USS Alameda (Fuel Ship No. 10/AO-10), was a United States Navytanker in commission from 1919 to 1922. She was built as the civilian tanker SS Alameda, but transferred to the U.S. Navy after completion in 1919. She was sold for commercial service and operated under the names SS Olean and SS Sweep before she was transferred to the Navy again in World War II as USS Silver Cloud (IX-143).
SS Alameda, one of four Design 1128 civilian tankers, was built by William Cramp & Sons for the United States Shipping Board, but was acquired by the U.S. Navy after her completion. After suffering a major fire in 1921, she was decommissioned in 1922 and sold. Repaired, she entered commercial service as SS Olean in 1925.
Around the time the United States entry into World War II in December 1941, Olean was equipped with defensive armament and a complement of Naval Armed Guardsmen. In March 1942, the tanker was sailing unescorted off the North Carolina coast, when she was torpedoed twice by German submarineU-158 and abandoned with the loss of six men. The ship, however, remained afloat and was towed to Hampton Roads, Virginia. Although originally thought too damaged to repair, she nevertheless reentered service under the control of the War Shipping Administration in April 1943 as SS Sweep.
In October 1943, the U.S. Navy selected Sweep for service as a floating storage tanker in the Pacific. The ship was transferred to Navy control in July at Eniwetok, and commissioned as USS Silver Cloud (IX-143). She was transferred to Manus in August, and to Leyte in January 1945. At the end of 1945, she sailed to Mobile, Alabama, to await disposal. Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in March 1946, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in April, sold for scrapping in January 1947.
As built, the ship was 430 feet (131.1m) in length (overall), 58feet 2inches (17.73m)abeam, and had a depth of 31feet 5inches (9.58m). She drew25feet 9inches (7.85m) with 8 feet (2.4m) of freeboard. She was powered by a single triple-expansion steam engine (also manufactured by Cramp) with cylinders of 27, 45½, and 76inches (69, 115, and 190cm) diameter with a 51-inch (130cm)stroke.[3] Operating at 190 pounds per square inch (1,300kPa), her three boilers had a grate area of 186 square feet (17.3m2) and heating surface of 8,095 square feet (752.1m2). The engine generated 565 horsepower (421kW),[3] and could move the ship with a top speed of 11 knots (20km/h).[2]
U.S. Navy service, 1919–1922
Alameda was acquired by the U.S. Navy from the United States Shipping Board on 17 October 1919. She was commissioned that same day at the Philadelphia Navy Yard as USS Alameda (Fuel Ship No. 10). Soon after commissioning, Alameda was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service. She embarked upon her first voyage—to Port Arthur, Texas, on the gulf coast—took on a cargo of oil there, and headed back to the east coast. She entered port at Norfolk, Virginia, on 27 November 1919 and underwent repairs there until 5 December 1919.[2]
After visiting Boston, Alameda departed from New York on 29 December 1919 and once again headed for Port Arthur. She stopped at Charleston, South Carolina, for engine repairs on 2 January 1920, then resumed her voyage to Port Arthur on 11 January 1920, arriving there on 16 January 1920. Since no fuel oil was available there at that time, she headed back to Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 23 January 1920 without a cargo. She arrived at Norfolk on 29 January 1920 and began another round of engine repairs. Alameda departed Hampton Roads on 11 February 1920 and arrived at Port Arthur on 18 February 1920. There she loaded a cargo of fuel oil in preparation for her first transatlantic voyage.[2]
On 21 February 1920, Alameda departed Port Arthur for the British Isles. She entered port on the River Clyde in Scotland on 13 March 1920 and remained there until 24 March 1920, when she headed back toward the Texas coast. She reached Port Arthur on 16 April 1920 and began loading another cargo of fuel oil. Once loaded, she put to sea bound for Norfolk, where she arrived on 2 May 1920. She underwent ten days of repairs at Norfolk before heading for New York on 12 May 1920. She entered port at New York on 13 May 1920 and began fueling ships of the United States Atlantic Fleet. On 16 May 1920, Alameda departed New York and headed back to Norfolk for additional repairs. On 1 June 1920, she exited Chesapeake Bay and shaped a course back to Port Arthur. Arriving there on 6 June 1920 she loaded fuel oil and then put to sea bound for Glasgow, Scotland.[2]
In the summer of 1920, the U.S. Navy adopted the alphanumeric system of hull designations, and Alameda was designated AO-10 under the new system. Alameda continued to serve with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service for the remainder of her naval career. In addition to operations between Port Arthur and ports on the U.S. east coast, she also made further voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to support U.S. Navy warships operating in European waters.[2]
