USS Ontonagon

History
United States
Name	USS Ontonagon
Namesake	Ontonagon River in Michigan
Ordered	as T1-M-A2) tanker hull MC-1799
Laid down	10 May 1944
Launched	14 June 1944
Commissioned	21 September 1944
Decommissioned	27 February 1946
In service	as USAT Ontonagon 27 February 1946
Out of service	1 July 1950
Stricken	13 November 1957
Reinstated	as USNS Ontonagon (T-AOG-36), 1952-1957
Fate	fate unknown
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,228 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Displacement	846 tons(lt) 2,270 tons(fl)
Length	220 ft 6 in
Beam	37 ft
Draught	17 ft
Propulsion	Diesel direct drive, single screw, 720 hp
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement	62
Armament	one single 40 mm guns, three single 20 mm gun mounts

USS Ontonagon (AOG-36) was a

for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations.

Ontonagon, ex MC hull 1799, was laid down 10 May 1944 by the East Coast Ship Yard Inc., Bayonne, New Jersey; launched 30 June 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Riva Halpern; and commissioned 21 September 1944.

World War II service

Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Ontonagon cleared Norfolk, Virginia, for the Caribbean, whence, after taking on a petroleum cargo, she continued on to the Pacific Ocean.

Pacific Ocean operations

Assigned to

, she refueled ships in that anchorage as her departure date was postponed.

End-of-war activity

On 22 June she sailed for

.

Assigned to the Army as USAT Ontonagon

Arriving 6 days later, she operated in Manila and Subic Bays until decommissioned, at Manila, 27 February, and transferred to the Army Transport Service as USAT Ontonagon.

Assigned to the Navy as USNS Ontonagon (T-AOG-36)

Within a week of the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Ontonagon was reacquired by the Navy for use in MSTS. Placed in service as USNS Ontonagon (T-AOG-36) and manned by a civil service crew, she once again plied the waters of the Pacific to keep the oil life line to a combat area open. In January 1952 she began direct support to fleet units and bases in the combat zone, maintaining that support as a shuttle ship between Japan and Korea until June 1954.

Stateside and decommissioning

Returned to the west coast in September, she was placed out of service and transferred to the

.

Returned to service with MSTS

Ontonagon returned to

Suisun Bay, California

, 25 September 1956.

Final decommissioning and scrapping

On 13 November 1957, she was struck from the

Maritime Administration

. She was scrapped in 1964.

Military awards and honors

Ontonagon received one

.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

External links

• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AOG-36 Ontonagon