USS Jason (AC-12)
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History | |
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Name | USS Jason (AC-12) |
Namesake | Jason |
Ordered | August 1911[1] |
Builder | Maryland Steel Company |
Laid down | 26 March 1912 |
Launched | 16 November 1912 |
Commissioned | 26 June 1913 |
Decommissioned | 30 June 1932 |
Stricken | 19 May 1936 |
Fate | Sold into mercantile service 29 July 1936; sold for scrapping Baltimore, Maryland 1948 |
General characteristics | |
Displacement | 19,250 Tons |
Length | 536 ft (163 m) |
Beam | 65 ft (20 m) |
Draft | 27 ft 8 in (8.43 m) |
Propulsion | Coal-fueled vertical triple-expansion steam engines, two screws |
Speed | 14.32 k |
Complement | 82 |
Armament | 4 × 4 inch/50 |
Aircraft carried | Up to 12 aircraft as a depot ship, or up to 24 as an aviation transport |
USS Jason (AC-12/AV-2) was a collier in service with the United States Navy from 1913 to 1932. She was then sold into commercial service and served as SS Jason until she was scrapped in 1948.
History
USS Jason was laid down 26 March 1912 and launched 16 November 1912 by
On the morning of 7 March 1913 in Baltimore harbor, 300 tons of dynamite bound for use in
During
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/USS_Jason_%28AV-2%29_in_the_drydock_USS_Dewey_%28YFD-1%29%2C_at_Olongapo%2C_Philippine_Islands%2C_on_9_March_1932_%2880-CF-22672-1%29.jpg/220px-USS_Jason_%28AV-2%29_in_the_drydock_USS_Dewey_%28YFD-1%29%2C_at_Olongapo%2C_Philippine_Islands%2C_on_9_March_1932_%2880-CF-22672-1%29.jpg)
Jason departed Norfolk 25 October, fueled ships off
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/SS_Jason_underway_in_the_Atlantic_ocean_in_26_May_1943_%2880-G-68138%29.jpg/220px-SS_Jason_underway_in_the_Atlantic_ocean_in_26_May_1943_%2880-G-68138%29.jpg)
For the next two years Jason continued fueling operations, including one cruise to the West Coast March–June 1915. During the early months of the war she operated with the
After the war the fuel ship made two cruises to Europe with coal and general cargo before being detached from NOTS 22 July 1919. Jason sailed from Norfolk 31 July to join the Pacific Train (having been reclassified AC12 on 17 July 1920). Six months later she returned to the East Coast and 21 September 1920 sailed with coal and stores for the ships in European waters. Upon returning to the United States, she loaded airplanes and artillery equipment and departed Philadelphia 24 January 1921 for Guam.[2]
Jason operated in the Pacific for two years performing fueling operations along the coast. During 1923 she cruised to Nicaragua, embarked Marines stationed there, and returned them to Norfolk. She arrived San Diego 5 May and resumed transport and fueling services until 1925. She also transported a load of Douglas DT-2 torpedo bomber floatplanes to Pearl Harbor during July 1923.[2]
Jason departed Pearl Harbor 2 May 1925 for service with the air squadron in the Far East as the official depot ship for the aircraft of the Asiatic Fleet, since the naval treaties forbade basing aircraft ashore in the Philippines. After arriving in the Philippines 25 May, she carried Marines to China to protect American interests. From 1925 to 1932 Jason operated in the Far East, engaging in transport duties and acting as a floating base supporting the Asiatic Fleet's air squadron. As an aside, the 1922 Washington Treaty and the associated Four-Power Treaty forbade the establishment of permanent air facilities ashore in the Philippines, and Jason was assigned to replace Ajax as the depot ship in the Philippines for American naval aviation in the islands, basing the six SC-2 (and the later T3M-2) seaplane torpedo bombers of VT-5A (originally established as VT-20)[6] and the six O2U-1 seaplane scouts of VS-8A (Asiatic Fleet detachments).
Peace in China was constantly jeopardized by warlike factions within and aggression from without. Jason and the other members of the
Decommissioning and fate
Jason was then converted to a commercial bulk carrier and was scrapped in 1948.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- ^ "Loss to Collier Jason Falls on her Builders and not Government". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 8 March 1913. p. 4. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Jason I". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ "Death to Scores in Furious Blast". The Washington Post. 8 March 1913. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ The Federal Reporter: With Key-number Annotations ..., Volume 213. St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Company. 1914. pp. 51–87. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ "Our Navy Department News". Our Navy, the Standard Publication of the U.S. Navy. VII (1): 12. 1913. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ISBN 9780160491245. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Roosevelt, Bureau's First Pribilof Tender". AFSC Historical Corner. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Photo gallery at navsource.org