USS Sebec (AO-87) was a Escambia-classfleet oiler acquired by the United States Navy for use during World War II. She had the dangerous but necessary task of providing fuel to vessels in combat and non-combat areas primarily in the Pacific Ocean. For her valiant efforts, she received six battle stars during the war.
On 28 June, Sebec's task unit got underway for the Marshall Islands. Anchoring at Eniwetok on 6 July, Sebec loaded a cargo of fuel oil, diesel oil, gasoline, and light freight before standing out of the harbor on 15 July. After refueling units of Task Force 58 on 22 July, Sebec's unit arrived off Agat, Guam, on the 24th. On the 27th, after discharging the remainder of her cargo fuel oil, diesel oil, and part of her gasoline, Sebec got underway on the 28th and arrived at Eniwetok on 1 August.
Sebec departed Eniwetok on 20 August and arrived at Seeadler Harbor, Manus island, Admiralty Islands, on the 28th. She set out the next day, fueled vessels on 3 September, and returned to the harbor on the 6th. She spent the next two months performing similar assignments.
The next morning Sebec got underway for Kossol Roads, Palau Islands, anchoring at Kossol Passage on the 22nd. On the 30th, all ships were ordered underway at various speeds and courses to avoid air attack. Sebec's crew sighted bomb splashes, but saw no aircraft. The oiler spent the remainder of 1944 on fueling tasks, including a 24-hour fueling assignment of an escort carrier division on 30 and 31 December.
Danger from Japanese submarines
Sebec arrived at Ulithi on 4 January 1945. On the 12th, she sounded general quarters after Mazama(AE-9) was hit by a torpedo while in berth there. Four times that day, the crew was ordered to general quarters in response to reports of enemy submarines nearby.
On 20 January, Sebec got underway in a convoy bound for Eniwetok. On the 24th, she left the convoy and proceeded independently to Hawaii. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 1 February for emergency repairs.
Sebec departed Pearl Harbor on 19 March bound for Ulithi, carrying a cargo of fuel oil, diesel oil, and aviation gasoline. After arrival on 1 April, Sebec resumed her fueling operations.
On 4 May, Sebec received orders to proceed independently to Hagushi Beach, Okinawa. From 8 to 12 May, she fueled screening vessels off the transport area before returning to Ulithi on the 16th.
End-of-war activity
During a typhoon on 5 June, two of her gasoline pumps were damaged. The following evening, the oiler got underway for Okinawa, arriving at Hagushi Beach on 7 June.
From 8 June through 26 September, Sebec participated in additional fueling operations. On the 27th, she received orders to report to Tokyo Bay.
Sebec remained in Tokyo Bay from 2 to 11 October. On the 12th, she got underway with Lackawanna(AO-40) for San Francisco, California, anchoring on the 24th. On 29 October, she unloaded all her ammunition at the Mare Island Ammunition Depot and returned to the anchorage.
Post-war transfer to MSTS
Sebec was decommissioned on 7 February 1946 and was struck from the Navy List on 26 February. On 1 July, she was transferred to the Maritime Commission, but was reinstated on the Navy List on 28 April 1950, and assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service as the non-commissioned naval vessel USNS Sebec (T-AO-87), manned by a civilian crew.
Korean War operations
She shuttled between Alaskan and Caribbean waters until January 1951 when she departed the West Indies for a round-the-world cruise via the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal, returning to Aruba on 16 October. During the latter part of the Korean War, Sebec carried fuel oil from Bahrain, Persian Gulf, to Okinawa and Japan.
Sebec arrived at Long Beach, California, on Christmas Eve 1953, but began the new year getting underway for Pearl Harbor. After returning to San Pedro, California, Sebec sailed again, arriving at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 4 June; thence she proceeded to Manila, the Persian Gulf, and Japan before returning to the West Coast. In the next year, Sebec operated in Alaska as well as in the Far East.
On 22 December 1955, Sebec was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California, and struck from the Navy List. She was reinstated on the Navy List on 21 June 1956 and operated for MSTS by the Joshua Hendy Corp.
Transferred to U.S. Army service
Sebec was returned to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and struck from the Navy List on 3 September 1957. She was acquired to the United States Army on 9 June 1966, and converted to a floating power station at Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Co., Mobile, Alabama, before seeing service in Vietnam.
Final decommissioning
Title to Sebec was transferred to MARAD for the US Army, the ship was subsequently sold for scrapping, to Dongkuk Steel Co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea, on 9 September 1974.
Awards
Sebec received six battle stars for World War II service.
Related Research Articles
USS Attala (APA-130) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1974.
USS Bowers (DE-637/APD-40) was a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ensign Robert K. Bowers (1915-1941), who was killed in action aboard the battleship USS California during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. The ship was laid down on 28 May 1943 at San Francisco, California, by the Bethlehem Steel Company; launched on 31 October, sponsored by Mrs. Eunice Bowers, the mother of Ensign Bowers; and commissioned on 27 January 1944. The ship served in World War II in the Pacific
USS Patuxent (AO-44) was a Kennebec-class oiler in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second U.S. Navy ship named for the Patuxent River in Maryland.
USS Suamico (AO-49) was the lead ship of her class of Type T2-SE-A1 fleet oilers of the United States Navy.
USS Tallulah (AO-50), originally named the SS Valley Forge, was a Type T2-SE-A1 Suamico-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy.
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 Yahara (AOG-37) was a Mettawee-class 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 Sederstrom (DE-31) was a Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She was promptly sent to the Pacific Ocean to escort convoys and to protect other ships from Japanese planes and submarines. Her assignments took her from one battle area to another, but she was fortunate in remaining almost unscathed by the end of the war. For her efforts in battle areas, she was awarded five battle stars by war's end.
USS Wintle (DE-25) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was promptly sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. By the time she returned to the United States at the end of the war she had been awarded three battle stars.
USS Wesson (DE-184) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned home at war's end with a very respectable seven battle stars to her credit.
USS Bangust was a Cannon-class destroyer escort in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946. In 1952, she was sold to Peru, where she served as BAP Castilla (D-61). She was decommissioned and scrapped in 1979.
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.
USS Ashtabula (AO-51) was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy in service from 1943 to 1991. She survived three wars and was awarded eight battle stars for World War II service, four battle stars for Korean War service, and eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service. In the mid-1960s Ashtabula became the lead ship of her class, when she and seven other Cimarron-class oilers were lengthened ("jumboized"). She has been the only U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Ashtabula, after the City of Ashtabula which was named after the Ashtabula River in northeast Ohio.
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 Atascosa (AO-66) was an Atascosa-class fleet oiler acquired by the United States Navy for use in World War II. She had the dangerous task of supplying fuel and ammunition to ships in and near, combat areas in both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
USS Auriga (AK-98) was an Auriga-class cargo ship, the only ship in her class, commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II, named after the constellation Auriga. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
USS Azimech (AK-124) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II, named after the Azimech, the other name of Spica, the brightest star in constellation Virgo. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
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 Beckham (APA-133) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1974.
USS Audubon (APA-149) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. She was scrapped in 1973.
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
