USS Salinas (AO-19)
Encyclopedia
USS Salinas (AO-19), a United States Navy oiler
, was laid down for the United States Shipping Board
(USSB) as Hudsonian (219592) on 10 April 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; launched on 5 May 1920; accepted by the USSB on 13 May 1920; transferred to the Navy on 29 October 1921; renamed Salinas and designated AO-19 on 3 November 1921; and commissioned at Mobile, Ala., on 16 December 1921, Lt. Comdr. H. S. Chase, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval Transportation Service, Salinas was initially in commission for only a little over six months. She was decommissioned at Norfolk on 20 June 1922 and remained in reserve until recommissioned at Norfolk on 12 June 1926. The following September, she commenced carrying fuel from naval fuel depots and Caribbean
and Texas
oil ports to Navy bases and stations on the east and west coasts, in the Caribbean, in the Panama Canal Zone
, and, in the late 1920s, to Marine Corps units in Nicaragua
. Periodically interrupted for overhauls and fleet exercises; and, in 1938, for a transatlantic run to Britain, she maintained a continuous operating schedule in those areas until late in the 1930s.
Then, with tension increasing in Europe
, she confined her operations to runs between Gulf coast and Caribbean oil ports and bases in Cuba
and on the east coast. In September 1939, World War II
broke out in Europe. Hostilities soon spread across the ocean. The United States
commenced neutrality patrols and escort services in the western Atlantic, and Salinas, now armed, shifted her runs further north, and then east, to include bases in Canada
and Iceland
.
During August 1941, the AO served as station oiler at NS Argentia
, Newfoundland
. She joined a convoy for Iceland in September. She arrived at Reykjavík
early in October and departed that port on 23 October, in ballast, for the mid-ocean meeting point where she rendezvoused with convoy ON 28 on 25 September. From there, the tanker moved west to return to the United States. At 0700 (GCT) on the 30th, her position was 46° 56'N, 37°46'W (about 700 miles (1,126.5 km) east of Newfoundland) http://www.america-at-war.net/wwii1941.html. Visibility was about 1000 yards (914.4 m). Twelve minutes later, Salinas took a torpedo fired by U-106 commanded by Hermann Rasch
, portside, at her number 9 tank. A second torpedo followed, hitting portside at tanks 2 and 3. Salinas settled to near her loaded waterline and remained there.
A submarine was sighted on the surface at 0730, close aboard on the starboard quarter. The U-boat fired three torpedoes, all misses — two ahead, one astern of the damaged oiler — then submerged. Salinas's stern gun opened fire on the disappearing U-boat, possibly hitting it. USS DuPont (DD-152) then moved in and dropped a string of depth charges on the submarine's estimated position.
Salinas's crew, having suffered no serious injuries, began to clear the wreckage. DuPont and USS Lea (DD-118)
stood by. At 1150, the oiler's engineering department signaled "ready to proceed", and, at 1155, Salinas continued westward with Lea as escort. USCGC Campbell rendezvoused with the damaged oiler and her escort on 31 September. USS Cherokee (ATF-66) joined them on 2 November, but her services as a tug were not needed; on the evening of 3 November Salinas reached St. John's Bay.
From Newfoundland, Salinas moved south, to Brooklyn, New York, for repairs. Yard work was completed at midnight on 1 April 1942. She left the repair yard on 2 April and departed New York
for Chesapeake Bay
on 5 April. She arrived at Norfolk on 10 April to take on cargo fuel and miscellaneous cargo; on 17 April she sailed north again. Routed first to Halifax, she joined convoy SC 81 there on 22 April, and continued on to Reykjavík on 23 April, arriving on 8 May. For the next 19 days, she fueled Allied ships in Icelandic anchorages. She moved west on 27 May and arrived at Boston, Massachusetts on 12 June. By July, she was back in Canadian waters to serve as station oiler at Argentia. She put into Sydney, Nova Scotia
on 1 August to take on more cargo; on 5 August she headed for Greenland
, where she supplied fueling services to units based at Kungnat Bay, Sondrestromfjord, and Tunugdliarfikfjord. On 24 September she returned to Nova Scotia, whence she continued on to New York.
