USS Ontonagon

USS Ontonagon (AOG-36) 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.

History
United States
Name	USS Ontonagon
Namesake	Ontonagon River in Michigan
Ordered	as T1-M-A2) tanker hull MC-1799
Laid down	10 May 1944
Launched	14 June 1944
Commissioned	21 September 1944
Decommissioned	27 February 1946
In service	as USAT Ontonagon 27 February 1946
Out of service	1 July 1950
Stricken	13 November 1957
Reinstated	as USNS Ontonagon (T-AOG-36), 1952-1957
Fate	fate unknown
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,228 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Displacement	846 tons(lt) 2,270 tons(fl)
Length	220 ft 6 in
Beam	37 ft
Draught	17 ft
Propulsion	Diesel direct drive, single screw, 720 hp
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement	62
Armament	one single 3 in (76 mm) dual purpose gun mount, two 40 mm guns, three single 20 mm gun mounts

Ontonagon, ex MC hull 1799, was laid down 10 May 1944 by the East Coast Ship Yard Inc., Bayonne, New Jersey; launched 30 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Riva Halpern; and commissioned 21 September 1944.

World War II service

Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Ontonagon cleared Norfolk, Virginia, for the Caribbean, whence, after taking on a petroleum cargo, she continued on to the Pacific Ocean.

Pacific Ocean operations

Assigned to ServRon 8 until the spring of 1945, she assisted in the first stages of transporting and distributing gasolines to the fleet and to forward bases from the U.S. West Coast. From ServRon 8 control, supply vessels moving west passed into the operational control of ServRon 10 for dispatch to forward units. Ontonagon joined that squadron 2 April at Ulithi. Scheduled to continue on to Okinawa, she refueled ships in that anchorage as her departure date was postponed.

End-of-war activity

On 22 June she sailed for Okinawa. Arriving on the 29th, she remained in the Ryukyus, fueling ships at Kerama Retto, Hagushi, Naha and Buckner Bay through the end of the war and the end of the year. On 15 January 1946, she departed Buckner Bay for the Philippines.

Assigned to the Army as USAT Ontonagon

Arriving 6 days later, she operated in Manila and Subic Bays until decommissioned, at Manila, 27 February, and transferred to the Army Transport Service as USAT Ontonagon.

Assigned to the Navy as USNS Ontonagon (T-AOG-36)

Within a week of the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Ontonagon was reacquired by the Navy for use in MSTS. Placed in service as USNS Ontonagon (T-AOG-36) and manned by a civil service crew, she once again plied the waters of the Pacific to keep the oil life line to a combat area open. In January 1952 she began direct support to fleet units and bases in the combat zone, maintaining that support as a shuttle ship between Japan and Korea until June 1954.

Stateside and decommissioning

Returned to the west coast in September, she was placed out of service and transferred to the Maritime Administration, at Olympia, Washington, 14 December 1954. Struck from the Navy List 22 June 1955, she remained a unit of the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

Returned to service with MSTS

Ontonagon returned to Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and was placed in service once again on 26 April 1956. Assigned to the North Pacific Ocean, she served with MSTS until inactivated for a third time at San Francisco, California, and placed in “ready status” in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, California, 25 September 1956.

Final decommissioning and scrapping

On 13 November 1957, she was struck from the Navy List and transferred permanently to the Maritime Administration. She was scrapped in 1964.

Military awards and honors

Ontonagon received one battle star for service in World War II.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

External links

• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AOG-36 Ontonagon