InsertAltTextHere
History
United States
Name	USSRobert L. Barnes
Builder	McDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company,Duluth, Minnesota
Cost	$545,000 (hull and machinery)[1]
Acquired	29 June 1918
Commissioned	19 October 1918
Stricken	24 July 1942
Captured	10 December 1941 by Japanese forces
Fate	Sold to a British mercantile interest, renamed Fortune and M.T.S. No. 2 from 1945 to 1949, scrapped in 1950
General characteristics
Class & type	none
Type	Oiler
Displacement	1,630 long tons (lt) 3,850 long tons (fl)
Length	258 ft 6 in (78.79 m)
Beam	43 ft 2 in (13.16 m)
Draft	15 ft (4.6 m) (max)
Propulsion	two single ended boilers, one vertical reciprocating steam engine, single propeller
Speed	8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph)
Capacity	1,900 t.
Complement	1 Officer, 3 Chief Petty Officers, 50 Enlisted

USSRobert L. Barnes (AO-14) was anoiler in theUnited States Navy.

Robert L. Barnes was a steel tanker built during 1917 byMcDougall Duluth Ship Building Company,Duluth, Minnesota, for the Robert Barnes Steam Ship Co.. Alexander McDougall built her as a prototype "rectangular ship" or "sea-going canal boat," with a plain, low hull and a superstructure that could be removed to pass under canal bridges. The ship was visually very similar to aWhaleback, also designed by McDougall. She was acquired from her builder by theU.S. Shipping Board on 29 June 1918; transferred to the U.S. Navy the same day; and commissioned atNew York 19 October 1918. She remained in custody of the 3d Naval District while preparing for sea. Lt. G. C. Daniels assumed command on 29 January 1919.

Assigned to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk,Robert L. Barnes departed New York 12 March 1919 forHampton Roads. Subsequently, she operated out ofGuantanamo Bay,Cuba, and New York until returning to Norfolk 18 April 1919. The ship remained inactive at Norfolk and was undergoing overhaul 4 September 1919 when she was assigned to theNaval Overseas Transportation Service. She departed Norfolk 21 November forSan Pedro, California, via thePanama Canal andSan Diego, California After transporting diesel fuel toPearl Harbor, the tanker departedHawaii 8 April 1920 with fuel oil forGuam.

Arriving atApra Harbor, on 27 April,Robert L. Barnes served as an oil storage vessel in Apra Harbor. The ship remained at Guam through the interwar decades, departing only in 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1930, and 1934 under tow forCavite Naval Base,Philippine Islands, for overhaul.

Robert L. Barnes was still in service at Guam on the outbreak ofWorld War II in the Pacific. DuringJapanese air attacks on the island, 8 December 1941, the oiler was bombed and strafed at her mooring, causing damage topside and starting dangerous leaks. Still afloat when the Japanese invasion force landed on Guam,Robert L. Barnes was abandoned and fell into enemy hands 10 December 1941. She was renamedHasu Maru.^[2] It was struck from the Navy list on 24 July 1942. Subsequently taken into Japanese service, theRobert L. Barnes was recovered at the end of the war. It was then sold to British mercantile interests, where she served asFortune andM.T.S. No. 2 from 1945 to 1949 before she finally was scrapped in 1950.

• World War I Victory Medal
• American Defense Service Medal
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with onebattle star
• World War II Victory Medal

 This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Photo gallery of USSRobert L. Barnes at NavSource Naval History

• Ships built in Duluth, Minnesota
• Unique oilers and tankers of the United States Navy
• World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
• World War I auxiliary ships of the United States
• 1918 ships
• Naval ships of the United States captured by Japan during World War II

• Use dmy dates from May 2020
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships