Beagle II (IX-112)
1943-1946
The secpond Beagle (IX-112) was named to commemorate the service of the first ship of that name.
II
(IX-112: displacement 14,500 (limiting); length 441'6l"; beam 56'11"; draft 28'4"; speed 11.5 knots; complement 101; armament 1 5-inch, 1 3-inch, 8 20 millimeter; class Armadillo; type Z ET1-S-C3)
David Rittenhouse was laid down on 27 September 1943 at Wilmington, Calif., by the California Shipbuilding Corp. under a Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 1901); launched on 26 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Victor Dalton; renamed Beagle (IX-112) on 27 October 1943; delivered to the Navy on 20 November 1943; and commissioned that same day, Lt. Robert E. Rew, Jr., USNR, in command.
Following shakedown early in 1944, the tanker moved to the western Pacific. There she transported fuel among the various island groups. Between 13 October and 9 November, Beagle operated in the vicinity of Leyte providing support for the invasion of that island. After that operation, Beagle resumed her more routine fuel supply missions between bases in the Pacific. After the war ended, she continued those duties in support of American occupation forces in the Far East. The ship headed back to the United States from Eniwetok on 11 March 1946. She transited the Panama Canal on 16 April and arrived in Norfolk, Va., on the 30th. Beagle was decommissioned at Norfolk on 13 June 1946 and was turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 3 JuIy 1946.
Sold in late 1948 or early 1949 to the Edison Tanker Co., Inc., of New York City, the vessel was renamed Edison' Skipper. She saw later merchant service under the names George S. Georgios Sideratos, and Maria G. L. before she disappeared from shipping registers in 1970.
Beagle (IX-112) earned one battle star for her service in World War II.
Raymond A. Mann
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
18 October 2021