Through 1943, Salinas continued to move petroleum products to bases in the Atlantic provinces and in Greenland. On 9 January 1944, she completed her last run from St. John's to New York, and on 12 January she headed for the Caribbean. Into March, she shuttled fuel from the Netherlands West Indies to Guantanamo Bay
, Cuba
; then moved south to the Panama Canal
. She transited the canal on 19 March, arrived at San Pedro, California on 2 April, and sailed for Alaska
two days later.
Salinas arrived at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska
on 17 April 1944. Routed on, she anchored in Massacre Bay
, Attu
and discharged her first cargo in the Aleutians on 21 April. On that run, she also delivered fuel to Kuluk Bay and Dutch Harbor. Then, in May, she headed for Seattle, whence she shuttled gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, and cargo to the Aleutians until after the end of World War II.
Salinas, ordered inactivated, departed Dutch Harbor for the last time in mid-October. A week later, she arrived at San Francisco where she was decommissioned on 16 January 1946. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 26 February 1946, and she was transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 1 July of the same year. It appears the Salinas was sold to the Hillcone Shipping Company. The Salinas was involved in a minor maritime accident in June, 1950, when it was delivering oil to the Time Oil Company docks near the Ballard Locks . The ship ran aground in Shilshole Bay
. No reported oil spill was recorded at that time, and the ship was reported taken back to San Pedro, California for repairs to its hull plates.
United States Navy oiler
In the United States Navy, an Oiler is a Combat Logistics ship that replenishes other ships with fuel and in some cases food, mail, ammunition and other necessities while at sea, in a process called Underway Replenishment or UNREP...
, was laid down for the United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
(USSB) as Hudsonian (219592) on 10 April 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; launched on 5 May 1920; accepted by the USSB on 13 May 1920; transferred to the Navy on 29 October 1921; renamed Salinas and designated AO-19 on 3 November 1921; and commissioned at Mobile, Ala., on 16 December 1921, Lt. Comdr. H. S. Chase, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval Transportation Service, Salinas was initially in commission for only a little over six months. She was decommissioned at Norfolk on 20 June 1922 and remained in reserve until recommissioned at Norfolk on 12 June 1926. The following September, she commenced carrying fuel from naval fuel depots and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
oil ports to Navy bases and stations on the east and west coasts, in the Caribbean, in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, and, in the late 1920s, to Marine Corps units in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. Periodically interrupted for overhauls and fleet exercises; and, in 1938, for a transatlantic run to Britain, she maintained a continuous operating schedule in those areas until late in the 1930s.
Then, with tension increasing in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, she confined her operations to runs between Gulf coast and Caribbean oil ports and bases in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and on the east coast. In September 1939, 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...
broke out in Europe. Hostilities soon spread across the ocean. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
commenced neutrality patrols and escort services in the western Atlantic, and Salinas, now armed, shifted her runs further north, and then east, to include bases in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
.
During August 1941, the AO served as station oiler at NS Argentia
Naval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...
, Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
. She joined a convoy for Iceland in September. She arrived at Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
early in October and departed that port on 23 October, in ballast, for the mid-ocean meeting point where she rendezvoused with convoy ON 28 on 25 September. From there, the tanker moved west to return to the United States. At 0700 (GCT) on the 30th, her position was 46° 56'N, 37°46'W (about 700 miles (1,126.5 km) east of Newfoundland) http://www.america-at-war.net/wwii1941.html. Visibility was about 1000 yards (914.4 m). Twelve minutes later, Salinas took a torpedo fired by U-106 commanded by Hermann Rasch
Hermann Rasch
Hermann Rasch was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, portside, at her number 9 tank. A second torpedo followed, hitting portside at tanks 2 and 3. Salinas settled to near her loaded waterline and remained there.
