- USS Platte (AO-24)
USS "Platte" (AO-24) was a "Cimarron"-class oiler serving with the
United States Navy , named for the 1836Platte Purchase that included thePlatte River s inIowa ,Missouri andNebraska . Her memorial in Platte County, Missouri honors all four rivers that share the name recorded byLewis and Clark in 1803."Platte" was built by the
Bethlehem Steel Company ,Baltimore, Maryland ; launched 8 July 1939; sponsored by Mrs.Harold R. Stark ; and commissioned atNorfolk, Virginia 1 December 1939, Commander P. L. Meadows in command.ervice history
After fitting out in the
Philadelphia Navy Yard "Platte" departed Norfolk 27 March 1940, making two voyages to the oil docks ofHouston, Texas , then supported the fleet operating from thePanama Canal Zone . During the next forty-five days she replenished fleet tugs USS|Capella|AK-13 and USS|Navajo|AT-64 who towed the huge floating drydockYFD–2 toPearl Harbor . "Platte" reached her new base ofSan Pedro, California 4 September. For the next fourteen months she carried liquid cargo, passengers and freight to Pearl Harbor. Her last voyage to Hawaii prior to outbreak of war terminated atSan Diego 26 November 1941 and she was in that port when theJapan ese struck Pearl Harbor.World War II
On 17 December "Platte" put to sea with a convoy for Pearl Harbor and was underway 11 January 1942 in company with famed aircraft carrier USS|Enterprise|CV-6, flagship of
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. , Commander ofTask Force 8 . She providedunderway replenishment services for this carrier task force as it guarded convoy lanes for the safety of troop and cargo ships reinforcing theSamoan Islands . "Platte" spent the next months refueling task forces on offensive patrol in theCoral Sea . She fueled theAustralian Squadron along with the USS|Lexington|CV-2 carrier task force and the USS|Yorktown|CV-5 carrier task force prior to the devastating carrier strikes onSalamaua andLae ,New Guinea . She then stood out to sea with "Enterprise" 28 May as all fleet units prepared to turn back the expected Japanese attack onMidway Island , fueling the "Enterprise" task force and the "Yorktown" task force just before theBattle of Midway . "Platte" then began her support ofSolomon Islands operations. She was in the ocean approaches to the Solomons the morning of 10 August, delivering fuel to the Enterprise carrier task group and two days later the USS|Saratoga|CV-3 carrier group. "Platte" returned toNoumea 14 August and again filled her cargo tanks from chartered tankers. She subsequently fueled the "Saratoga" USS|Wasp|CV-7, and "Enterprise" carrier task groups. After a return to the West Coast, she resumed her vital support to fleet units engaged in the bitter struggle forGuadalcanal and other Solomon Islands. Platte departed San Pedro 9 April 1943 to provide vital logistic support in the campaign to regain control of the westernAleutians from the Japanese, serving as station tanker inKulak Bay , Adak. After several runs between the West Coast and Pearl Harbor, "Platte" served with twelve other fleet oilers ofService Squadron 8 as one of a roving fueling task group which kept fuel going during theGilbert Islands campaign to some 200 combatant ships which remained at sea for 30 days without going into port. "Platte" was underway for theMarshall Islands the afternoon of 31 January 1944, fueling USS|Pennsylvania|BB-38 and six destroyers before standing out to sea 11 February. On 6 June "Platte" clearedMajuro Atoll withFast Carrier Task Force s for theMarianas Islands , fueling the "Yorktown" carrier task group 14 June in sight ofTinian Island , and completing her last fueling and third replenishment cruise for logistic support of the Marianas Operation 14 August. "Platte" loaded fuel and cargo atEniwetok , then made passage toSeeadler Harbor , Manus,Admiralty Islands . This harbor was her base of logistic operations in support of the occupation of certainPalau Islands ;Ulithi , in theCaroline Islands ; and Leyte andSamar in thePhilippines . She cleared that base 4 September and was off Palau to fuel numerous ships. "Platte" was underway from Manus 20 October with five other oilers and escorts to support the liberation of the Philippine Islands. After overhaul in the United States, "Platte" provided logistic