USS Achomawi (AT-148/ATF-148) was an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tugs in the service of the United States Navy, and was named for the Achomawi tribe of Native Americans.
USS O'Flaherty (DE-340) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Ensign Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty, a pilot who posthumously received the Navy Cross for his actions at the Battle of Midway.
USS Pakana (AT–108) was an Abnaki-class fleet ocean tug. It was named after the Pakana, a Native American tribe of Texas. This ship saw service in the Pacific theater of World War II, and was later transferred to the United States Bureau of Mines for use in Alaska before being deliberately sunk in 1975.
USS Giansar (AK-111) was a Crater-class cargo ship originally laid down as the liberty ship SS Thomas Ewing. The ship was taken over by the United States Navy and renamed in 1943. After being decommissioned in 1945, Giansar was returned to the Maritime Commission. She was scrapped in 1963. The ship's original name honored Thomas Ewing, an American politician from Virginia. The name Giansar is after the star in the constellation Draconis.
USS Cinnabar (IX-163), a Trefoil-class concrete barge designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for cinnabar. Her keel was laid down in 1944. She was acquired on a loan-charter basis from the War Shipping Administration and placed in service at San Francisco, California, on 26 September 1944.
USS Quartz (IX-150), a Trefoil-class concrete barge designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for quartz or silicon dioxide (SiO2) a hard, vitreous mineral occurring in many varieties and comprising 12% of the earth's crust. Her keel was laid down as MC hull 1330 by Barrett and Hilp, Belair Shipyards, San Francisco, California (T. B7.D1). She was launched on 4 December 1943, and accepted by the Navy and placed in service on 13 April 1944.
USS Silica (IX-151), a Trefoil-class concrete barge designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for silica. Her keel was laid down as SS Bauxite on 5 December 1943 by Barrett & Hilp, Belair Shipyard, San Francisco, California. She was launched on 31 December 1943 sponsored by Mrs. William O'Neill, and acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 8 June 1944.
USS Barite (IX-161), a Trefoil-class concrete barge designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for barite, a yellow or white crystalline mineral found in metallic veins, resembling marble. Her keel was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract on 24 November 1943 at South San Francisco, California, by the Belair Shipyard of Barrett and Hilp. She was designated IX-161 on 7 February 1944, launched on 18 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. S. C. Anderson, and delivered to the Navy at her builder's yard on 31 August 1944. She was placed in service the same day.
USS Oracle (AM-103) was an Auk-class minesweeper built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was commissioned in May 1943 and decommissioned in May 1946. She was placed in reserve and remained there until struck from the Naval Vessel Register in December 1966. She was sunk as a target in 1967.
The second USS Tern (AM-31) was an Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
A Service Squadron (ServRon) was a U.S. Navy squadron that supported fleet combat units. Service Squadrons were used by the United States Navy from their inception in 1943 to as late as the early 1980s. At the time of their inception during the Second World War they allowed the US Navy to operate across the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean for extended periods of time. Service Squadrons created temporary forward bases to allow the naval squadrons to spend less time in transit and more time in the area of combat. Ulithi, a small volcanic atoll in the central Pacific, is an example of a site converted for use as a forward base of supply. Service Squadrons essentially created a major naval base near the area of operation. With the naval base at Ulithi to refit, repair and resupply, many ships were able to deploy and operate in the western Pacific for a year or more without returning to a major port facility. Among the vessels operating in service squadrons were tankers, oilers, refrigerator ships, ammunition ships, supply ships, floating docks and repair ships. They provided diesel, ordnance, aviation fuel, food stuffs and all other supplies. Equally important at places like Ulithi were the portable piers and floating dry docks which allowed many ships damaged by enemy action or Pacific storms to undergo repair without having to travel the thousands of miles back to a major US naval base. Ulithi was as far forward from the US naval base at San Francisco as the San Francisco base was from London, England. To have a fully functional major port in the middle of the Pacific was a significant aid to U.S. Navy operations.
USS Tekesta (AT-93) was Navajo-class fleet tug built during World War II for the United States Navy. Shortly after being built, it was crewed by trained Navy personnel and sent into the Pacific Ocean to provide tug service to damaged ships in battle areas. For successfully performing this dangerous work, she was awarded four battle stars by the war's end.
USS Vega (AK-17), was a Sirius-class cargo ship of the United States Navy, originally the Lebanon — a single-screw, steel-hulled Type 1022 freighter, built under a United States Shipping Board contract at Hog Island, Pennsylvania, by the American International Shipbuilding Co. Laid down on 8 July 1918, the ship was launched on 18 July 1919. Acquired by the Navy on 2 December 1921, she was renamed Vega and given the classification of AK-17. She fitted out for Navy service, and was commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 21 December 1921.
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 Caelum (AK-106) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II. Caelum was named after the constellation Caelum. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
USS Alkes (AK-110) was an Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the US Navy for service in World War II, named after Alkes, a star in the Crater constellation. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.
USS Koka (ATA-185) was a US Navy tugboat. Koka is from the phonetic spelling of Coca, formerly an Indian village in southern Arizona. Originally designated as ATR-112, she was redesignated as ATA-185 on 15 May 1944; launched 11 September 1944, by Levingston Shipbuilding Co., Orange, Texas; and commissioned on 16 November.
USS Arapaho (AT-68/ATF-68) was a Navajo-class fleet ocean tug which served the U.S. Navy during World War II with her towing services. She was assigned initially to support the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and was eventually assigned to support Allied forces in the war zones of the Pacific Ocean, resulting in her crew returning home after the war with four battle stars to their credit.
USS Moctobi (ATF-105) was an Abnaki-class of fleet ocean tug. She served in World War II, Vietnam, and Korea, the last two of which she received battle stars. She was scrapped in 2012.
United States