SS ''Mission San Miguel'' was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war she was acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as USS ''Mission San Miguel'' (AO-129). Later the tanker transferred to the

Military Sea Transportation Service Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

as USNS ''Mission San Miguel'' (T-AO-129). She was a and was named for

Mission San Miguel Arcángel Mission San Miguel Arcángel is a Spanish mission in San Miguel, California. It was established on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area, whom the ...

, located in

San Miguel, California San Miguel (Spanish for " St. Michael") is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,336. San Miguel was founded by the Spanish in 1797, when Mission San Miguel ...

Career

''Mission San Miguel'' was laid down 11 August 1943 under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

contract by Marine Ship Corporation,

Sausalito, California Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...

; launched 31 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. John W. Hardie; and delivered 19 February 1944. Chartered to Pacific Tankers, Inc. for operations, she spent the remainder of the war carrying fuel to Allied forces overseas. She remained in this capacity until 20 May 1946 when she was returned to the Maritime Commission and laid up in the Maritime Reserve Fleet at

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. Acquired by the Navy on 4 November 1947 she was chartered to

American Pacific Steamship Company General Steamship Company was founded in 1920 in Houston texas, Houston, Texas, as a Private Company, and now goes by Gensteam since 1996. General Steamship Company has a fleet of cargo ships that operate worldwide. Gensteam has a ''Gensteam Oper ...

for operations, on the same date and placed under the operational control of the

Naval Transportation Service Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

as ''Mission San Miguel'' (AO-129). Transferred to the operational control of the newly created

on 1 October 1949 she was redesignated USNS ''Mission San Miguel'' (T-AO-129). She served with MSTS until 22 March 1950 when she was taken out of service and laid up in the U.S. Navy's

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. Her stay in reserve was short for on 24 July she was once again placed in service by MSTS to aid supporting U.S. troops in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. She served with MSTS until 28 May 1954 when she was placed in the San Diego group, Pacific Reserve Fleet for laying up. Reactivated and placed in service with MSTS 1 November 1956 she served until 8 October 1957 when she ran aground on

Maro Reef Maro Reef ( Hawaiian: Nalukākala - "surf that arrives in combers") is a largely submerged coral atoll located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was discovered in 1820 by Captain Joseph Allen of the ship '' Maro'', after whose ship the ...

in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

while running at full speed and in ballast. When she began to go down by the stern, USNS ''LST-664'' took off ''Mission San Miguel''s crew despite darkness, 8-foot seas, and numerous

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s. Declared unfit for further naval service and salvage, she was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 20 December 1957. The wreck of the ship was re-discovered on August 3, 2015. The wreck of ''Mission San Miguel'' is in

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage Site, World Heritage listed National Monument (United States), U.S. National Monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of th ...

, a

marine protected area Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a conserv ...

. Researchers will map and study the wreck

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

. Wreck location:

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission San Miguel (AO-129) Type T2-SE-A2 tankers Ships built in Sausalito, California 1943 ships World War II tankers of the United States San Miguel Type T2-SE-A2 tankers of the United States Navy Maritime incidents in 1957 Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Ships sunk with no fatalities