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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Dauphin (APA-97)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Victor - Lima
NZVL

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right>>
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal

Bayfield Class Attack Transport:

Laid down, date unknown, as Exochorda, a Maritime Commission type (C3-S-A3) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1675), at Bethlehem Steel Corp., Sparrow Point Shipyard, Sparrow Point, MD.

Renamed Dauphin (APA-97), date unknown

Launched 10 June 1944

Acquired by the Navy and commissioned USS Dauphin (APA-97), 23 September 1944, CDR. Bailey Connelly in command

During World War II USS Dauphin was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

Campaign and Dates
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 26 to 30 April 1945

Following World War II USS Dauphin was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal
2 to 10 September 1945
5 to 11 October 1945
25 October to 6 November 1945

Decommissioned, 3 April 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission the same day for disposal

Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1946

USS Dauphin earned one battle star for World War II service

Merchant Service

1948 - Refurbished as passenger-cargo ship, SS Exochorda, for American Export Lines for service between New York the Mediterranean

1959 - 1967 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Group, Jones Point, N.Y.

November 1967 - Renamed SS Stevens for service as a floating dormitory

Final Disposition, Partially dismantled in Chester, PA. from 1975 to 1979, resold to scrappers at Kearny, N.J. in March 1979

Specifications:
Displacement 7,950 t.(lt), 13,143 t.(fl)
Length 473' 1"
Beam 66'
Draft 25'
Speed 18.6 kts.

Complement

54 Officers

498 Enlisted

Troop Accommodations

91 Officers

1,496 Enlisted

Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
Cargo Capacity 1,600 DWT

non-refrigerated 150,000 cu. ft.

Armament

one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

two twin 20mm AA gun mounts

eighteen single 20mm AA gun mounts

Fuel Capacities

NSFO 12,230 Bbls

Diesel 675 Bbls

Propulsion

one Bethlehem Ship Building geared turbine

two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi 750°

double Falk Main Reduction Gears

three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

single propeller, 8,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
USS Dauphin (APA-97)
100309711	48k	*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** in Hampton Roads, off Norfolk, VA., 23 September 1944, the day she was commissioned. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4T. U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships photo # BS 71823	Robert Hurst
100309712	107k	*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** underway in Hampton Roads at Norfolk, VA., October 1944. She is in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4T. Photographed from an aircraft from Naval Air Station, Norfolk, VA. Photo from flickr.com via National Museum of the U.S. Navy	John Spivey
100309709	940k	*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** underway off Norfolk, VA., 28 October 1944. She is in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4T. This photo is in the collection of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum	Darryl Baker
100309710	155k	*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** underway in Hampton Roads, 28 October 1944. She is in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 4T. U.S National Archives andRecords Administration photo 80-G-385310, a U.S. Navy photo now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.	Darryl Baker
	56k	*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** at anchor while unloading troops, date and location unknown.	Russ Padden
Merchant Service American Export Lines
	827k	Ex-*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** underway as the American-Export Lines passenger-cargo ship SS Exochorda, circa 1950. SS Exochorda was a member of the post-war quartet of ships known as the new "4 Aces" of the American Export Lines.	Robert Hurst
	754k	Ex-*USS Dauphin* (APA-97)** moored at the Eighth Street Pier on the Hoboken, N.J. campus of the Stevens Institute of Technology. In the background is the 24-story Stevens Institute of Technology Student Center building. SS Stevens served a floating dormitory from 1968 to 1975 for about 150 students of the Institute. The view is toward the west, from Manhattan, across the Hudson River. Photo by Lou Gardella, as indicated on the original postcard.	Robert Hurst
	70k	SS Stevens deck plan, circa 1968. Image courtesy of Stevens Institute of Technology.	Robert Hurst
	1708k	SS Stevens (lower left) docked on the Hudson River, across from New York City, pictured here with RMS Queen Elizabeth, 30 October 1968. Photo by Louis Gardella, as indicated on the original postcard.	Robert Hurst
	214k	SS Stevens the permanently moored dormitory ship, was accessible via the main gangplank "A" deck (center), and the lower level "B" gangplank on the far left. Photo taken, 23 May 1975, by Bill Walendzinski.	Robert Hurst
	276k	SS Stevens at her moorings, 23 May 1975. View from River Road, later renamed Frank Sinatra Drive. Photo taken, 23 May 1975, by Bill Walendzinski.	Robert Hurst
	225k	Cover of a memento card showing the partially dismantled ex-SS Stevens. *Stevens* was formerly the cruise liner SS Exochorda of the New "4 Aces" fleet of American Export Lines As shown by the image, some items have been removed from the ship, including: stack, bridge deck, boat deck house, port-side portion of promenade deck, forward port-side windows on promenade deck, and port-side anchor, circa 1977. Image courtesy of Stevens Institute of Technology.	Robert Hurst
100309713	166k	*Stevens* [Ex-Dauphin (APA-97)] being dismantled at Kearny, N.J., 1 December 1979. Photo courtesy of Clivedaw. I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publishes it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.	Robert Hurst