USS Pasig (AW-3)

USS Pasig (AW-3) in 1945.
History
Name: USS Pasig
Builder: Marinship Corporation, Sausalito, California
Laid down: 18 May 1944
Launched: 15 July 1944
Commissioned: 11 December 1944
Decommissioned: February 1947
Recommissioned: 15 March 1951
Decommissioned: 15 June 1955
Struck: 1 July 1960
Honors and
awards:		 6 battle stars (Korea)
Fate: Sold for scrapping 16 October 1975.
General characteristics
Type: Pasig-class distilling ship
Displacement:
  • 6,640 long tons (6,747 t) light
  • 23,350 long tons (23,725 t) full
Length: 523 ft 6 in (159.56 m)
Beam: 68 ft (21 m)
Draft: 30 ft 10 in (9.40 m)
Propulsion: Turbo-electric, single propeller
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement: 265 officers and enlisted
Armament:

USS Pasig (AW-3) was one of four water distilling ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. The lead ship in her class, she was named for the Pasig River (the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name) which flows through Manila on the Island of Luzon, Philippines.

Originally laid down as SS Mission San Xavier, a Maritime Commission T2-SE-A2 tanker (MC hull 1826) by the Marinship Corporation of Sausalito, California on 18 May 1944; renamed USS Pasig (AO–91) on 3 July 1944; launched on 15 July 1944, sponsored by Mrs. John A. McCone; redesignated USS Pasig (AW–3) on 28 August 1944; acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 21 October 1944; and commissioned on 11 December 1944 with Lieutenant Commander Clarke M. Williams in command.

Service history

World War II, 1944–1947

Following shakedown off California, Pasig sailed on 3 March 1945 to begin her mission of distilling and supplying fresh water to units of the Allied navies in the western Pacific. She arrived at Ulithi on 23 March and immediately commenced supplying water to landing craft, preparing for the Okinawa campaign, merchant vessels, and various harbor craft. With no natural water supply at Ulithi, Pasig refilled periodically from tankers from the Philippines, or made trips to the closest natural source. On 7 May she departed for a water run to Manus, whence, redirected, she steamed northeast to Eniwetok. There she joined ServDiv 102 and continued to supply Pacific Fleet units, and bases ashore, with fresh water until ordered back to the United States for inactivation in late 1946. Decommissioned in February 1947, she was berthed at San Diego, California until war again broke out in the Far East.

Korean War, 1951–1955

Recommissioned on 15 March 1951 Pasig reported to MSTS WestPac at Yokosuka in April. For 37 continuous months her 120,000 gallon/day distilling plant provided fresh water, for human and machine consumption, to units of the United Nations forces operating in Korean and Japanese waters. In 1954 she was again designated for inactivation and, in May, she departed Yokosuka for the West Coast.

Decommissioning

Decommissioned for the last time on 15 June 1955, she entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until transferred to the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington in June 1960. On 1 July 1960 Pasig's name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 16 October 1975, to Levin Metals Corp.

Awards

Pasig received 6 battle stars for her service during the Korean War.

See also

Media related to USS Pasig (AW-3) at Wikimedia Commons

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.