USS ''Pasquotank'' (AOG-18) was a ''Mettawee''-class T1 tanker type

gasoline tanker A tanker (or tank ship or tankship) is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in Bulk liquids, bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as ve ...

acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations. ''Pasquotank'' was laid down as ''SS Tongue River'', MC hull 900, on 13 August 1942 by

East Coast Shipyard East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Inc.,

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...

; launched 28 November 1942; originally classified as ''YOG–48'', she was reclassified ''AOG–18'', 25 March 1943 and named ''Pasquotank'' the same day; acquired by the Navy 15 April 1943; and commissioned 26 August 1943.

World War II service

After

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

, ''Pasquotank'' sailed from

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

, in convoy, for

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Netherlands West Indies nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

, where she loaded fuel oil and proceeded, via the

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, to Bora Bora,

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

, in the South

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. She arrived Bora Bora, 3 December 1943, and from there, through February 1944, she traveled extensively in the

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New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

, and

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

, carrying aviation gas and diesel fuel. She unloaded fuel for

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air groups at perimeter strips in the

Torokina Torokina is a coastal village on Bougainville Island, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Torokina Rural LLG. It is located on the western coast of the island. During World War II site of ...

area during March, while they were under siege by the Japanese. In May she set up a shuttle service for the Air Force which was conducting raids against Truk,

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

, and Kavieng from

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and Treasury Islands.

South Pacific operations

Through July she operated in the

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

area, and in August began a seven-month stint as station tanker at Seeadler Harbor in the Admiralties, servicing escort carriers and cruisers. ''Pasquotank'' was detached from this assignment 20 March 1945 and sailed for

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. At Leyte, she operated from San Pedro Bay into August, servicing small craft, and was at Manus on V–J Day. During September she fueled transports in

Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...

Bay, and returned to San Pedro Bay for shuttle service into November.

Post-war decommissioning

She then returned to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, in late December, and decommissioned 27 March 1946. ''Pasquotank'' was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 21 May 1946, transferred to the

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 ...

1 July 1946 and served as ''SS Tongue River'' until scrapped in 1964.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - YOG-48 / AOG-18 Pasquotank
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasquotank (AOG-18) Mettawee-class gasoline tankers Type T1-M-A1 tankers of the United States Navy Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey 1942 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States