USS Ramapo

Last updated

USS Ramapo (AO-12).jpg
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameRamapo
Namesake Ramapo River
Builder Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
Laid down16 January 1919
Launched11 September 1919
Commissioned15 November 1919
Decommissioned10 January 1946
Stricken21 January 1946
FateSold into commercial service, 1948
General characteristics
Class and type Patoka Replenishment oiler
Displacement16,800 long tons (17,070  t) (full)
Length477 ft 10 in (145.64 m)
Beam60 ft (18 m)
DraftMax. 29 ft (8.8 m)
Speed11.2 knots (20.7 km/h; 12.9 mph)
Capacity70,000 barrels
Complement90
Armament

USS Ramapo (AO-12), was a Patoka-class replenishment oiler. It was built under U.S. Shipping Board contract, was laid down on 16 January 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia; launched on 11 September 1919; and commissioned on 15 November 1919.

Contents

Service history

Assigned to Caribbean shuttle runs after commissioning, Ramapo carried petroleum products from Port Arthur, Texas, to Guantanamo Bay and the Canal Zone until April 1920. Through 1922, Ramapo was employed to deliver fuel to ships and bases on the US Gulf and East coasts and in European waters. Transferred to the Pacific in 1922, Ramapo carried oil to ships and stations of the Pacific Fleet and made occasional trips to the Canal Zone and to the east coast until mid-1928, when the tanker began to supply the Asiatic Fleet on a regular schedule. Beginning on 21 June, she carried oil from San Pedro to the Philippines and China and, for the next nine years, averaged four round-trips annually. En route she performed collateral duties as a survey ship and collected data in central and western Pacific island groups for the Hydrographic Office.

On 7 February 1933, while cruising across the Pacific Ocean from Manila to San Diego, the ship encountered the tallest rogue wave ever recorded at the time, measuring 34 metres (112 ft) in height. [1]

In late 1937, Ramapo briefly interrupted her transpacific runs to discharge oil to ships and stations in the Aleutians, then resumed runs to East Asia, continuing them until the spring of 1941 when she was shifted to Hawaiian shuttle service. At Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on 7 December, the tanker returned to San Pedro and made two round-trips to Bora Bora before resuming Alaskan shuttle runs. Arriving at Kodiak on 29 July 1942 on her first such run since 1937, she plied between Port Townsend and various mainland and Aleutian stations throughout World War II. Ramapo received one battle star for World War II service.

The Ramapo is credited with the rescue of the entire crew of the USS Wasmuth (DMS-15) on 27 December 1942. Wasmuth was escorting a convoy through a heavy Alaskan storm when two depth charges were wrenched from their tracks by the pounding sea, fell over the side, and exploded beneath the ship's fantail. The blasts carried away part of the ship's stern and the ship began to founder; in the gale, the pumps could not make headway against the inexorably rising water below. Despite the heavy sea, Ramapo came alongside the foundering Wasmuth. For three and a half hours, the tanker remained with the sinking high-speed minesweeper, battling the waves while successfully transferring his crew and two passengers.

The Ramapo completed her last run of the war at Seattle on 23 September 1945. On the 27th, she steamed south and on the 30th reported at San Francisco for inactivation. Decommissioned on 10 January 1946, Ramapo was struck from the list on 21 January and transferred to the Maritime Commission on 1 July.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Wave Motion". Hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu. 7 February 1933. Retrieved 8 December 2010.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Sapelo</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Sapelo (AO-11) was a Patoka-class fleet replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. Laid down on 3 May 1919 for the United States Shipping Board by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, the ship was launched on 24 December 1919, transferred to the Navy on 30 January 1920, and commissioned on 19 February 1920.

USS <i>Guadalupe</i> (AO-32) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Guadalupe (AO-32), a Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler that served in the United States Navy, it was named for the Guadalupe River in Texas.

USS <i>Rapidan</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Rapidan (AO-18), was a US Navy tanker of World War II.

USS <i>Salinas</i> US Navy Patoka-class replenishment oiler

USS Salinas (AO-19), a United States Navy Patoka-class replenishment oiler, was laid down for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as Hudsonian (219592) on 10 April 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia; launched on 5 May 1920; accepted by the USSB on 13 May 1920; transferred to the Navy on 29 October 1921; renamed Salinas and designated AO-19 on 3 November 1921; and commissioned at Mobile, Ala., on 16 December 1921.

USS <i>Sepulga</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

Fleetco, a Patoka Replenishment oiler built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, for the United States Shipping Board, was launched on 21 April 1920; transferred to the Navy by Executive Order on 17 October 1921; renamed USS Sepulga (AO-20) on 2 November 1921; delivered to the Navy at Mare Island, California, on 13 December 1921.

USS <i>Tippecanoe</i> (AO-21) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Tippecanoe (AO-21) was a Patoka Replenishment oiler of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Wasmuth</i> Clemson-class destroyer

USS Wasmuth (DD-338/DMS-15) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I.

USS <i>Platte</i> (AO-24) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Platte (AO-24) was a Cimarron-class oiler serving with the United States Navy, named for the 1836 Platte Purchase that included the Platte Rivers in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Her memorial in Platte County, Missouri honors all four rivers that share the name recorded by Lewis and Clark in 1803.

USS <i>Kaskaskia</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Kaskaskia (AO-27) was a Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler serving in the United States Navy, named for the Kaskaskia River in Illinois.

USS <i>Neosho</i> (AO-48) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Neosho (AO–48) was a Kennebec-class type T2 fleet oiler of the United States Navy. The ship was laid down on 8 July 1941, as SS Catawba, by the Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland. The purchase came under Maritime Commission contract number 145 for the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, later renamed Mobil Oil.

USS <i>Kankakee</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Kankakee (AO-39) was a Kennebec-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy. The ship was built as SS Colina by Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Maryland, launched on 24 January 1942, sponsored by Mrs. D. A. Little, acquired for the Navy on 31 March through the Maritime Commission from her owner, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, New York City, and commissioned as Kankakee at Norfolk, Virginia, on 4 May.

USS <i>Mattaponi</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Mattaponi (AO-41) was a Kennebec-class oiler which served in the United States Navy during World War II, periodically during the 1950s, and in the Vietnam War. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Mattaponi River in eastern Virginia.

USS Cache (AO-67) was a Type T2-SE-A1 Suamico-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Saugatuck</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Saugatuck (AO-75) was a Suamico-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Millicoma</i> (AO-73) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Millicoma (AO-73) was a United States Navy fleet oiler which served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, winning eight battle stars for her dangerous work. Post-war she was recommissioned and was placed under the control of the MSTS with a civilian crew until finally assigned for disposal in 1987.

USS <i>Schuylkill</i> (AO-76) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Schuylkill (AO-76), originally named the SS Louisburg, was a Type T2-SE-A1 Suamico-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Neshanic</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Neshanic (AO-71) is a former T3 Kennebec-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Neshanic River in New Jersey.

USS <i>Kern</i> Patapsco-class gasoline tanker

USS Kern (AOG-2) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations.

USS Pasquotank (AOG-18) was a Mettawee-class T1 tanker type gasoline tanker acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations.

USS <i>Chewaucan</i> Patapsco-class gasoline tanker

USS Chewaucan (AOG-50) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1975. She was then transferred to the Colombian Navy, her final disposition being unknown.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.