USS Gazelle (IX-116), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel

Unclassified miscellaneous vessel

The IX hull classification symbol is used for ships of the United States Navy that do not fit into one of the standard categories...

, was the third ship of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 to be named for the gazelle

Gazelle

A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...

, any of numerous small, graceful, and swift antelope

Antelope

Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...

s, with lustrous eyes, found especially in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, northern Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

, and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. She was built as an auxiliary oiler, launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 9 November 1943 by the California Shipbuilding Corporation

California Shipbuilding Corporation

California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including Haskell-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship...

, at Wilmington, California, as SS Cyrus K. Holliday sponsored by Mrs. J. E. Stewart, and acquired by the Navy and simultaneously commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 on 29 November 1943 with Lieutenant Joseph P. Marshall in command.

Gazelle sailed from Wilmington on 9 January 1944 for Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

, where she was assigned to Rear Admiral Turner's Southern Attack Force for the imminent assault on Kwajalein

Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...

. Underway with the task force 28 January, she entered Kwajalein Lagoon on 2 February 1944 and began fueling operations in the midst of the furious fighting. For two weeks she fueled combatant ships, including battleships
New Mexico (BB-40)

USS New Mexico (BB-40)

USS New Mexico was a battleship in service with the United States Navy from 1918 to 1946. She was the lead ship of a class of three battleships. New Mexico was extensively modernized between 1931 and 1933 and saw service during World War II both in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres. After her...

,
Mississippi (BB-23)

USS Mississippi (BB-23)

USS Mississippi , the lead ship of her class of battleships, was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of the U.S. state of Mississippi. After her career in the USN, she was sold to Greece and renamed Kilkis in 1914...

,
Idaho (BB-42)

USS Idaho (BB-42)

USS Idaho , a , was the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the 43rd state. Her keel was laid down by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey...

,
many cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s, escort carriers, and smaller warships.

Her mission accomplished, Gazelle stood out 15 February for further combat duties. She steamed into Eniwetok Lagoon on 18 February to support the amphibious invasion of that strategic island. Here in the front line of fighting she fueled several destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 divisions before sailing 26 February for Kwajalein, where she issued fuel to American warships until getting underway 1 April for Pearl Harbor, arriving 12 April.

One week later she sailed for Majuro

Majuro

Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...

, arriving 27 April, and subsequently continued fueling operations and shuttle runs through submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

-infested waters to Majuro

Majuro

Majuro , is a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll itself has a land area of and encloses a lagoon of...

, Roi

Roi-Namur

Roi-Namur is an island in the northern part of the Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.Occupied by Japanese forces prior to World War II, it was the target of the U.S. 4th Marine Division in the Battle of Kwajalein, in February 1944....

, Kwajalein

Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll , is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island. English-speaking residents of the U.S...

, and Eniwetok through the summer of 1944, until reaching Ulithi

Ulithi

Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...

 on 15 October. Gazelle escaped damage when Japanese midget submarines penetrated the harbor net and patrol defenses at Ulithi on 20 November and sank oiler Mississinewa, moored 2000 yards (1,828.8 m) away. Underway once more on 10 January 1945, the ship reached Palau

Palau

Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...

 two days later and served there until arriving Leyte

Leyte Island

Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines.The island measures about 180 km north-south and about 65 km at its widest point. In the north it nearly joins Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 km in some places...

 on 28 February. While at Leyte she fueled some 100 Allied ships during the next six months.

Gazelle sailed 13 September for Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, arriving Jinsen on 28 September, and joined the Korean Service Group, Seventh Fleet. She remained in Korea through October 1945.

Gazelle reached Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, on 28 February 1946 and decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 there on 9 May 1946. Returned to the War Shipping Administration

War Shipping Administration

The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....

 the next day, she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 21 May 1946. In 1948 she was sold to Intercontinental S.S. Corporation and renamed Evistar.

Gazelle earned one battle star for World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

service.