Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Lima - Golf
 NZLG
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 - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia Clasp)
Rudderow Class Destroyer Escort - Crosley Class High-speed Transport:
  • Laid down, 1 December 1943, as Ray K. Edwards (DE-237), a Rudderow Class Destroyer Escort, at Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.
  • Launched, 19 February 1944
  • Converted to a Crosley Class High-speed Transport
  • Commissioned USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96), 11 June 1945, LT. Charles R. Keyser, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS Ray K. Edwards was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS Ray K. Edwards was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 1 October 1945 to 27 February 1946
  • Decommissioned, 30 August 1946, at Green Cove Springs FL.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Florida Group, Green Cove Springs
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 June 1960
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 June 1961, to Diamond Manufacturing Co., Georgia
    APD Specifications:
    Displacement 1,630 t.(lt) 2,130 t.(fl)
    Length 306' ovl.
    Beam 37'
    Draft 12' 7" (limiting)
    Speed 23.6 kts. (trial)
    Range 6,000 nautical miles at 12 kts.
    Complement
    12 Officers
    192 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    12 Officers
    150 Enlisted
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Boats four LCVP landing craft
    Troop Accoutrements
    six 1/4 ton trucks
    two 1 ton trucks
    four ammunition carts
    four pack howitzers
    Storage
    Ammunition 6,000 cu. ft.
    General Cargo 3,500 cu. ft.
    Gasoline 1,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    one 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    three twin 40 mm gun mounts
    six single 20 mm gun mounts
    two depth charge tracks
    Propulsion
    two Babcox and Wilcox "D" Express type boilers, 435 PSI 750°
    two General Electric turbines, (turbo-electric drive) Ship's Service Generators
     two turbo-drive 300Kw 450V A.C.
     two turbo-drive 40Kw 120V D.C.
    two shafts, shaft horsepower 12,000
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSM-396 88k Ships at the fitting out piers at US Navy Yard, Charleston, S.C.:
    LSM-308,
    LSM-309,
    LSM 389,
    LSM-390,
    LSM-391,
    LSM-392,
    LSM-393,
    LSM-394,
    LSM-395,
    LSM-397,
    LSM-398,
    Ray K. Edwards     (APD-96),
    Arthur L. Bristol (APD-97),
    Truxtun (APD-98),     and
    Upham (APD-99)    .
    US Navy Yard Charleston photo # 132-46, dated 10 January 1945.     		USS LSM / LSMR Association
    Ray K Edwards 51k Ray K. Edwards (DE-237), launching, 19 February 1944 S. D. Phillips
    Ray K Edwards 83k USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96) soon after commissioning on 11 June 1945, takes on stores at Charleston Navy Yard, S.C, prior to her shakedown cruise. Her Supply Officer, ENS. W.B. Price, checks outfit lists with ENS. Jane Edmunds, of the Navy Yard Ships' Outfitting Office, as a forklift truck brings up a pallet of pressurized gas bottles.
    US National Archives photo #80-G-K-5472 (Color), a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Ray K Edwards 43k USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96), circa 1946, taking water over the bow Photo by
    S. D. Phillips
    Ray K Edwards 60k USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96), circa 1946, MT 51, looking forward Photo by
    S. D. Phillips
    Ray K Edwards 109k Good detail photo of USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96), engine room control panel, circa 1946. Photo by
    S. D. Phillips
    Ray K Edwards 14k USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96) anchored in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa 1945-1946. S. D. Phillips
    Ray K Edwards 178k USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96) anchored in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa 1945-1946.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 79799. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974    		 Mike Green
    Ray K. Edwards/John Q. Roberts 128k USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96) and USS John Q. Roberts (APD-94) laid up in reserve at an East Coast US Navy Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, circa 1960.
    Wirephoto.    		 Dave Schroeder and John Chiquoine
    USS Ray K. Edwards (APD-96)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Keyser, Caldwell Ross, USNR11 June 1945 - 16 June 1945
    02LCDR. Welch, David Frederick, USNR16 June 1945 - 30 August 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
    Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Destroyer Escort (DE) Photo Index Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The High-speed Transport (APD) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 24 November 2017