- USS Giraffe (IX-118)
USS "Giraffe" (IX-118),an "Armadillo"-class tanker designatedan
unclassified miscellaneous vessel , was the only ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for thegiraffe , a largeruminant mammal ofAfrica , having a very long neck that makes it the tallest ofquadruped s. Her keel was laid down as "Sanford B. Dole" by theCalifornia Shipbuilding Corporation , inWilmington, California . She was launched on11 November 1943 sponsored by Miss Mary F. Leddy and commissioned on12 December 1943 with Lieutenant Commander Frederick F. Daly, USNR, commanding.Following shakedown, "Giraffe" put in at
Funafuti ,Ellice Islands , on10 February 1944 and subsequently refueled warships atEniwetok ,Saipan ,Guam ,Ulithi , andPalau before reachingOkinawa on21 July 1945 . She entered Sasebo,Japan , on20 November at war's end and served the occupation fleet until departingYokosuka on21 February 1946 forPearl Harbor andNorfolk, Virginia . "Giraffe" reached Norfolk3 May and decommissioned there17 June 1946 . Returned to the War Department that date, she was stricken from theNaval Vessel Register on3 July 1946 . She was subsequently sold toMetro Petroleum Shipping Company , Inc."Giraffe" was awarded two
battle star s forWorld War II service.References
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