USS Agawam (AOG-6)

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USS Agawam (AOG-6) was a Patapsco-class gasoline tanker in the U.S. Navy. Named after the Agawam River, it was built by Cargill, Inc., Savage, Minnesota. Laid down September 7, 1942; launched May 6, 1943; and commissioned December 18, 1943. Its job was to carry gasoline to warships and remote Navy bases.

After leaving Galveston in January 1944, Agawam sailed to the Pacific. It reached Espiritu Santo in March 1944 and spent about ten months based at Tulagi in the Solomon Islands, refueling Allied ships and facilities. In early 1945 it moved to Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, and supported operations around Manila and Subic Bay. On April 1, 1945, it was loaned to the U.S. Army to supply aviation and motor gasoline to Army forces in Lingayen Gulf and Manila. After Japan surrendered, the ship refueled Army bases in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Shanghai, then returned to Nagasaki and supported occupation troops through January 1946.

Agawam then returned to the United States for overhaul, and served as a station ship at Guam until mid-1949, making trips to Japan, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Shanghai, and Truk. It based at Pearl Harbor from 1949, supplying gasoline to Alaska and other Central Pacific locations. In late 1953–1954 it operated again in the Philippines before resuming duties from Pearl Harbor. The ship left Hawaii for San Diego in November 1956, began inactivation, and was placed out of commission in reserve on January 31, 1957. Struck from the Navy list on July 1, 1960, it was transferred to the Maritime Administration and laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington. In October 1975 it was sold for scrapping.

Specifications: Length 310 ft 9 in; beam 48 ft 6 in; draft 15 ft 8 in. Displacement about 1,850 long tons (light) to 4,130 long tons (full load); capacity around 2,210 long tons DWT. Propulsion: four General Electric diesel-electric engines, 3,300 shaft horsepower, speed about 15.5 knots. Armament included four 3-inch/50 guns and twelve 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. Crew about 131.