|
USNS ''Mission San Francisco'' |
| |
|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 5 May 1945 |
| Launched: | 18 September 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 11 October 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 March 1957 |
| Fate: | Sunk in 1957 |
|
|---|
| Displacement: | 5,532 tons light;
21,880 tons full |
| Length: | 524 ft (160 m) |
| Beam: | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draft: | 30 ft (9 m) |
| Speed: | 16.5 knots (31 km/h) |
| Complement: | 52 mariners |
| Armament: | None |
The '' was one of twenty-seven ''
Mission Buenaventura '' Class
Fleet Oilers built during
World War II for service in the
United States Navy , and one of two named for the
Franciscan Mission located in
San Francisco, California .
''Mission San Francisco'' was laid down
5 May 1945 under a Maritime Commission contract by Marinship Corporation,
Sausalito, California ; launched
18 September 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs. John J. Manning; and delivered
11 October 1945 . Chartered to Deconhill Shipping Company, upon her delivery, for operations, she served until
14 April 1946 when she was returned to the Maritime Commission and laid up in the Maritime Reserve Fleet at
Mobile, Alabama .
Acquired by the Navy
28 October 1947 , she was placed in service with the Naval Transportation Service as ''Mission San Francisco'' (AO-123). Taken over by the Military Sea Transportation Service on
1 October 1949 she was redesignated USNS ''Mission San Francisco'' (T-AO-123) and served under MSTS until
18 January 1954 , when she was returned to the Maritime Administration and laid up in the Maritime Reserve Fleet at
Beaumont, Texas .
Reacquired by the Navy on
20 October 1956 , she was once again placed in service with MSTS and chartered to Mathiasens Tanker Industries. Her period of service with MSTS was short. On
7 March 1957 while passing
New Castle, Delaware , she collided with the
Liberia n freighter ''Elna II''. The shock of the collision caused ''Mission San Francisco'' to catch fire and explode, breaking her in two. The explosion killed 10 men, including her master, Capt. William Allen. Immediately after the collision, ''Elna II'' backed off but in her attempts to avoid the burning hulk she ran aground. Due to bad weather, rescue attempts were slow, but all aboard ''Elna II'' and the survivors of ''Mission San Francisco'' were rescued by the
U.S. Coast Guard . Declared unsalvageable by the Navy, ''Mission San Francisco'' was struck from the
20 March 1957 .
