USS Pawcatuck (AO-108)
Encyclopedia
USS Pawcatuck (AO-108) was an 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 in non-commissioned service with a civilian crew 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 Pawcatuck (T-AO-108). She was 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 Pawcatuck.
Construction and commissioning
USS Pawcatuck (AO–108) was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 22 March 1945 as Maritime Commission hull 2704 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, PennsylvaniaChester, 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 19 February 1946, sponsored by Miss Nancy Gatch, and commissioned on 10 May 1946, Captain Cecil G. McKinney, USNR, in command.
1946–65
After shakedown, Pawcatuck was assigned the task of transporting petroleumPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
products between various United States Navy facilities and ports on the United States Gulf Coast, in the Caribbean
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....
and along the United States East Coast. In the summer of 1947, she joined the United States Sixth Fleet, operating in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
for her first overseas tour. From 1948 to 1961, Pawcatuck operated on a rotational schedule between the United States Atlantic Fleet and the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, participating in U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises, United States Naval Reserve and United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
midshipman cruises, and courtesy visits to foreign ports, and serving as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Commander Service Squadron 2. She supported American forces during the Lebanon Crisis of 1958.
In November 1961 she sailed for her first North Atlantic deployment and operated with Antisubmarine Warfare Carrier Task Group 83.3 until February 1962. In November 1962 she deployed to the Caribbean for support to U.S. Navy units involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
effort. She spent early 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts, for overhaul, but by June 1963 she had returned to the Mediterranean and Sixth Fleet operations.
During 1964 Pawcatuck operated with the Atlantic Fleet performing logistic services and conducting training exercises. In January 1965 she sailed to the Caribbean, where she made port calls and provided support and training services. She returned to 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....
, for most of March and April 1965. In late April 1965 she was ordered south to the vicinity of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
to support U.S. Navy units during the crisis there and the intervention there by the U.S. Marine Corps in Operation Powerpack. On 12 June 1965 she sailed for Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
an waters and, with other units, engaged in joint amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
exercises with the armed forces of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
"Jumboization", 1965–66
Upon returning to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on 23 July 1965, she prepared to enter the yards for an extensive "jumboization" conversion, with preliminary work conducted at Boston, Massachusetts. She then steamed up the St. Lawrence River and put into the yards
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
of the American Shipbuilding Company 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....
, on 14 September 1965. Pawcatuck spent the rest of 1965 and all of 1966 undergoing conversion, during which her overall length was increased to 644 feet (196.3 m), her draft to 35 feet 9 inches (10.9 m), and her displacement to 35,000 tons.
1967–75
After outfitting at Boston, Massachusetts, Pawcatuck sailed on 23 February 1967 to Craney IslandCraney Island (Virginia)
Craney Island is a point of land in the independent city of Portsmouth in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia in the United States. The location, formerly in Norfolk County, is near the mouth of the Elizabeth River opposite Lambert's Point on Hampton Roads. It is managed by the U.S...
, Virginia. where she received her first "jumbo" load of 2500000 gallons (9,463,530 l) of aviation fuel
Aviation fuel
Aviation fuel is a specialized type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft. It is generally of a higher quality than fuels used in less critical applications, such as heating or road transport, and often contains additives to reduce the risk of icing or explosion due to high temperatures,...
and 5400000 gallons (20,441,224.8 l) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
for surface vessels. This operation took five days and she then sailed to her home port at Mayport, Florida, to resume operations as a fleet oiler.
On 29 January 1968, Pawcatuck deployed to the Mediterranean and serviced over 300 ships of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and NATO allies while participating in exercises "Fairgame IV", "Dawn Patrol", and "Flapex" and in many smaller fleet exercises. She returned to Mayport on 6 August 1968 and spent the latter part of the year servicing units of the recovery force for the Apollo 7
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the American Apollo space program, and the first manned US space flight after a cabin fire killed the crew of what was to have been the first manned mission, AS-204 , during a launch pad test in 1967...
space mission.
During January and February 1969 Pawcatuck made preparations for another Mediterranean deployment.
Pawcatuck remained in active, commissioned U.S. Navy service until 1975, but the details of her career between 1969 and 1975 await further research.
Later career and disposition
Pawcatuck was decommissioned on 15 July 1975 and transferred to the Military Sealift CommandMilitary 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...
, in which she served in a non-commissioned status with a civilian crew as USNS Pawcatuck (T-AO-108) until 1991.
Pawcatuck was stricken from the Naval Register on 21 September 1991 and was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
on the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
at Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
. She was sold for scrapping to Bay Bridge Enterprises on 21 September 2005. On 19 October 2005, she was removed from the National Defense Reserve Fleet and towed to Chesapeake, Virginia
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
, for scrapping.