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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Bluebird (ASR-19)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Oscar - Bravo
NJOB

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal

USS Bluebird was transferred to Turkey, renamed TCG Kurtaran (A584)

Penguin Class Submarine Rescue Ship:

Laid down as Fleet Ocean Tug, Yurok (AT-164) at Charleston Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Charleston, S.C.

Reclassified, Submarine Rescue Ship, ASR-19 7 November 1945

Renamed Bluebird and Launched, 3 December 1945

Commissioned USS Bluebird (ASR-19), 28 May 1946, LCDR. Paul R. Hodgson in command

Between 1947 and 1950 USS Bluebird (ASR-19) was assigned to Occupation service and China service for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
10 to 11 May 1947	14 May to 12 October 1947
17 to 21 October 1947	1 to 4 August 1949
8 to 27 August 1949	26 to 29 November 1949
11 to 30 October 1949
20 June 1949 to 15 July 1950

Decommissioned, 15 August 1950 and simultaneously transferred to the Turkish Navy, renamed TCG Kurtaran (A584)

Struck from the Naval Register, 26 September 1950

Current Disposition, active Turkish Navy

Specifications:
Displacement 1,740 t.
Length 205'
Beam39' 3"
Draft 15' 6"
Speed 16 kts.

Complement

Officers 6

Enlisted 199

Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.

Armament

one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount

four single 20mm AA gun mounts

two depth charge tracks

Fuel Capacity NSFO 2,310 Bbls

Propulsion

four General Motors Diesel 12-278A main engines driving four General Electric generators

three General Motors 3-268A auxiliary services engines

single propeller, 3,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
USS Bluebird (ASR-19)
	412k	*USS Bluebird* (ASR-19)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photos.	Scott Koen
	411k
	220k
	89k	*USS Bluebird* (ASR-19)** underway, location unknown, circa 1946. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-95805, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Mike Green
	75k	*USS Bluebird* (ASR-19)** underway, date and location unknown.
	56k	*USS Bluebird* (ASR-19)** underway at Tsingtao, China, 1947.	Henry Wristen USS Bluebird
	133k	*USS Bluebird* (ASR-19)** underway, date and location unknown.	Robert Hurst

Contributed by Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired

TCG Kurtaran (A584)
09321938	423k	*TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** underway in Valletta Harbor, Malta, circa 1961. Photo by A. & J. Pavia	Jacques Druel and Robert Hurst
	45k	*TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** moored to a buoy circa 1966.	Robert Hurst
	94k	*TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** underway, date and location unknown.	Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired and Cüneyt Demir
	151k	*TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** underway, date and location unknown.	Cüneyt Demir
	227k	*TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** moored, date and location unknown.	Cüneyt Demir
	81k	Drawings of *TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** unknown by Cüneyt Demir.
	50k
	71k	*TCG Kurtaran* (A584)** in the harbor at Valletta Harbor, Malta, circa 1971. Photo by A. & J. Pavia, from "Jane's Fighting Ships" 1971-22 edition.	Robert Hurst

For more photos and information about USS Bluebird, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
Photo Collection of Yucel M. Umar GMC Turkish Navy Retired

Commanding Officers
01	LCDR. Hodgson, Paul Russell	28 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
National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 27 October 2023