USS ''Pictor'' (AF-54) was an ''Alstede''-class stores ship in service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1950 to 1969. She was scrapped in 1986.

History

''Pictor'' was laid down under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

contract as ''SS Great Republic'' (MC–187) 18 March 1942 by the

Moore Dry Dock Company Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. In 1905, Robert S. Moore, his brother Joseph A. Moore, and John Thomas Scott purchased the National Iron Works located in the Hunter's Point section o ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

; She was launched 4 June 1942, sponsored by Mrs. William Craig, Jr.. During outfitting, refrigeration was added to all five holds and she was reclassified as a C2-S-B1(R) type ship and was delivered 29 June 1943.

Commercial service (1943-1950)

From 29 June 1943 until April 1950, she served as ''SS Great Republic'' for various private companies, including

United Fruit The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

Co., and Pacific Far East Lines of

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Great Republic was responsible for bringing 1,600 tons of turkey to the soldiers serving in France for Thanksgiving 1944. In April 1950, she was returned to the

and was moored in an inactive status in

Suisun Bay, California Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

U.S. Navy (1950-1981)

In September 1950, the Navy acquired this merchant ship from the Maritime Administration for conversion into a store ship. ''Pictor'' commissioned 13 September 1950, and reported for duty to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. During the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, she made tours of the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

to supply perishable foods and dry stores to personnel in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

and on the

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

patrol. After the Korean War, she continued to store refrigerate, transport, and issue, underway and in port, perishable foods and dry stores for the U.S. 1st Fleet and the

U.S. 7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of t ...

off the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

and in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, she supplied food and dry goods to the 7th Fleet on station off

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. She decommissioned in December 1969 and was returned to

MARAD Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum, Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in modern-day Iraq and ro ...

in August 1970 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

, 1 June 1976. She was sold on 25 November 1981 to Levine Metals Corp., moored in Richmond, California (USA). The ship was finally sold to Shiong Yek Steel Corporation for scrapping in Taiwan on 29 September 1986 with ex- and . All three ships were scrapped at Kaohsiung between December 1986 and 16 June 1987.

Military awards and honors

''Pictor'' received one battle star during the

: * Korea, Summer-Fall 1953 Campaign She received eight

campaign stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

during the

: * Vietnam Defense * Vietnamese Counteroffensive * Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase II * Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase III * Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase IV * Vietnam Counteroffensive - Phase V * Tet/69 Counteroffensive * Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 Her crew was eligible for the following medals: *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

Korean Service Medal The Korean Service Medal (KSM) is a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950 by executive order of President Harry Truman. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for s ...

(1) *

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, after ...

(six- 1-Taiwan Straits, 1-Quemoy-Matsu, 4-Vietnam) *

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. Arm ...

(8) *

United Nations Service Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by ...

* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal * Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Citations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pictor (AF-54) Type C2-S-B1 ships Ships built in Oakland, California 1942 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Alstede-class stores ships Type C2-S-B1 ships of the United States Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States