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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • World War II 1939-1945
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Roamer II (AF-19)

1942-1946

The second Roamer also retained the name she carried at the time of her acquisition.

II

(AF-19: displacement 2,550; length 318'6"; beam 42'7"; draft 18'5"; speed 13 knots; complement 41; armament 1 4-inch, 2 20 millimeter, 4 .50 caliber machine guns)

The second Roamer (AF-19) was built in 1935 as Roamer by the Maskinbygger Machine & Iron Works, Elsinore, Denmark; was taken over by the United States after the fall of Denmark; operated by the War Shipping Administration in the Caribbean and South Pacific; acquired by the Navy from the WSA under bareboat charter 22 July 1942; and commissioned at Auckland, New Zealand, on 30 August 1942, Cmdr. Maximillian B. De Leshe in command.

The storeship arrived at New Caledonia on 15 September 1942, returned to Auckland on 8 October, and reached Espiritu Santo 27 December. She continued runs from Auckland to the New Hebrides, and to Guadalcanal, until April 1944. She then stopped at Pago Pago, Tongatabu, Funafuti, Wallis, Tutuila, and Efate.

Returning to Noumea on 2 May, she touched at Suva, Funafuti, Tutuila, and Tongatabu before returning to Auckland. She then proceeded north again to Tutuila, Tongatabu, and Guadalcanal. Returning to Auckland on 2 November, she continued to make runs north from New Zealand for the rest of the war. On 5 September 1945, she departed Auckland for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco.

Returning to the South Pacific in February 1946, Roamer touched at Tutuila, Noumea, Guadalcanal, and Guam, then proceeded on to Tokyo arriving 16 April. Departing Japan six days later, Roamer arrived at San Francisco on 7 May 1946, decommissioned and was redelivered to WSA on 14 June 1946 and was struck from the Navy list on 3 July 1946.

 

14 October 2005

 

Published: Thu Aug 26 15:24:00 EDT 2021