- USS Kangaroo (IX-121)
USS "Kangaroo" (IX-121), an "Armadillo"-class tanker designated an
unclassified miscellaneous vessel , was the second ship of theUnited States Navy to be named for thekangaroo , a family of herbivorous, leaping,marsupial mammal s ofAustralia ,New Guinea , and adjacent islands. Her keel was laid down as "Paul Tulane" underMaritime Commission contract (T. Z-ET1-S-C3) byDelta Shipbuilding Company ,New Orleans ,Louisiana , on28 September 1943 . She was renamed "Kangaroo"27 October 1943 , launched on6 November 1943 sponsored by Mrs. Rufus C. Harris, acquired by the Navy on bareboat basis17 December , and commissioned on20 December with Lieutenant G. D. Lawson in command.Following shakedown in the
Gulf of Mexico , "Kangaroo" departedGuantanamo Bay Naval Base on24 January 1944 , transited thePanama Canal on28 January , and steamed toNoumea ,New Caledonia , arriving1 March . Assigned to the Service Force Pacific as a replacement for "Stag" (IX-128), she loaded fuel and supplies and departed forGuadalcanal on21 March . Upon arrival26 March , she commenced fueling operations, and for the next five months she replenishing ships in waters of theSolomon Islands .Departing
Tulagi on10 September , she sailed to theTonga Islands , received a cargo of fuel oil, and delivered her cargo atNoumea on5 October . For seven months she served as a shuttle and station tanker, transporting bunker oil from theFiji Islands andTonga Islands to bases in theNew Hebrides andNew Caledonia . After a voyage toNew Zealand for repairs, she departedAuckland on6 June to load fuel oil atAmerican Samoa . Subsequently, she conducted fueling operations in theSolomon Islands ,Eniwetok , and the WesternCaroline Islands before arrivingBuckner Bay ,Okinawa , on14 August to resume duty as a station tanker.While in the Pacific "Kangaroo" steamed over 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) and hauled more than 38,000,000 gallons (900,000 barrels, 144,000 cubic meters) of fuel oil and hundreds of drums of
lubricating oil for fighting ships of the Navy. During her service she refueled more than 80 ships, including tenaircraft carrier s, 34destroyer s, 20troop transport s, 12 cargo ships, and numerous merchantmen — not to mention storage barges, oilers, and tank farms."Kangaroo" departed
Okinawa on2 February 1946 , for theUnited States . Transiting thePanama Canal on9 March , she put intoNorfolk, Virginia , on30 April after a six-week anchorage atLynnhaven Roads andHampton Roads . "Kangaroo" decommissioned on13 May , and the following day she was turned over to theMaritime Commission for disposal.References
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