SS ''Mission San Carlos'' 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 Carlos'' (AO-120). 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 Carlos'' (T-AO-120). She was a and was one of two U.S. Navy vessels named for Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo, located in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

, the other being .

Career

''Mission San Carlos'' was laid down on 1 November 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 Marinship 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 12 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. J. H. Pomeroy; and delivered 15 April 1944. Chartered to Pacific Tankers, Inc. for operations on 15 April, she spent the remainder of the War providing allied forces overseas with the vital fuel needed to keep America's armies on the move (during which time she was awarded the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...

). She was returned to the Maritime Commission on 20 April 1946 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 12 November 1947 and chartered to Marine Transport, Inc. for operations, she was placed in service with 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 Carlos'' (AO-120). After 1 October 1949 she was under the operational control of the newly created

(MSTS) as USNS ''Mission San Carlos'' (T-AO-120). She remained in service with MSTS until 6 November 1957 when she was transferred to the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

(MARAD) for lay up in the Maritime Reserve Fleet at

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...

. 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 the same date. The ship was sold to Transwestern Associates on 16 May 1966 for conversion to a bulk carrier, but was instead resold that September to the Hudson Waterways Corporation and renamed ''Seatrain Maryland''. She was subsequently lengthened using the forward and midsection of another T2 tanker, the ''San Jacinto'', and rebuilt by

Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...

into one of seven

Seatrain Lines Seatrain Lines, officially the Over-Seas Shipping Company, was a shipping and transportation company conducting operations in the Americas and trans-Pacific regions. Seatrain Lines began intermodal freight transport in December 1928 by transporting ...

multi-purpose cargo ships capable of carrying general bulk and palletized cargo,

intermodal containers An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...

, vehicles and rail cars. Upon completion of the conversion and delivery in April 1967 ''Seatrain Maryland'', IMO 6709153, was chartered to the MSTS in support of overseas U.S. military operations, including the transport of material, equipment and aircraft to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The ship was transferred to the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

(James River) in December 1974 and on August 8, 1978, her name was changed to just ''Maryland''. The ship was retired and broken up in 1986.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission San Carlos (T-AO-120) Type T2-SE-A2 tankers Ships built in Sausalito, California 1944 ships World War II tankers of the United States San Carlos Type T2-SE-A2 tankers of the United States Navy Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States