USNS ''Provo'' (T-AG-173) was a ''Phoenix''-class

miscellaneous auxiliary The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

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 ...

in 1962, crewed by a civilian crew from 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 ...

, and sent to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to serve as a delivery ship of parts and supplies to other Navy ships and stations in the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n area. ''Provo'' remained in the Philippines, issuing parts and other supplies, until the early 1970s, being struck by the Navy in 1973. She was built as a

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slight ...

for

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 ...

as the SS ''Drew Victory'' under the

Emergency Shipbuilding program The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritime ...

for the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

Victory ship built in Oregon

''Provo'', a ''special projects ship'', was laid down 28 April 1945; launched 17 June 1945 by

Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a World War II emergency shipyard located along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. The shipyard built nearly 600 Liberty and Victory ships between 1941 and 1945 under the Emergency Shipb ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

; sponsored by Miss Anna P. Burkhalter; and delivered as SS ''Drew Victory'' 14 July 1945 and operated by the Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company. While in merchant marine service, she was subsequently renamed ''California'' and ''Utah''.

Assigned to the U.S. Navy

On 2 March 1963, she was acquired by the

(MSTS) from the

U.S. Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. De ...

, and renamed ''Provo'', 20 November 1962, with the designation of ''Special Project Ship'' (''AG–173''). In July 1963, she and two other MSTS ships, ''Cheyenne'' and ''Phoenix'', were stationed at

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

, as ''Forward Floating Depots''. This mission concept involved the use of depot ships for floating storage and issuance of vital military materials in meeting contingencies. The operational application of the concept was tested in 1964 in operation “Quick Release.” The ship acted as a point to point cargo carrier, delivering military supplies to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

and

Viet Nam 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 it ...

from stocking points in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and Subic Bay.

Inactivation

''Provo'' was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission, and was sold 31 August 1973 for scrapping.

References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - T-AG-173 Provo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provo (T-AG-173) Victory ships Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Phoenix-class auxiliary ships Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States