Casinghead (YO-47)
1942-1997
Casinghead is an oil field term which signifies the means by which several sizes of casing are tightly connected below the derrick floor at the top of the hole.
(YO-47: displacement 1,731 (full load); length 235'0"; beam 37'0"; complement 34; class Bullwheel)
Casinghead (YO-47) was laid down on 15 May 1941 at Superior, Wisc., by Lake Superior Shipbuilding Co.; sponsored by Mrs. F. A. Russell; launched on 25 April 1942 and commissioned on 12 November 1942, Lt. Edward J. Randle, Jr., D-V(G), USNR, in command.
Casinghead sailed by way of the St. Lawrence Waterway for Boston, Mass., to complete fitting out, then continued on to Norfolk, Va., arriving on 1 February 1943. She fueled and de-fueled ships at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va., and transferred fuel to and from storage areas until 19 October when she got underway for the Pacific.
She arrived at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 3 December 1943 and fueled ships in the Hawaiian area, as well as carrying oil to the outlying areas of Canton, Johnston, and Palmyra, within the Fourteenth Naval District. In May 1945 she sailed west to base at Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands, and in September 1945 she arrived in Tokyo Bay, Japan, to fuel the occupation fleet.
Casinghead has remained active with the Fleet, based at Yokosuka, Japan, as a yard oiler. On 23 July 1947 she was placed out of commission, and from that date remained in an "in service" status until returning to the U.S. where she was placed out of service at Long Beach, California.
Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 21 August 1997, the vessel was to have been disposed-of by the Local Redevelopment Agency.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
5 April 2022
