| Gargoyle -- a tanker built in 1921 at Oakland, California,
by the Moore Shipbuilding Co. -- was renamed Arethusa by the Navy
and designated IX-135 on 3 November 1943; acquired by the Navy on 23 March
1944 from the War Shipping Administration on a bareboat basis for use as
a mobile floating storage tanker; and placed in commission on that same day
at Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, Lt. Walter J. Tross in command. |
| Arethusa remained at Majuro through early June providing
fuel to various ships of the Fleet. She got underway on 8 June and proceeded
to Eniwetok, where she resumed her fueling operations. The tanker sailed
on 19 August for the Admiralty Islands, reached Manus on the 28th, and once
again dispensed fuel to Allied ships. The tanker headed for the Philippine
Islands on 12 October to support Fleet units about to begin the reconquest
of that archipelago. She reached Leyte Gulf on the 20th and commenced fueling
operations. |
| Arethusa shaped a course back to Manus in early January
1945 and operated there through 5 May, when she got underway for the Western
Caroline Islands. The vessel reached Ulithi four days later and resumed fueling
services. The ship weighed anchor once again on 22 June and set a course
for Kerama Retto in the Ryukyus. She was stationed at Okinawa when the Japanese
surrendered in mid-August 1945 and continued operations at that island until
mid-December. |
| Arethusa then moved to Subic Bay, Philippines. She provided
fuel to fleet ships at that port through 3 March 1946, when the vessel got
underway for home. She reached Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 28 March and remained
there for a short period of voyage repairs. The ship left Hawaiian waters
on 5 April and steamed into San Francisco Bay on the 15th. She was decommissioned
at San Francisco on 16 May 1946 and returned to the War Shipping Administration
on that same day. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 5 June 1946.
The vessel was sold to Kaiser Co., Inc., on 8 December 1947, and was subsequently
scrapped. |
| Arethusa won two battle stars for her World War II
service. |
Displacement, 15,800; Length, 438' 6"; Beam, 57';
Draft, 26' 8'; Speed, 10. 5 knots; Complement, 72; Armament, one 4", one
3", eight 20mm |
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