USS Passumpsic (AO-107), the only United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 ship to bear the name, was an Ashtabula class fleet replenishment oiler that served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1973, then transferred to the Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 to continue service as United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.-Overview:...

 USNS Passumpsic (T-AO-107). She was the only U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Passumpsic, after the Passumpsic River

Passumpsic River

The Passumpsic River is a tributary of the Connecticut River, in Vermont. Though primarily a Caledonia County river, it is the only river to flow through all three counties of the Northeast Kingdom.- Course :...

 in Vermont.

Construction and commissioning

USS Passumpsic (AO-107) was laid down on 8 March 1945 as Maritime Commission Hull 2703 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

. She was launched on 31 October 1945, sponsored by Mrs. M. F. Draemel, wife of Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 Milo F. Draemel, then Commandant of the 4th Naval District, and commissioned on 1 April 1946, Captain C.M. Ryan in command.

Service career, 1946–64

After a shakedown in the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

, Passumpsic operated out of Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

, under the control of Commander, Service Force Pacific, servicing U.S. Pacific Fleet units while attached to Service Squadron 1 and Service Squadron 3. She visited Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, North Borneo

North Borneo

North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...

, the Fiji Islands, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Arabia, Ceylon, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...

, Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

, the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

, and the Mariana Islands

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

.

From June 1950 through February 1954, Passumpsic spent 34 of 44 months outside of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Though not subjected to hostile fire during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, Passumpsic received nine battlestar

Service star

A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...

s for her Korean War service.

Passumpsic’s assignments after the Korean War entailed annual deployments to the Western Pacific

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

"Jumboization"

Upon return from deployment in April 1964, Passumpsic underwent an INSURV Board inspection at Long Beach Naval Shipyard

Long Beach Naval Shipyard

thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...

 in preparation for "Jumboization," a project of modernization and renovation for Mispillion-class fleet oilers. She steamed on 12 October 1964 for the American Shipbuilding Company yard at Lorain, Ohio

Lorain, Ohio

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....

, where the conversion was to take place. At Boston Naval Shipyard a Supply Overhaul Assistance Program (SOAP) was set up to sort, identify, and repackage the ship’s stock of repair parts and to receive, sort, and stow the repair parts supplied by the contractor and the U.S. Navy in conjunction with the conversion programs. After passage through the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 and St. Lawrence Seaway, Passumpsic was placed "in commission, in reserve" on 26 November 1964 and most of her crew detached, leaving a nucleus party of four officers and 28 enlisted men under the command of Lcdr. James. K. Beates. The ship was then turned over to the American Shipbuilding Company.

The conversion involved transferring her existing midships superstructure to a newly constructed tank section. The original hull was cut and the bow

Bow (ship)

The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...

 bow and stern

Stern

The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...

 sections were added to the new tank section. Conversion modifidations increased Passumpsics length by 91 feet (27.7 m), her light displacement

Displacement (ship)

A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

 from 7,423 tons to 12,840 tons, her full-load displacement from 25,500 to 34,350 tons, and her maximum draft from 32 feet (9.75 m) to 36 feet (11 m).

Passumpsic departed Lorain on 22 November 1965 with a merchant marine master and civilian crew. She arrived at the Boston Army Base piers, South Boston, Massachusetts

South Boston, Massachusetts

South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. One of America's oldest and most historic neighborhoods, South Boston was formerly known as Dorchester Neck, and today is called "Southie" by...

, on 1 December 1965.

Accepted by the U.S. Navy at Boston, on 10 January 1966, Passumpsic fitted out at Boston Naval Shipyard throughout February and into March, departing 5 March 1966 for Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, to load oil and for degaussing

Degaussing

Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. It is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, an early researcher in the field of magnetism...

 inspection.

Passumpsic departed Norfolk on 11 March 1966 for her home port of Long Beach, California, arriving there on 6 April 1966. Final U.S. Navy acceptance came on 24 August 1966, and she was designated a ready unit under Commander Task Group 13.1 (CTG 13.1) on 1 September 1966.

1966–73

Passumpsic departed Long Beach on 22 September 1966 and arrived at Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

 in the Philippine Islands on 15 October 1966. From Subic Bay the oiler steamed on replenishment operations off the coasts of North Vietnam

North Vietnam

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...

 and South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

. She continued to service U.S. Navy units in the Western Pacific until May 1967, when she returned to her home port.

Passumpsic departed Long Beach in November 1967 for the Western Pacific and again operated from Subic Bay to serve ships operating in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 combat zone and making port visits between underway replenishment

Underway replenishment

Underway replenishment or replenishment at sea is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way.-History:...

 assignments. She returned to Long Beach in June 1968.

In November 1968 Passumpsic again deployed to the Western Pacific to operate out of Subic Bay in support of ships operating off of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. She returned to Long Beach 27 June 1969 for yard availability, local training operations, and preparations for her next Western Pacific deployment.

Passumpsic remained in commissioned service with the U.S. Navy until 1973, although her activities between mid-1969 and 1973 are not readily available and await further research.

On 24 July 1973, Passumpsic was decommissioned. She transferred to the Military Sealift Command

Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

 on the same day, becoming United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship

United States Naval Ship or USNS is the prefix designation given to non-commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy.-Overview:...

 USNS Passumpsic (T-AO-107). Under this new designation, she continued in service in support of the U.S. Navy with a civilian crew from 1975 until 1991.

Later career and disposition

Passumpsic began active service with the Military Sealift Command in 1975. At the end of her career, she supported ships operating in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 in 1991.

Passumpsic was in Subic Bay

Subic Bay

Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...

 at Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

 in the Philippine Islands when Mount Pinatubo

Mount Pinatubo

Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. It is located in the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range separating the west coast of Luzon from the central plains, and is west of the dormant and...

 erupted in 1991, suffering extensive damage to her Underway Replenishment (UNREP) gear caused by a mixture of volcanic ash

Volcanic ash

Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...

 and rain water from a passing typhoon.

Passumpsic was stricken from the Navy List

Navy List

A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....

 in December 1991; sources differ on whether the date was 17 December 1991 or 18 December 1991 She was sold to a Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

an firm for scrapping on 19 December 1991. She was resold to an Indian firm on 1 July 1992 for scrapping in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.