SS ''Mission San Jose'' 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 Jose''. 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 Jose''. She was a and was named for

Mission San José Mission San José may refer to: *Mission San José (California), a Spanish mission in Fremont, California * Mission San Jose, Fremont, California, a neighborhood *Mission San Jose High School, a high school in Fremont, California *Mission San José ...

, located in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

Career

''Mission San Jose'' was laid down 17 July 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 7 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Robert L. Bridges and delivered 29 January 1944. Chartered to

Pacific Tankers Inc. Pacific Tankers, Inc. of San Francisco, California was founded in 1943 as a division of Joshua Hendy Corporation to operate Fleet Oilers for the United States Navy to support World War II efforts. Pacific Tankers, Inc. operated Mission Buenaven ...

for operations, she spent the remainder of the war carrying fuel to Allied forces overseas. She served in this capacity until 3 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 5 November 1947, she was placed in service with the Naval Transportation Service as ''Mission San Jose ''(AO-125). After 1 October 1949, she was under the operational control of the new

(MSTS) as USNS ''Mission San Jose'' (T-AO-I25). She served with MSTS until 15 October 1957, when she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the Maritime Reserve Fleet at

Suisun Bay, California Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

. The ship was sold to the Hudson Waterways Corporation on June 24, 1966, and renamed ''Seatrain Ohio''. She was subsequently lengthened using sections of two other T2 tankers, the ''Tomahawk'' and ''Mission San Diego'', and rebuilt by

Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Company The Maryland Drydock Company was a shipbuilding company that operated in Baltimore, Maryland during the 20th century. The company started life in 1920 as the Globe Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Maryland. Its president at this time was B. C ...

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, vehicles and rail cars. Upon completion of the conversion and delivery in 1967 ''Seatrain Ohio'', IMO 6621234, 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 November 1973 and on August 8, 1978, her name was changed to just ''Ohio''. In 1990 ''Ohio'' was reactivated for service in support of the First Persian

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and subsequently returned to the Reserve Fleet (Beaumont, Texas). The ship was retired and broken up in 2011.

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission San Jose (T-AO-125) Type T2-SE-A2 tankers Ships built in Sausalito, California 1943 ships World War II tankers of the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Texas San Jose Type T2-SE-A2 tankers of the United States Navy