 517' 6"
    Beam 64'
    Draft28' 4"
    Speed 10.5 kts
    Cargo Capacity
    Oil 103,000 Bbls
    Complement
    11 Officers
    103 Enlisted
    Armament
    one 4" gun mount
    one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
    eight single 20mm SS gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 11,200 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Krupp Diesel engines
    two Recip-drive 25Kw 110V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two propellers, 3,200shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Belusan 70k MV Vistula probably shown in the late 1920s or in the 1930s. This flush-decked tanker was built in Germany for a foreign affiliate of Standard Oil of New Jersey and was transferred to U.S. registry circa 1941. She became USS Belusan (IX-187) in 1945.
    Photo courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Belusan 94k MV Vistula anchored in an American port on 4 October 1942.
    US Coast Guard photo now the Steamship Historical Society of America (Alex. Shaw). Photo No. 8537
    Photo courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Belusan (IX-187)
    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 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 7 August 2015