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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Zaniah (AG-70)
ex
 USS Zaniah (AK-120) (1943 - 1944)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Quebec - Sierra - Quebec
NQSQ
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 (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp)
Basilan Class Miscellaneous Auxiliary:
  • Laid down, 29 October 1943, as SS Anthony F. Lucas, a Maritime Commission type (Z-EC2-S-C1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 2422) at Todd-Houston Shipbuilding Corp., Houston, TX.
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 2 November 1943
  • Renamed Zaniah and classified as a Cargo Ship, 13 November 1943
  • Launched, 12 December 1943
  • Commissioned USS Zaniah (AK-120), 22 December 1943, and ferried to Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company, Mobile, AL.
  • Decommissioned, 28 December 1943
  • Converted to a special stores-barracks-distilling ship
  • Recommissioned as the Miscellaneous Auxiliary USS Zaniah (AG-70), 2 September 1944. LCDR. Henry Mayfield, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Zaniah was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

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

  • Following World War II USS Zaniah was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 4 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 29 April 1946, at Pearl Harbor, TH.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 22 May 1947
  • Turned over to the Maritime Commission, 23 May 1947 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 10 July 1972, to Zidell Explorations Inc., delivered, 8 September 1972, broken up at Seattle-Tacoma, WA.
  • USS Zaniah earned one battle star for her WWII service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,350 t.(lt) 14,350 t.(fl)
    Length 441' 6"
    Beam 56' 11"
    Draft 23'
    Speed 12.5 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 15
    Enlisted 166
    Staff Accommodations
    Officers 13
    Enlisted 733
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    twelve 20mm AA gun mounts
    four .50 cal. machine guns
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 8,115 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Albina vertical triple expansion reciprocating steam engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 220psi 450°
    Ship's Service Generators
     three turbo-drive 60Kw 120V D.C.
    single propeller, 2,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Zaniah
    19-N-244943    		 95k USS Zaniah (AG-70) underway near Pensacola, FL., 9 September 1944, after completing conversion for naval service at Mobile, AL.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-244943 and unknown, US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Zaniah
    unknown    		 85k
    Zaniah 143k USS Zaniah (AG-70) divers. This photo exemplifies the men who worked at salvage and emergency repair during the Okinawa campaign.
    Photo courtesy Captain James W. Greely.
    Scanned from "Mud, Muscle, and Miracles" by Captain William I. Bartholomew, USN and Commander William I. Milwee, Jr., USN (Ret.)    		 Robert Hurst
    Zaniah 57k Ex-USS Zaniah (AG-70) moored, probably while laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA., date unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Zaniah (AG-70)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Mayfield, Henry, USNR22 December 1943 - 4 December 1945
    02LT. Sweit, Robert J., USNR4 December 1945 - 21 February 1946
    03LCDR. Harper, Roland F., USNR21 February 1946 - 29 April 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    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 Main Photo Index Back To the Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index Back To The Miscellaneous (AG) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 2 December 2016