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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Almaack (AKA-10)
ex
 USS Almaack (AK-27) (1941 - 1943)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Uniform - Mike
 NAUM
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive)
Second Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Defense Service Medal (with "A" device) - American Campaign Medal
Third Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) - World War II Victory Medal
Fourth Row - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal (2)
Almaack Class Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 15 March 1940, as SS Executor, a Maritime Commission type (C3E) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 104) at Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River Yard, Quincy, MA.
  • Launched, 21 September 1940
  • Delivered to her owners, the American Export Lines, 22 October 1940
  • Acquired by the Navy 3 June 1941
  • Converted for Naval service at Tietjen and Lang Dry Dock, Hoboken. N.J.
  • Commissioned USS Almaack (AK-27), 15 June 1941, at the US Army Transport Service Base, Brooklyn, N.Y., CDR. Thomas R. Cooley in command
  • Redesignated Attack Cargo Ship (AKA-10), 31 January 1943
  • During World War II USS Almaack served in both the Europe-Africa Middle East Theater, and the Asiatic-Pacific:
    TransRon Eleven, COMO. D.W. Loomis USN (18);
    TransDiv Thirty-One and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    North African Occupation
    Tunisian operations, 8 November 1942 to 9 July 1943     		Marshall Islands campaign
    Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 31 January to 8 February 1944
      Marianas campaign
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 24 June 1944
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 22 to 29 July 1944
      Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 20 October and 14 November 1944
      Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 9 January 1945
      Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 6 March 1945

  • Following World War II USS Almaack was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from, 27 October to 13 November 1945 and China service from, 6 to 30 January 1946
  • Decommissioned, 10 May 1946, at Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 16 August 1946
  • USS Almaack earned six battle stars for her World War II service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 12 September 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River, N.Y. Group
  • Post World War II Merchant Service
    Sold, 9 September 1947, to Shepard Line, renamed SS Bunker Hill
    Resold in September 1949 to American Export Lines Inc., renamed SS Excellency
    Returned to the Maritime Administration, 12 March 1964, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Group
    Leased to American Export Isbrandtsen Lines, Inc., 2 September 1965
    Returned to the Maritime Administration, 5 October 1967, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA.
    Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 May 1970, to Nation Metal & Scrap Corp.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,500 t.(lt), 15,265 t.(fl)
    Length 473' 1"
    Beam 66'
    Draft 27' 2" (max)
    Speed 18.6 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 46
    Enlisted 380
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Cargo Capacity 5,175 DWT
    non-refrigerated 373,150 Cu ft.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    eight single .50 cal machine guns
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 12,550 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Bethlehem Shipbuilding Parsons design steam turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double Falk Main Reduction Gears
    two turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Almaack (AK-27)
    Almaack 94k USS Almaack (AK-27) at New York on 20 June 1941, five days after being commissioned. She is wearing Measure One camouflage and lacks any armament.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-24419, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo. Courtesy Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    Almaack 246k Overhead view of USS Almaack (AK-27) looking aft, from a pierside crane at the Norfolk Navy Yard, 30 December 1941. The Ship is painted in measure 12 (Mod.). Note USS Idaho (BB-42) at upper left, being assisted into the stream by tugs, and stern of USS Mississippi (BB-41) at left.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-28324, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Almaack
    19-N-28236    		 65k USS Almaack (AK-27) off the Norfolk Navy Yard, 31 December 1941 after a refit. She is wearing Measure 12 (Mod.) camouflage and has received her armament. Note the archaic counter stern favored by her original owner, American Export Lines.
    US National Archives photo #'s 19-N-28326 & 19-N-28327, US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives. Courtesy Shipscribe.com and Norfolk Navy Yard Photo # 2499(42).    		 Robert Hurst and
    Ron Reeves
    Almaack
    19-N-28237
    courtesy Shipscribe.com    		 95k
    Almaack
    Norfolk Navy Yard Photo # 2499(42)    		 232k
    Almaack 191k USS Almaack (AK-27) under way, 17 September 1942, probably off Norfolk Navy Yard. (Although labeled AKA-10, this is AK-27 on the date this photo was taken.)
    US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics photo # X1637 for Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet    		 Steve Franklin
    Almaack 52k USS Almaack (AK-27) under way, date and location, unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Aryeh Wetherhorn
    USS Almaack (AKA-10)
    Almaack
    19-N-55023    		 39k USS Almaack (AKA-10) underway on the Elizabeth River, off Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA., 15 October 1943, her camouflage is now overall Measure 11, Sea Blue.
    US National Archives photo #'s 19-N-55023, 19-N-55022 and 19-N-55025, US Navy Bureau of Ships photos now in the collections of the US National Archives. Photos 19-N-55022 and 19-N-55025 courtesy Shipscribe. com    		 Robert Hurst
    Almaack
    19-N-55022    		 76k
    Almaack
    19-N-55025    		 74k
    Almaack 223k A daily wire photo from the US State Department which were not to be used in the Western Hemisphere, or the British Isle.
    USS Almaack (AKA-10) LCM's carrying gasoline and oil nose close to shore at Charan-Kona town on the west coast of Saipan Island where Japanese buildings and installations are blasted by US naval bombardment. Smoke pours from an enemy factory (right). Charan-Kona was seized by US troops shortly after they landed, 24 July 1944, on Saipan, strategic base in the Marianas group in the Central Pacific, where organized enemy resistance was ended July 8. Control of Saipan, less than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from Japan, gives the US a forward air-sea attack base within US B29 Superfortress range of the enemy homeland.    		 Steve Franklin
    Merchant Service
    Almaack 266k Ex-USS Almaack (AK-27) under way while in merchant service as the Shepard-Line freighter SS Bunker Hill, circa 1948, location unknown.
    ©Eric Johnson.    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Almaack (AK-27 / AKA-10)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Cooley Jr., Thomas Ross USN (USNA 1917) :RADM15 June 1941 - 6 June 1942
    02CDR. Nichols, Chester Leroy USN6 June 1942 - 12 December 1942
    03LCDR. McLean, Hugh Buchanan USN (USNA 1924)12 December 1942 - 16 June 1943
    04LCDR. Dannenberg, John Yancey USN (USNA 1922) :RADM16 June 1943 - 8 July 1944
    05CDR. Hicks, Clyde Oscar USNR6 June 1944 - 10 May 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
    USS Almaack (AK-27) War Diary 9 April 1942 to 31 January 1943
    USS Almaack (AKA-10) War Diary 1 February 1943 to 30 November 1945
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index Back To The Amphibious Cargo Ship (AKA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 22 December 2023