USS ''Orvetta'' (IX–157) was built for the US Shipping Board as ''Tampa'' in 1920 by the Oscar Daniels Co., Tampa, Fla. and 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 ...

on a

bareboat charter A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible ...

from the Maritime Commission 4 April 1944. She was renamed ''Orvetta'' and converted for military service as a

barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

by the Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco; and commissioned 7 June 1944. By 18 June ''Orvetta'' had reported for duty with Service Force, Pacific. She operated first with ServRon 8, headquartered at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

. Then, as the war moved west and north from the south Pacific, she shifted to ServRon 10 to provide housing facilities at advanced bases. By the end of the war she was in the Philippines, anchored in San Pedro Bay. Following the signing of the official surrender documents, ''Orvetta'' steamed north to

Okinawa is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

, thence to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, arriving 30 September. She remained at Shanghai until 10 May 1946 when she was taken in tow by for return to the Philippines. Arriving 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 Sub ...

18 May she continued to serve as, a barrack ship until decommissioned at the end of the year. Struck from the Naval Register 10 June 1947, she was returned to the Maritime Commission, at Subic, 26 January 1948. Four months later she departed for the United States and was sold for scrap in early 1949.

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External links

USS Orvetta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orvetta (Ix-157) Design 1027 ships Ships built in Tampa, Florida 1920 ships Design 1027 ships of the United States Navy Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built by the Oscar Daniels Shipbuilding Company