USS Kern (AOG-2)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | USS Kern |
| Ordered: |
|
| Builder: | Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down: | 25 May 1942 |
| Launched: | 7 September 1942 |
| Commissioned: | as USS Kern (AOG-2), 9 March 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 6 August 1946 |
| In service: | to MSTS as USNS Kern (T-AOG-2), 1 July 1950 |
| Out of service: | 1 October 1957 |
| Struck: | 10 April 1958 |
| Fate: | Disposed of by Scrapping, National Metal & Steel, Terminal Island, Ca 2 December 1975 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Patapsco-class gasoline tanker |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 310 ft 9 in (94.72 m) |
| Beam: | 48 ft 6 in (14.78 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m) |
| Installed power: | 3,300 hp (2,500 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × General Electric diesel-electric engines, 2 × shafts |
| Speed: | 15.5 kn (17.8 mph; 28.7 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 2,210 long tons deadweight (DWT) |
| Complement: | 131 |
| Armament: | 4 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 cal dual purpose guns, 12 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons |
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.
Kern was laid as Rappahannock by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, Tacoma, Washington on 25 May 1942; renamed Kern on 18 July 1942; launched on 7 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. L. A. Oldin; and commissioned at Seattle, Washington on 9 March 1943, Lieutenant Commander Lewis Williams in command.
Departing Seattle, Washington on 24 March, Kern arrived San Pedro, California on 28 March for shakedown. On 12 April, she joined a convoy out of Los Angeles, California, and reached Pearl Harbor on the 22nd. Loaded with aviation gas and diesel oil, she steamed to Midway Island from 8–12 June. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 18 June, and from 27 June-11 July she made a similar run to Canton and Palmyra Islands.
During the next year, Kern continued tanker operations out of Pearl Harbor, supplying American bases on Midway, Canton, and Palmyra Islands with gasoline and oil. Departing Pearl Harbor on 19 August 1944, she sailed to Eniwetok, Marshalls, where she arrived on 31 August and served as station tanker during September. She departed Eniwetok on 5 October and carried gasoline to the Marianas and Ulithi before reaching Kossol Roads, Palaus on 28 October.
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