WWI Ship Name Index   Return to WWI Auxiliaries.

UNITED STATES NAVY
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I

Photo # NH 1014614: USS Canopus off Shanghai, China, prior to World War II

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Canopus (AS-9), 1922-1942.
Originally USS Santa Leonora (ID # 4352-A), 1919-1919, and S.S. Santa Leonora (American Passenger Liner, 1919)

Santa Leonora, a 5102 gross ton passenger liner built at Camden, New Jersey, for W.R. Grace & Company, was taken over by the Navy upon completion in July 1919 and placed in commission at that time as USS Santa Leonora (ID # 4352-A). She was briefly employed as a trans-Atlantic troop transport before being decommissioned and transferred to the U.S. Army in September 1919.

The ship was reacquired by the Navy in November 1921 and, following conversion to a 5975 ton (displacement) submarine tender, commissioned as USS Canopus (AS-9) in January 1922. Following several months service with the Atlantic Fleet, she steamed to the Panama Canal Zone and subsequently to the West Coast. In mid-1923 Canopus went to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and in the Fall of 1924 accompanied Submarine Division 17 to the Far East. During the next seventeen years, the tender supported the peacetime operations of Asiatic Fleet submarines in the Philippines, Chinese waters, and elsewhere in the western Pacific region.

When Japanese attacks opened the Pacific War in December 1941, Canopus was in Manila Bay. Though hit by enemy aerial bombs in late December and early January, she worked tirelessly to support the hard-pressed U.S. and Philippine defenders of the Bataan peninsula. Many members of her crew, part of an impromptu naval infantry battalion, directly battled Japanese army forces, while her boats were armed and armored to serve as inshore gunboats. On 9 April 1942, when the fall of Bataan made her further use impossible, USS Canopus steamed out into deep water and was scuttled. Many of her men were evacuated to Corregidor, where they continued to fight until that fortress surrendered on 6 May 1942.

This page features, and provides links to, all the views that are available concerning USS Canopus (AS-9), USS Santa Leonora (ID # 4352-A) and the civilian steamship Santa Leonora of 1919.

For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Canopus (AS-9) -- Distant Views;
  • USS Canopus (AS-9) -- On Board Views and Ship's Boats; and
  • USS Canopus (AS-9) -- Views Taken from the Ship.


    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 74064

    S.S. Santa Leonora
    (American Passenger Ship, 1919)

    Underway in 1919, probably during her trials.
    Constructed by the New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey, this steamer briefly served as USS Santa Leonora in July and August 1919 before being transferred to the U.S. Army. She was reacquired by the Navy in November 1921, converted to a submarine tender and served for the next two decades as USS Canopus (AS-9).

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 61KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 55047

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    Photographed prior to 1926.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 66KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 106025

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    In a harbor, circa the 1920s.
    The original photograph is printed on post card ("AZO") stock.

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 62KB; 740 x 480 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 104940

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    In Apra Harbor, Guam, 29 October 1924, with all six members of Submarine Division 17 alongside.
    The division consisted of:
    USS S-36 (SS-141);
    USS S-37 (SS-142);
    USS S-38 (SS-143);
    USS S-39 (SS-144);
    USS S-40 (SS-145); and
    USS S-41 (SS-146).

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 625 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 55048

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    In Apra Harbor, Guam, with Submarine Division 17 alongside, 29 October 1924.
    Submarine Division 17's members were:
    USS S-36 (SS-141);
    USS S-37 (SS-142);
    USS S-38 (SS-143);
    USS S-39 (SS-144);
    USS S-40 (SS-145); and
    USS S-41 (SS-146).

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 600 pixels

     
    Photo #: 80-G-1014614

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    Off Shanghai, China, prior to World War II,.
    Note the motion picture screen attached to the front of Canopus' mainmast.

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 91KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: 80-G-1014615

    USS Canopus (AS-9)


    With the Asiatic Fleet's Submarine Squadron Five alongside, during the 1930s.
    The submarines present include (from left to right): S-37 (SS-142); S-40 (SS-145); S-36 (SS-141); S-38 (SS-143); S-41 (SS-146); S-39 (SS-144).

    Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.

    Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 605 pixels

    Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system.

     
    Photo #: NH 80112

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    In the Dewey Drydock, at Olongapo Naval Station, Philippines, 1933.
    Note the men working on stages, near the ship's waterline.

    Courtesy of Captain G.K. Bishop, U.S. Air Force, 1974.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 50KB; 440 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 80113

    USS Canopus
    (AS-9)

    In the Dewey Drydock, at the Olongapo Naval Station, Philippines, 1933.
    Note the tall ladder between the drydock floor and the ship's bow.

    Courtesy of Captain G.K. Bishop, U.S. Air Force, 1974.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 49KB; 440 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 80140

    USS Canopus (AS-9)


    At Tsingtao, China, circa 1933-1934, with "S-Boats" of Submarine Squadron Five alongside. Outboard submarine is USS S-37 (SS-142).

    Courtesy of Captain G.K. Bishop, USAF, 1974.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 71KB; 450 x 765 pixels

     


    For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Canopus (AS-9) -- Distant Views;
  • USS Canopus (AS-9) -- On Board Views and Ship's Boats; and
  • USS Canopus (AS-9) -- Views Taken from the Ship.


    NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    Return to WWI Auxiliaries.

    Page made 27 August 2007
    New image added 16 December 2008