USLHT ''Banahao'' was lighthouse tender that served in the Philippines.

History

On 23 June 1930, she was ordered by the government of the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

from the German shipbuilder Schichau-Werke, the second of three cutters ordered to serve with the Bureau of Customs as inspection and enforcement ships (the other two ships were her sister ship '' Canlaon'' and the ''Arayat''). She was laid down at Schichau's Danzig shipyard, launched on 13 December 1930, completed in March 1931, and delivered on 4 March 1931. ''Banahao'' was later converted to a

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthous ...

. During the Japanese invasion the Philippines, she returned to her home port of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

where the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

had retreated. On 28 December 1941, she was attacked by Japanese planes and sunk. Philippine freighter ''Mauban'' was also sunk. She was later raised by the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

. Her ultimate fate is unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banahao 1930 ships Ships built by Schichau Ships built in Danzig Lighthouse tenders of the United States Ships of the Imperial Japanese Army