USS Patapsco (AOG-1)
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USS ''Patapsco'' (AOG–1) was a of the United States Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She saw service during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. ''Patapsco'' was the sixth ship of the US Navy to be named for the
Patapsco River The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...
in Maryland. After decommissioning she was converted to a fishing vessel under the name ''Arctic Storm'', and is currently in operation. ''Patapsco'' was laid down 25 May 1942 by the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, Seattle; launched 18 August 1942; sponsored by Mrs. W. S. Zane; and commissioned 4 February 1943.


Service history


World War II

Less than three weeks after commissioning, ''Patapsco'' departed San Francisco in convoy for Pearl Harbor. From there, on 27 March, she steamed southwest to
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, whence she transported gasoline and other petroleum products to ships and bases in the Solomons and New Hebrides until November 1944. In December, after availability at Auckland, New Zealand, she returned to the Solomons, remaining until 12 May 1945, when she departed
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
for the Western Carolines. Based on Ulithi from 19 May until the end of the war, she shuttled POL (Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants) products to the Palaus, and, once, to
Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
. After the war, she continued her Ulithi-Palau runs, then, in November, shifted her base to Guam whence she distributed fuel and light freight and carried passengers amongst the
Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
. On 19 February 1946, she sailed east, and, after stopping at San Francisco, transited the Panama Canal and arrived at New Orleans for inactivation 3 May. Decommissioning 29 May 1946, she was later assigned to the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet and berthed at Orange, Texas


Korean War

Following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, ''Patapsco'' was reactivated. She recommissioned 19 October 1950 and, after overhaul at Norfolk, got underway for the Pacific 3 March 1951. Arriving at Pearl Harbor 9 April, she conducted fuel runs to Midway until 23 February 1952. Then, after a run to the Marshalls, the tanker sailed for Japan, arriving 25 April. Four days later she was under way to fuel vessels off the coast of the embattled Korean Peninsula and on her return took up station tanker duties at Sasebo. In late October, she shifted to Yokosuka, whence she sailed, 7 November, for Pearl Harbor. With the new year, 1953, ''Patapsco'' resumed gasoline shuttle service to Midway and the Marshalls. On 6 August she sailed west again, this time to the Philippines, whence she carried aviation gasoline to
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, returning to Pearl Harbor 7 December. Until 1955, ''Patapsco'' served in Hawaiian waters with infrequent cruises to Midway, the Marshalls, the Aleutians, and the west coast.
James W. Downing James Willis Downing (August 22, 1913 – February 13, 2018) was a lieutenant in the United States Navy. He retired in 1956 after 24 years of service, which included being commanding officer of the . At the time of his death, he was the second-old ...
was the commander from 1952 to 1955. In late February 1954 ''Patapsco'' was at
Enewetak Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
. Operation Castle, a series of
high-yield In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...
nuclear tests, was taking place on nearby Bikini Atoll, with the first test, Castle Bravo, scheduled for 1 March. ''Patapsco'' lacked a decontamination washdown system, and was therefore ordered, on 27 February, to return to Pearl Harbor at all possible speed. A breakdown in her engine systems, namely a cracked cylinder liner, slowed ''Patapsco'' to one-third of her full speed, and when the Castle Bravo detonation took place, she was still about 180 to 195 nautical miles east of Bikini. The Castle Bravo detonation was much larger than had originally been anticipated, and ''Patapsco'' was in the range of nuclear fallout, which began landing on the ship in the mid-afternoon of 2 March. By this time ''Patapsco'' was 565 to 586 nautical miles from ground zero. The fallout was at first thought to be harmless, there were no radiation detectors aboard, and so no decontamination measures were taken. Measurements taken after ''Patapsco'' had returned to Pearl Harbor suggested an exposure range of 0.18 to 0.62 R/hr. Total exposure estimates range from 3.3 R to 18 R of whole-body radiation, taking into account the effects of natural washdown from rain, and variations between above- and below-deck exposure. On 2 March 1955, she departed Pearl Harbor for
Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...
, and inactivation. Decommissioning 29 June 1955, she was assigned to the Columbia River Group,
Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...
until 1 July 1960 when she was struck from the Navy List and transferred to the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet.


Vietnam War

Reinstated on the Navy List in the fall of 1965 and recommissioned a third time 18 June 1966, ''Patapsco'' was again assigned to the Pacific Fleet and homeported at Pearl Harbor. She completed refresher training in early September and on the 26th got underway for Subic Bay, Philippines, with jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and motor gasoline, Arriving 15 October, she soon departed to deliver, once again, vital POL supplies to a combat zone. Until mid-February 1967, with interruptions for R&R at Hong Kong and availability at Subic, she operated off
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
under ComNavSupAct,
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
, Huế, and Cửa Việt. She steamed back to Pearl Harbor, arriving 16 March. Upkeep, availability, and training and operational exercises followed and on 20 September she got underway for Guam, Subic Bay, and another tour off Vietnam. Completing that tour 25 April 1968, she remained in the Hawaiian area until 11 November, when she again headed west for duty off Vietnam. During 1969 she conducted POL support operations at Da Nang and Cửa Việt. ''Patapsco'' was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 August 1974. ''Patapsco'' was sold on 18 December 1979 to Mid Pacific Sea Harvesters Ltd for $56,480. She was renamed ''Arctic Storm'' and converted to a fishing trawler. ''Patapsco'' received one battle star for her World War II service and another for Korean service.


After Vietnam

''Patapsco'' was bought in 1979 by the owners of the fishing vessels ''Nordic Fury'' and ''Pacific Fury'' and renamed ''Arctic Storm''. A plan to convert into a processing ship for crab fishing was abandoned as crab populations drastically declined. ''Arctic Storm'' then spent four to five years laid up in
Lake Union Lake Union is a freshwater lake located entirely within the city limits of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is a major part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which carries fresh water from the much larger Lake Washington on the east to ...
, until local demand for North Pacific pollock and
cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...
rose. The ship's owners entered a partnership with ProFish International, Inc. to market fishing catches into the United States. ''Arctic Storm'' was converted to catch and process into
surimi is a paste made from Fish as food, fish or other meat. The term can also refer to a number of East Asian cuisine, East Asian foods that use that paste as their primary ingredient. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and is ofte ...
, a product common in Asian markets, yet at that time was virtually unknown in the United States. Oyang Fisheries of Korea joined the partnership in early 1985, and Arctic Storm, Inc. was formed in September 1986. ''Arctic Storm'' was reconstructed by the Seattle-based Wright Schuchart Harbor Company, and entered service with the new company in January 1988.


References

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External links


Photo of ''Patapsco''

Photo of present day "Arctic Storm" and article about her owners

Arctic Storm Management Group, LLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patapsco Patapsco-class gasoline tankers Ships built in Seattle 1942 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States Fishing ships of the United States