A submarine was sighted on the surface at 0730, close aboard on the starboard quarter. The U-boat fired three torpedoes, all misses — two ahead, one astern of the damaged oiler — then submerged. Salinas's stern gun opened fire on the disappearing U-boat, possibly hitting it. USS DuPont (DD-152) then moved in and dropped a string of depth charges on the submarine's estimated position.
Salinas's crew, having suffered no serious injuries, began to clear the wreckage. DuPont and USS Lea (DD-118)
USS Lea (DD-118)
USS Lea was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. She was named in honor of Edward Lea, a US Navy officer killed during the Civil War....
stood by. At 1150, the oiler's engineering department signaled "ready to proceed", and, at 1155, Salinas continued westward with Lea as escort. USCGC Campbell rendezvoused with the damaged oiler and her escort on 31 September. USS Cherokee (ATF-66) joined them on 2 November, but her services as a tug were not needed; on the evening of 3 November Salinas reached St. John's Bay.
From Newfoundland, Salinas moved south, to Brooklyn, New York, for repairs. Yard work was completed at midnight on 1 April 1942. She left the repair yard on 2 April and departed New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
on 5 April. She arrived at Norfolk on 10 April to take on cargo fuel and miscellaneous cargo; on 17 April she sailed north again. Routed first to Halifax, she joined convoy SC 81 there on 22 April, and continued on to Reykjavík on 23 April, arriving on 8 May. For the next 19 days, she fueled Allied ships in Icelandic anchorages. She moved west on 27 May and arrived at Boston, Massachusetts on 12 June. By July, she was back in Canadian waters to serve as station oiler at Argentia. She put into Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
on 1 August to take on more cargo; on 5 August she headed for Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, where she supplied fueling services to units based at Kungnat Bay, Sondrestromfjord, and Tunugdliarfikfjord. On 24 September she returned to Nova Scotia, whence she continued on to New York.
Through 1943, Salinas continued to move petroleum products to bases in the Atlantic provinces and in Greenland. On 9 January 1944, she completed her last run from St. John's to New York, and on 12 January she headed for the Caribbean. Into March, she shuttled fuel from the Netherlands West Indies to Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
; then moved south to the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. She transited the canal on 19 March, arrived at San Pedro, California on 2 April, and sailed for Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
two days later.
Salinas arrived at Dutch Harbor, Unalaska, Alaska
Unalaska, Alaska
Unalaska is a city in the Aleutians West Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska is located on Unalaska Island and neighboring Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands off of mainland Alaska....
on 17 April 1944. Routed on, she anchored in Massacre Bay
Massacre Bay
Massacre Bay is an inlet on the southeast coast of the island of Attu in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.Massacre Bay was among the landing sites of United States Army troops in the Battle of Attu in May 1943, which led to the recapture of the island from the Japanese during World War...
, Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
and discharged her first cargo in the Aleutians on 21 April. On that run, she also delivered fuel to Kuluk Bay and Dutch Harbor. Then, in May, she headed for Seattle, whence she shuttled gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, and cargo to the Aleutians until after the end of World War II.
Salinas, ordered inactivated, departed Dutch Harbor for the last time in mid-October. A week later, she arrived at San Francisco where she was decommissioned on 16 January 1946. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 26 February 1946, and she was transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 1 July of the same year. It appears the Salinas was sold to the Hillcone Shipping Company. The Salinas was involved in a minor maritime accident in June, 1950, when it was delivering oil to the Time Oil Company docks near the Ballard Locks . The ship ran aground in Shilshole Bay
Shilshole Bay
Shilshole Bay is the part of Puget Sound east of a line drawn northeasterly from Seattle's West Point in the southwest to its Golden Gardens Park in the northeast. On its shores lie Discovery Park, the Lawtonwood section of the Magnolia neighborhood, the neighborhood of Ballard, and Golden Gardens...
. No reported oil spill was recorded at that time, and the ship was reported taken back to San Pedro, California for repairs to its hull plates.