On 19 November 1921, while steaming about 30 nautical miles (56km) off Cape Henry, Virginia, Alameda suffered an explosion in her fire room and began to burn.[2] When firefighting efforts proved fruitless,[2] her crew abandoned the vessel in stormy seas.[5] Among the ships responding to Alameda's distress calls, were the United States Coast Guard cutter Seminole and the British steamer Bristol, which rescued Alameda's entire crew and remained near the burning ship until firefighting equipment arrived.[10]Alameda remained afloat and was towed into Norfolk on the 20th. There she remained until formally decommissioned on 29 March 1922. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 August 1922,[2] and she was sold to the Newport Engineering Company of Washington, D.C., on 18 August for $100,000.[11]
Commercial service
Her new owner repaired her, and she entered mercantile service as SS Olean in 1925. By 1930, she was sailing for the Vacuum Oil Company,[3] and, after that company's 1931 merger with Standard Oil Company of New York (or Socony), for the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company[4] which was later renamed Mobil Oil. In March 1930, The New York Times reported that Olean's chief engineer disappeared while the ship was steaming from Port Arthur to Paulsboro, New Jersey. According to the article, the engineer's wife had received a message from her husband stating that he was worried about their financial affairs.[12] Another death of an Olean crewman was reported by The New York Times in September 1939, when a fireman aboard the ship was stabbed to death by a mess attendant while the ship was anchored in the Delaware River at the Port of Paulsboro.[13]
Around the time that the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Olean was defensively armed and assigned a crew of four Naval Armed Guardsmen.[14]
On 14 March 1942, Olean was sailing from Norfolk, Virginia, to Beaumont, Texas. The ship was sailing unescorted and—according to Theodore Bockhoff, the ship's master—with all lights extinguished. One survivor, however, reported that a dim light was burning on one of the masts. At 23:05, while near position 34°24′30″N76°29′0″W / 34.40833°N 76.48333°W / 34.40833; -76.48333, about 15 nautical miles (28km) from Cape Lookout, North Carolina, Olean was hit in the engine room by a single torpedo launched from German submarineU-158 under the command of KapitänleutnantErwin Rostin. Damage from the torpedo caused the ship to veer out of control. The Naval Armed Guard spotted U-158, but were unable to depress their gun far enough to be able to hit the U-boat. At 23:45 the order to abandon ship was given and the 36 officers, men, and gunners took to the lifeboats. As the no. 3 boat reached the water, however, a second torpedo launched by Rostin hit the engine room and destroyed the lifeboat, killing one officer and six men. Lifesaving stations at Cape Lookout and Fort Macon sent motor launches and were able to rescue the remaining 30 men from Olean nine hours after the attack, and landed them at Morehead City.[14]
As with her November 1921 fire, Olean did not sink from the twin torpedo hits. She was towed to Hampton Roads and dry docked,[5] but was declared a constructive total loss.[14] The need for shipping was great, and despite the severity of Olean's damage, the ship was acquired by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) in April 1942. The WSA had the vessel reconditioned and repaired at Baltimore.[5] The ship was re-engined with a triple-expansion steam engine built in 1941 by Hooven-Owens-Rentschler of Hamilton, Ohio. The cylinders of the new engine were 22½, 41½, and 68inches (57, 105, and 170cm) in diameter and had a 48-inch (120cm) stroke, which generated a nominal 350 horsepower (260kW). The ship was also re-boilered with two water tube boilers that had a heating surface of 4,012 square feet (372.7m2) and operated at 220 pounds per square inch (1,500kPa).[6] The newly reconditioned ship was renamed Sweep and was employed in duties in the Pacific.
U.S. Navy service, 1944–45
In October 1943, the U.S. Navy selected Sweep for use as a mobile floating storage tanker in the Pacific and in November chose the name Silver Cloud for her.[5] The ship was accepted and commissioned at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on 12 July 1944. The Navy acquired Sweep for use as a mobile floating storage tanker for fuel oil, and commissioned her as USS Silver Cloud (IX-143) the same day.[7]
On 15 July, Silver Cloud fueled her first ships, two destroyers. She remained in the Marshall Islands until 17 August, when she departed for Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands. She dropped anchor there in Seeadler Harbor on 28 August and fueled almost 200 ships before departing for Hollandia, New Guinea, on 28 December. After calling at Hollandia, Silver Cloud moved to San Pedro Bay at Leyte in the Philippine Islands. She arrived there on 15 January 1945, and remained in the Philippines until 30 December, when she departed for the Panama Canal and from there to New Orleans, for disposal. She arrived at New Orleans on 10 March 1946 and departed the next day for Mobile, Alabama, arriving there on 12 March. Silver Cloud was decommissioned and delivered to the War Shipping Administration on 29 March. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 April and sold to Pinto Island Metals Company for scrapping on 21 January 1947.[7]
↑ Colton, Tim. "Tankers and Navy Oilers". Shipbuildinghistory.com. The Colton Company. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
↑ Hall, Anne Martin (1925). Ships of the United States Navy and Their Sponsors, 1913–1922. Norwood, Massachusetts: Privately Printed. p.4. OCLC2651181.
