CASTOR AKS 1

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Castor Class General Stores Issue Ship Keel Laid as Maritime Commission type (C2-Cargo) hull Launched May 20 1939 as CHALLENGE Acquired by U.S. Navy October 23 1940 Renamed October 29 1940 USS CASTOR AKS-1 Commissioned March 12 1941 - Decommissioned June 30 1947 Recommissioned November 24 1950 - Decommissioned October 31 1968 Struck from Naval Register December 1 1968 Sold September 1969 for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Castor Covers Page 1    (1941-68)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

---

1st Commissioning March 12 1941 to June 30 1947

 

Locy Type FDC 3 "FIRST DAY / COMMISSION"

1941-03-12

First Day in Commission
Cachet by Dr. S. E. Hutnick.

 

Locy Type FDC 3 "FIRST DAY / COMMISSION"

1941-03-12

Note:

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1943-04-01

Note:

 

Locy Type 9v

1941-11-26

Note:

 

Locy Type 9efw

1941-11-26

Note:

 

Locy Type 9x

1941-11-26

Note:

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. C-21

1945-10-27

Note:

 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. C-21a

1945-11-21

Note:

---

2nd Commissioning November 24 1950 to October 31 1968

 

Locy Type FDPS 2r

1951-03-21

First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type FDPS 9efu

1951-03-21

First Day Postal Service

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1963-11-11

Note:

 

Locy Type 2r

1955-01-08

Note:

 

Locy Type 9efu

1966-07-09

NOte:
 

Locy Type F USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. C-21c

1958-10-27

Note:
 

Locy Type PPB USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. C-21d

1966-07-09

Note:

 

Other Information

CASTOR earned 3 Battle Stars for WWII service, 2 Battle Stars for Korea and 6 Battle Stars for Vietnam service

CASTOR was at Pearl Harbor December 7 1941 at The Pearl Harbor Submarine Base

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon - China Service Medal - American Defense Campaign Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (3) - World War II Victory Medal - >Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal - Vietnam Service Medal (6) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal

NAMESAKE - Named for the more northern of the two bright stars in the constellation Gemini

 

---

 

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

---

Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum