Agawam II (AOG-6)
1943-1960
A small river in eastern Massachusetts which empties into the Atlantic at the northwestern end of Buzzards Bay; and a town in Hampden County, Mass. Agawam is a Native American word meaning lowland, marsh, or meadow.
II
(AOG-6: displacement. 4,355; length 310'9"; beam 48'6"; draft 15'8"; speed 14 knots; complement 131; armament 4 3-inch, 12 20 millimeter; class Patapsco; type T1-MT-M1)
The second Agawam (AOG-6) was laid down on 7 September 1942 at Savage, Minn., by Cargill, Inc.; launched on 6 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. George F. Jacobs; and commissioned at New Orleans, La., on 18 December 1943, Lt. John W. Foster in command.
After a period of alterations and fitting out, the gasoline tanker left Galveston, Tex., on 24 January 1944, bound for the Pacific. She arrived at Espiritu Santo on 1 March and continued on to Tulagi. As a unit of Service Squadron (ServRon) 8, Agawam was based at that island in the Solomons for the next 10 months servicing Allied facilities located throughout the island group.
In September 1944, Agawam began a 27-day availability at Espiritu Santo and resumed her operations at Tulagi on 25 October. The gasoline tanker was detached from ServRon 8 on 28 January 1945 and got underway for Lingayen Gulf, Philippines. Upon her arrivalthere on 1 March, she was assigned to Service Force, Seventh Fleet, and for the next month engaged in routine operations between Manila, Subic Bay, and Lingayen Gulf.
On 1 April 1945, Agawam was transferred, on loan, to the U.S. Army for the support of its land-based forces. She delivered aviation and motor gasoline to Army forces for two months in lower Lingayen Gulf and subsequently performed the same services at Manila for three months.
A fortnight after Japan capitulated, the tanker was ordered to Tokyo. Routed via Okinawa, she reached Yokohama on 18 September 1944 and spent the next month there fueling Army installations ashore. On 25 October, the ship reported to Shanghai, China, for fueling operations at bases located along the Whangpoo River. She got underway to return to Japan on 26 November and moored at Nagasaki on the 28th.
The gasoline tanker remained actively engaged in logistic support of the occupation forces in Japan through January 1946. The ship was then returned to Navy custody and got underway on the 28th for the voyage back to the United States.
Upon her arrival at San Pedro, Calif., Agawam entered a shipyard for overhaul. Back in top shape, she sailed for Guam on 1 July 1946 and served as a station ship at that island until June 1949. During this period she made voyages to various ports in Japan; to Saipan; to Iwo Jima; to Shanghai, China; and to Truk.
In June 1949, Agawam switched her base of operations to Pearl Harbor. She carried gasoline to Alaska and various islands in the Central Pacific. On 13 November 1953, the tanker sailed for the Philippine Islands and served in that archipelago through April 1954.
Agawam then returned to Pearl Harbor and continued operating from that base supporting American installations throughout the Central Pacific. On 22 November 1956, Agawam left Hawaii, bound for San Diego, Calif. Upon her arrival, she began a preinactivation overhaul. Agawam was placed out of commission, in reserve, at San Diego on 31 January 1957.
Her name was stricken from the Navy list on 1 July 1960, and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Administration, and she was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet and laid up at Olympia, Wash. She was sold to Levin Metals in October 1975, presumably for scrapping.
Louann Parsons
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
6 January 2022
