 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Laid down: | 7 November 1943 |
| Launched: | 23 December 1943 |
| Acquired: | 31 January 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 1 February 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 10 July 1946 |
| Struck: | 31 July 1946 |
| Fate: | returned to the WSA |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 15,425 tons |
| Length: | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
| Beam: | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
| Draught: | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
| Speed: | 11 knots |
| Complement: | 101 officers and men |
| Armament: |
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The second USS Raccoon (IX-127), an Armadillo-class tanker designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the raccoon. She was built as the Liberty ship J. C. W. Becham (MCE Hull No. 1931) by the Maritime Commission and renamed Raccoon by the Navy on 27 October 1943. Her keel was laid down on 7 November 1943 by the Delta Shipbuilding Company, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was launched on 23 December 1943 sponsored by Mrs. J. C. W. Becham, accepted from the War Shipping Administration under bareboat basis on 31 January 1944, and commissioned on 1 February 1944 with Lieutenant Michael E. Vallario, USNR, in command.
The Armadillo class of tankers was a class of Type Z-ET1-S-C3 Liberty tankers that were commissioned into the United States Navy. They were given the hull classification symbols of unclassified miscellaneous vessels.
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.
The raccoon, sometimes spelled racoon, also known as the common raccoon, North American raccoon,, northern raccoon, or coon, is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. The raccoon is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm and a body weight of 5 to 26 kg. Its grayish coat mostly consists of dense underfur which insulates it against cold weather. Three of the raccoon's most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws, its facial mask, and its ringed tail, which are themes in the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Raccoons are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks for at least three years. They are usually nocturnal and omnivorous, eating about 40% invertebrates, 33% plants, and 27% vertebrates.
After shakedown off the Gulf Coast, this mobile station tanker loaded a cargo of fuel oil at Corpus Christi, Texas; steamed through the Panama Canal; and joined the Third Fleet at Espiritu Santo on 5 April. She took on a deck cargo of lube oil drums which she discharged at Purvis Bay. Returning to Espiritu Santo, she then proceeded to Efate, New Hebrides, fueling Battleship Division 3 and Destroyer Division 90. Arriving at Purvis Bay 20 July, the ship assumed fueling station ship duties and made several side trips to the Russell Islands.
Corpus Christi, colloquially Corpus, is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio Counties. It is 130 miles southeast of San Antonio. Its political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.
The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. Canal locks are at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 m above sea level, and then lower the ships at the other end. The original locks are 34 m wide. A third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal began commercial operation on June 26, 2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, post-Panamax ships, capable of handling more cargo.
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of 3,955.5 km2 (1,527.2 sq mi) and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
On 14 September, Raccoon proceeded to Samoa to load fuel oil, returning to Espiritu Santo and Purvis Bay for station duty. With the exception of a short trip to Bougainville, she remained at Purvis Bay until 6 February 1945, when she proceeded to the Russell Islands to fuel a task force of attack transports (APAs) and amphibious cargo ships (AKAs). Departing 21 March, Raccoon proceeded to Iwo Jima to fuel destroyers and destroyer escorts on patrol screen. On Easter Sunday, 1 April, she came under fire from Kamikaze aircraft. She arrived at Saipan on 14 June for harbor fueling duty which lasted through the end of the war and into April 1946. She then sailed from the Mariana Islands, transited the Panama Canal, and arrived Norfolk, Virginia, on 3 June. Raccoon decommissioned on 10 July, was redelivered to WSA the next day, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 31 July 1946.
Samoa, officially the Independent State ofSamoa and, until 4 July 1997, known as Western Samoa, is a country consisting of two main islands, Savai'i and Upolu, and four smaller islands. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a unique Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. Its land area is 9,300 km2. The population of the province is 234,280, which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets. Mount Balbi at 2,700 m is the highest point.
Attack transport is a United States Navy ship classification for a variant of ocean-going troopship adapted to transporting invasion forces ashore. Unlike standard troopships – often drafted from the merchant fleet – that rely on either a quay or tenders, attack transports carry their own fleet of landing craft.