support to combat ships in the forward area to the northeast of the Marianas Islands where she fueled carriers, cruisers,battleship s and destroyers engaged in the bitter struggle forIwo Jima and the supporting carrier strikes onTokyo . "Platte" stood out to sea 13 March to commence support of Fast Carrier Task Forces in the conquest of Okinawa. She terminated her support of theBattle of Okinawa upon her arrival at Ulithi 14 June and departed that port 3 July as part of the logistic support force of Fast CarrierTask Force 38 for the strikes againstHonshū , Japan. On 15 August word was received that PresidentHarry S. Truman had announced the agreement of Japan to surrender. "Platte" entered Tokyo Bay 10 September to act as station tanker in that port until 29 September when she got underway for return to theUnited States .Post-War
She arrived at
Yokohama , Japan, to support the occupation forces 4 February 1946. During the next twelve months she constantly shuttled from the oil docks ofBahrain andSaudi Arabia , to support fleet operations at principal ports of Japan,Korea , and the Philippine Islands. In the following months she gave logistic support to the fleet at ports of Japan;Buckner Bay , Okinawa; and Tsingtao,China . Fleet tactics off the coast of Southern California and upkeep in theLong Beach Naval Shipyard andMare Island Navy Yard s were followed by another cruise to the Far East.Korea
On 22 February 1951 "Platte" left the
Hawaiian Islands astern and set her course by way of the Marshall Islands and Okinawa forSasebo, Japan . She reached the last named port 2 April and was offSongjin , Korea, 4 April to deliver fuel to cruiser USS|Saint Paul|CA-73 and five destroyers of theUnited Nations Escort and Blockade Force on the east coast of Korea. This was the first of an endless chain of logistic support runs from Sasebo to the coast of Korea where she also gave vital fuel andaviation gasoline to the fast attack carriers USS|Boxer|CV-21, USS|Philippine Sea|CV-47, and USS|Bon Homme Richard|CV-31. "Platte" entered the harbor ofKeelung , Formosa, 17 May to serve as station tanker for the ships onFormosa Patrol . She resumed replenishment of the fleet off Korea from Sasebo 30 June. "Platte" commenced a second tour of service in support of the warships on Formosa Patrol and those operating in combat areas off the coast of Korea 3 January 1952. She reached Sasebo 3 May 1953 for a third tour of duty in support of the United Nations Forces in Korea. She continued operations in theEast China Sea and offInchon after the truce agreement and put to sea from Yokosuka 24 October for return toLong Beach, California 10 November. "Platte" stood out of San Diego Harbor 17 March 1954 and touched at Yokosuka on her way toSubic Bay in the Philippine Islands, thence to Formosa andHong Kong before arrival at Sasebo. She returned to Long Beach 2 October and had completed six similar tours in support ofUS 7th Fleet operations in the Far East by 28 June 1960. A unit ofService Squadron 3 on each of these tours in the Far East, her operations in support of the 7th Fleet carried her to every principal port of Japan, the Philippines, Okinawa, Formosa and Korea. Her operations on the West Coast which intervened this service were underService Squadron 1 .Vietnam
"Platte" made almost yearly deployments to the western
Pacific Ocean from 1960 to 1968, including extensive operations inVietnam ese waters and refueling the USS|Enterprise|CVN-65 task group off Korea during thePueblo incident . Platte served with the Pacific Fleet into 1970. She was sold for scrapping on 14 May 1971. "Platte" received 11battle stars forWorld War II service, 6 battle stars forKorean War service, and 8 campaign stars forVietnam War service.References
External links
* [http://www.ussplatte.com/ USS Platte Association]
** [http://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/navy/uss_platte.htm Platte - Korean War Project]
** [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/k16000/k18468.jpgUSS Platte UNREP Photo]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p8/platte.htm history.navy.mil: USS "Platte"]
*navsource|09/19024|Platte
* [http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/ao24.htm hazegray.org: USS "Platte"]
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