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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Prentiss (AKA-102)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - Charlie - Charlie
 NECC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 21 June 1945)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Andromeda Class Attack Cargo Ship
  • Laid down, 10 October 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (C2-S-B1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1699), at North Carolina Shipbuilding, Wilmington, N.C.
  • Launched, 6 December 1944
  • Accepted by the Navy, 12 January 1945
  • Placed in partial commission, 13 January 1945, at Wilmington, N.C., LT. Elmer E. Guyon USNR (Auxiliary Ferry Crew # 1) in command
  • Decommissioned, 14 January 1945, at Charleston Navy Yard for conversion to naval service
  • Re-commissioned USS Prentiss (AKA-102), 11 February 1945, LCDR. George P. Walker, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Prentiss was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater;
    TransRon Twenty-Three, COMO. A. S. Witherspoon;
    TransDiv Sixty-Eight, CAPT. C. R. Crutcher USN (18) and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 21 to 30 June 1945

  • Decommissioned, 31 May 1946
  • USS Prentiss earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 1 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 19 June 1946
  • Merchant Service
    Sold by the Maritime Commission, 15 October 1947, for commercial service to Alcoa Steamship Co., and renamed SS Alcoa Ranger
    Sold to Cortez Shipping Corp. in February 1967, renamed SS Cortez
    Sold to Crest Overseas Shipping Co., Inc., 13 May 1969
    Renamed SS Jody RE, 26 November 1969
    Ran aground, 18 December 1969, off Nicaragua while enroute from Lake Charles, LA. to Saigon, South Vietnam
    Severely damaged and later towed to Mobile, AL. for possible repair, repairs found to be uneconomical
    Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 18 March 1970, to Hierros Ardes Societa Anonima, Bilbao, Spain
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,556 t.(lt) 14,100 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 26' 4"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    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
    eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Boats
    eight LCMs
    one LCP(L)
    fifteen LCVPs
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 10,425 Bbls
    Diesel 805 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric steam turbine
    two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers, 450psi 750°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Prentiss (AKA-102)
    Prentiss 54k Broadside view of USS Prentiss (AKA-102) underway on the Cooper River off Charleston, S.C., 17 February 1945.
    US Navy Yard Charleston, S.C. photo #469-46    		 Robert Hall
    Prentiss 147k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Prentiss 72k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) at anchor, date and location unknown. Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Prentiss 73k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) at anchor, date and location unknown. Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Prentiss 74k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) moored pierside, date and location unknown. Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Prentiss 58k Shrapnel hole in USS Prentiss (AKA-102)'s superstructure from a Japanese Kamikaze attack at Kerama Rhetto, 21 June 1945. Photo by Francis W. Forget USS Prentiss Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Prentiss 125k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) crew members top to bottom, top, Francis W. Forget, Jim Landau?, and Seymour Fishman. Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Prentiss 114k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) crew member Seymour Fishman holding Prentiss life ring. Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Prentiss 43k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) unknown crew members posing on the fantail with one of the ship's life rings. Scott Lewellen for his father LTjg. Melvin G. LewellenUSS Prentiss
    Prentiss 143k King Neptune and his court arrive aboardUSS Prentiss (AKA-102) as the crew celebrates crossing the Equator, date unknown. Scott Lewellen for his father LTjg. Melvin G. LewellenUSS Prentiss
    Prentiss 82k Amphibious Transports at anchor, date and location unknown. Photo taken from USS Prentiss (AKA-102). Scott Lewellen for his father LTjg. Melvin G. LewellenUSS Prentiss
    Prentiss 84k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) crew members, LTjg. Melvin Lewellen, third from right, date and location unknown. Scott Lewellen for his father LTjg. Melvin G. LewellenUSS Prentiss
    Prentiss 50k LTjg. Melvin Lewellen, left, and an unidentified officer aboard USS Prentiss (AKA-102), date and location unknown. Scott Lewellen for his father LTjg. Melvin G. LewellenUSS Prentiss
    Prentiss 55k
    Prentiss
    		114k USS Prentiss (AKA-102) underway, date and location unknown.
    U.S. Navy photo    		 Nicholas Tiberio
    Prentiss 98k Decommissioned Prentiss (AKA-102) moored, date and location unknown. Brian Forget for his father Francis W. Forget EM3/c USS Prentiss
    Merchant Service Alcoa SS Co.
    Prentiss 436k Ex-USS Prentiss (AKA-102) underway in merchant service in Alcoa Steamship Co. colors as SS Alcoa Ranger, circa 1957, location unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Prentiss
    100210221     		134k SS Alcoa Ranger underway at sea off the coast of Australia.
    State Library of Queensland, John Oxley Library     		Robert Hurst
    Prentiss 153k Close-up view of superstructure of SS Alcoa Ranger while underway, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    USS Prentiss (AKA-102)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
     LT. Guyon, Elmer Edward, USNR (Aux. Ferry Crew # 1)13 January 1945 - 14 January 1945
     Decommissioned14 January 1945 - 11 February 1945
    01LCDR. Walker, George Pearson USN (USNA 1934)11 February 1945 - 27 June 1945
    02LCDR. Tibbets, Richard Herbert USNR27 June 1945 - 18 February 1946
    03CAPT. Atkins, Griswold Terry, USN (USNA 1930)18 February 1946 - 31 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
    MARAD Vessel Database
    USS Prentiss (AKA-102) War Diaries February 1945 to October 1945, History and Action Report
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 5 Deember 2025