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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Vinton (AKA-83)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Juliet - Lima
 NHJL
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Tolland Class Attack Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 20 June 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-AJ3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1393), at North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp. Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 25 August 1944
  • Delivered to the War Shipping Administration, 7 September 1944
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Commission, 7 September 1944, and towed to her conversion yard at Baltimore MD.
  • Commissioned USS Vinton (AKA-83), 23 February 1945, at Key Highway Plant, Bethlehem Steel Co. Baltimore, MD., CDR. John D. Hoffman, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Vinton was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty-Four, COMO. E. L. Short USNR;
     TransDiv Seventy
  • Decommissioned, 16 May 1946, at New York
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 17 March 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • Merchant Service
    Withdrawn from reserve, 28 November 1946, for reconversion at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Baltimore, MD.
     Sold to Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., 20 November 1947
     Resold, 21 November 1947 to Gulf and South American Steamship Co., renamed SS Gulf Shipper
     Resold, 23 September 1964, to American President Lines, Inc., renamed SS President Harding
     Resold in October 1966, to Pacific Far East Lines, renamed SS America Bear
     Resold, 10 March 1969 to Columbia Steamship Co., renamed SS Columbia Beaver
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 22 November 1971, to Long Jong Industries Co., Ltd., Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 8,635 t.(lt) 14,160 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 26' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Total Accommodations
    Officers 38
    Enlisted 387
    Largest Boom Capacity 35 t.
    Cargo Capacity 5,275 DWT
    non-refrigerated 380,000 Cu ft.
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Boats
    fourteen LCVP
    eight LCM
    Cargo Capacity 380,000 cu ft, (5,275 t.)
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 10,425 Bbls
    Diesel 805 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Foster-Wheeler header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    one propeller, 6,000 shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Vinton (AKA-83)
    Vinton 110k The 95% completed USS Vinton (AKA-83) under tow from her builder's yard, North Carolina Shipbuilding Corp. Wilmington, N.C., to her conversion yard, Key Highway Plant, Bethlehem Steel Co. Baltimore, MD., Vinton departed Wilmington, N.C., 8 September 1944, under tow by the War Shipping Administration's large seagoing tug Trinidad Head and arrived at Baltimore, 11 September. She is shown in Chesapeake Bay off Hawkins Point just before conclusion of the tow.
    US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-71223, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Vinton 294k USS Vinton (AKA-83) officers and crew, San Francisco Bay, CA, circa 1945.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Accession #: UA 571, Catalog #: UA 571.105     		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Vinton 43k USS Vinton (AKA-83) moored pierside at New York, prior to decommissioning. John Allen, WT USS Vinton, Feb. 1945 to Mar. 1946
    Merchant Service Pacific Far East Line
    Vinton
    100208307    		 238k Pacific Far East Line's freighter SS America Bear (ex-USS Vinton (AKA-83) moored pierside, date and location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Vinton 362k Ex-USS Vinton (AKA-83) working cargo at Bremerhaven, Germany in April 1971 as the Columbia Steamship Co's. freighter SS Columbia Beaver. Photos by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Vinton 324k
    Vinton 315k
    USS Vinton (AKA-83)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Hoffman, John Donald USNR23 February 1945 - February 1946
    02CAPT. Oden, Solomon Frederick, USN (USNA 1924)February 1946 - 16 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 Vinton (AKA-83) War Diaries February 1945 to October 1945 and Ship's History
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type 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 12 July 2024