The
USS Chepachet (AO-78)
was sponsored by Mrs. I. G. Klemmer and launched on March 10,
1943 by the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Chester,
Pennsylvania under a Maritime Commission contract,
(MC Hull 340).
The ship was commissioned on April 27, 1943 with Lieutenant
Commander H. R. Adams in command.
Between July 27,
1943 and June 19, 1944, Chepachet supported military operations
in North Africa as a member of five different convoys carrying
oil to Casablanca and Oran. On July
15, 1944, Chepachet departed Aruba for the Pacific
theater and arrived in Humboldt Bay, New Guinea on
August 17th for duty fueling combatant ships, small craft and
merchantmen.
Assigned to a key
support role in the invasion of the Philippines; Chepachet
departed New Guinea on October 12, 1944, headed for
Kossol Roads and final preparations for the assault. She
arrived in Leyte Gulf on October 23rd, bringing
vital assistance to the ships which fought the Japanese in the
decisive victory at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. During the next
two weeks, Chepachet transferred fuel to 34 different ships,
some of them several times while her crew manned antiaircraft
guns as well as fueling lines. Chepachet steamed south to Kossol
Roads and reloaded from October 30th to November 3rd; returning
to Leyte Gulf on the 4th of November, she commenced fueling
operations again from November 7th to November 10th.
From November 14
to December 27, 1944, Chepachet served at various South Pacific
ports as the station oiler, receiving oil brought in by naval
and merchant tankers and transferring it to combatants. She
departed for the Philippines again on December 27th; arriving on
January 8, 1945. On January 11th, Chepachet began fueling
operations for the ships, which had just carried out the
successful assaults at Lingayen Gulf and on
January 15th, she reported to San Fabian for
station tanker duty, which continued until June 4th. That same
day, Chepachet sailed for Tawi Tawi to take part
in the Borneo operation. She was at sea from June 21st to June
25th, fueling the bombardment group which carried out the
intensive preparatory shelling at Balikpapan.
Chepachet returned to Balikpapan on June 30th for the assault
the following day. She remained off the Borneo coast until July
19th, supporting the assault and occupation and then returned to
Subic Bay for operations in the Luzon
area until the close of the war.
Chepachet aided
in occupation and redeployment operations throughout the Far
East with duty stations at Jinsen, Korea;
Hong Kong; Okinawa; and Tokyo
until December 9, 1945, when she sailed for Pearl Harbor. She
returned to Yokohama, Japan on January 29,
1946, offloaded cargo, and sailed for the West Coast on February
4th. She arrived in San Francisco on February 21,
1946 and was decommissioned on May 15, 1946. Chepachet was
transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service
(MSTS)
on October 1, 1949 and redesignated as a Transport Oiler
(T-AOT-78).
USS
Chepachet (AOT-78)
was placed in reserve commission on July 18, 1950 and stricken
from the Naval List on April 1, 1980. She received two battle
stars for her World War II service.
Sources:
Dictionary of American Naval
Fighting Ships (1959-1991)
U.S. Navy Ship 20th Century Historical Database |