USS Patoka (AO–9/AV–6/AG–125) was a replenishment oiler made famous as a tender for the airships Shenandoah(ZR-1), Los Angeles(ZR-3) and Akron(ZRS-4). It was also notable in that its height figured prominently in the design of the Rainbow Bridge in Texas.
USS Arethusa (AO-7) was a steamship that was built in England in 1893 as the civilian oil tanker Luciline. The United States Navy bought her in 1898, and later had her converted into a Fleet oiler. She was sold back into civilian ownership in 1927,and by 1928 she was a civilian hulk in Boston.
USS Kaweah (AO-15) was the lead ship of her class of fleet replenishment oilers in the United States Navy.
USS Laramie (AO-16) was a Kaweah-class fleet replenishment oiler in the United States Navy.
USS Mattole (AO‑17) was a Kaweah-class fleet replenishment oiler in the United States Navy.
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 Saranac (AO-74), originally named the SS Cowpens, was a Type T2-SE-A1 Suamico-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy, and the fourth ship of the Navy to bear the name.
USS Cowanesque (AO-79) was a Type T2-SE-A1 Suamico-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy during World War II.
USS Caliente (AO-53) was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler built during World War II for the U.S. Navy. During her career in the Pacific Ocean, Caliente participated in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. She was highly decorated for fulfilling her dangerous mission of carrying fuel into battle areas. She received ten battle stars for World War II, four for the Korean War and eight campaign stars for the Vietnam War.
USS Mascoma (AO-83) was a Escambia-class replenishment oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She served her country in the Pacific Ocean Theatre of Operations, and provided petroleum products where needed to combat ships. For her very dangerous work under combat conditions, she was awarded seven battle stars by war's end.
Silvanus was a steam tanker built in 1920–1921 by the Southwestern Shipbuilding & Drydock Company of San Pedro for the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company with the intention of transporting oil and petroleum products between Dutch East Indies and various destinations in Europe and the Far East. The tanker was employed in this capacity through the first part of 1926. In April 1926 Silvanus collided with the tanker Thomas H. Wheeler in the Mississippi River, resulting in the explosion and death of 26 seamen. Silvanus was declared a total loss and sold at auction to the newly formed Petroleum Navigation Company of Texas. The tanker was rebuilt and renamed Papoose and started operating in March 1927. In March 1942, she was attacked by German U-boat U-124 off the coast of North Carolina. The ship drifted for several days and eventually sank in 200 feet (61 m) of water off Oregon Inlet.
USS Chiwawa (AO-68) is a former T3-S-A1 Kennebec-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Chiwawa River in Washington.
USS Enoree (AO-69) was a Chiwawa-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Enoree River in South Carolina.
USS Nespelen (AOG-55) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker in the service of the United States Navy.
USS Victoria (AO-46) was an oiler for the United States Navy in World War II, and the second ship to bear the name. She was built in 1917 as SS George G. Henry in San Francisco for the Los Angeles Petroleum Company. During World War I, the ship was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy and employed as USS George G. Henry (ID-1560). Between the two world wars and at the beginning of the second, she served as a civilian tanker, initially under American registry, but later under Panamanian registry.
USS Hisko (ID-1953) was a tanker that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.
W. L. Steed was a steam tanker built in 1917–1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of Quincy for Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company, with intention of transporting oil and petroleum products between Mexican and Gulf ports and the Northeast of the United States. The ship was briefly requisitioned by the US Government during World War I but returned to commercial service in early 1919. The ship was named after William L. Steed, superintendent of the Mexican Petroleum Company of California.
USS Winifred (ID-1319) was a cargo ship and tanker that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
Sylvan Arrow was a steam tanker built in 1917–1918 by New York Shipbuilding Co. of Camden for Standard Oil Company, with intention of transporting oil and petroleum products between United States and ports in the Far East. The ship was briefly requisitioned by the US Government during World War I but returned to commercial service in early 1919.
H.M. Storey was an oil tanker built in 1921. She escaped an attack in California in 1941, but was sunk in an attack in 1943. She was owned by Standard Oil Company of California and built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at the Alameda Works Shipyard with a hull# of 5312. She had a max. capacity of 306,115 gallons of fuel oil. Her keel was laid on January 19, 1921 and she was launched on September 28, 1921. Her sister ships are the SS F.H. Hillman and SS W.S. Rheem. She had a range of 7,717 miles, 10,763 DWT and a 16,000 ton displacement. She had a length of 500 feet, a beam of 68.2 feet and a draft of 30 feet. She had 2,700 hp, made by a triple-expansion engine with dual shaft and 2 screws. She had three Scotch boilers. Named for Henry Martin Storey, vice president of the Standard Oil Company.
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.
United States
New York [3] [6] 
