 Starboard side view of USSGrumium (AK-112), probablyc. late October 1943, in San Francisco Bay. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | William G. McAdoo |
| Namesake | William G. McAdoo |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | American President Lines (APL) |
| Ordered | as aType EC2-S-C1 hull,MCE hull 443[1] |
| Builder | Permanente Metals Corporation,Yard #2,Richmond, California |
| Cost | $1,120,662 |
| Yard number | 443 |
| Way number | 1 |
| Laid down | 11 November 1942 |
| Launched | 20 December 1942 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. T.Y. Stuyvesant |
| In service | 30 December 1942 |
| Fate | transferred to theUS Navy, 5 October 1943 |
| United States | |
| Name | Grumium |
| Namesake | The starGrumium |
| Acquired | 5 October 1943 |
| Commissioned | 20 October 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 20 December 1945 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Refit | Grumium-class Aviation Supply Issue Ship, atAlameda, California, March 1945 |
| Stricken | 8 January 1946 |
| Identification |
|
| Honors & awards | 1 ×battle stars |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics[2] | |
| Class & type |
|
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
| Draft | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | 206 |
| Armament |
|
USSGrumium (AK-112/IX-174/AVS-3) was aCrater-classcargo ship and aviation supply ship in the service of theUS Navy inWorld War II. Named after the starGrumium in the constellationDraco, it was the only ship of the Navy to bear this name.
Grumium was laid down under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 443, on 12 November 1942, as theliberty shipWilliam G. McAdoo, by thePermanente Metals Corporation,Yard #2, inRichmond, California. She was launched on 20 December 1942, sponsored by Mrs. T. Y. Sturtevant.[3]
William G. McAdoo was delivered to theAmerican President Lines, on 30 December 1942.[4]
William G. McAdoo was acquired by the Navy on 5 October 1943. The ship was converted for Navy use by theTodd Shipyards, inSeattle, Washington, and commissioned on 20 October 1943, as aCrater-classcargo ship,AK-112.[3]
Grumium loaded supplies atSan Francisco, on 9 November, and got underway fromSan Pedro, on 19 November 1943, bound forPago Pago. The ship unloaded drum gas there and atFunafuti, from 8 to 11 December, after which she proceeded toKwajalein, on 6 March, andEniwetok, on 15 March, delivering oil and aviation fuel. After another stop at Kwajalein, from 26 to 28 April,Grumium returned to San Francisco, viaPearl Harbor, arriving in California, on 27 May 1944.[3]
At San Francisco,Grumium was transferred to the direct control of Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific Fleet, (ComAirPac)Vice AdmiralJohn Henry Towers, and underwent conversion to an aviation support ship. She was converted to aGrumium-class Aviation Supply Issue Ship, atAlameda, California, and redesignated Miscellaneous Unclassified, (IX-174), 20 June 1944, and 2 days later was underway for Pearl Harbor once more, to supply American fast carrier aircraft, then increasing greatly in numbers.[3]
Grumium arrived Pearl Harbor 30 June, and 10 July, continued toRoi Island. Arriving 19 July, the ship transferred supplies to aircraft groups until early September, then returned to Pearl Harbor. She sailed with another load of aviation supplies, on 28 September, calling atUlithi and Eniwetok, before arriving atManus, on 17 November. There she supplied carrier forces making the supporting strikes for thePhilippine campaign, as America's great island offensive gained momentum. Remaining at Manus, until 5 December 1944,Grumium sailed to a closer advance base, Ulithi, arriving four days later. From Ulithi, the ship supported the far reaching air raids on the Philippines,Okinawa, andFormosa, in the months to come.[3]
As US forces moved ever north and west, supplies had to be moved into new advance bases, andGrumium sailed 14 January 1945, to bring up aviation supplies from Manus to Ulithi. Then she made a similar voyage to Roi Island, before moving her supply base toGuam, on 16 March 1945. The ship was soon to carry her support activities to the assault area itself and rendezvoused with an Okinawa-bound convey atSaipan, on 23 March.[3]
As American forces went ashore at Okinawa, on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945, and began that campaign,Grumium made preparations to supply the cruising carrier groups fromKerama Retto, near Okinawa. Arriving on 2 April, she serviced theescort carrier groups protecting the landing and providing group support. Japanese forces were determined to defeat the assault and quickly expandedsuicide attacks against the assembled ships.Grumium came under air attack at Kerama Retto, on 6 and 7 April; of the many planes destroyed she helped shoot down one. She also rescued survivors from a suicide crash onPinkney, on 28 April, and a bomb hit onTerror, on 30 April.[3]
WhileGrumium was at Kerama Retto, a special designation for aviation supply ships was established; and she becameAVS-3 on 25 May 1945. She departed the Okinawa area 6 June, arriving at Guam, on 14 June, and Eniwetok, to supply the carrier forces, on 1 July.Grumium remained there during and after the final operations of the war, providing vital supplies, until departing for theHawaiian Islands, on 12 October. She stopped briefly at Pearl Harbor, and arrived inNorfolk, via thePanama Canal, 25 November, for deactivation. She was decommissioned, 20 December 1945, and redelivered to the Maritime Commission, 27 December 1945.[3]
The ship was subsequently laid up in theJames River Reserve Fleet,Lee Hall, Virginia.Grumium, along with the Liberty shipSSGeorge Pomutz, was sold for $203,600, on 17 April 1970, to N. V. Intershita. She was delivered 18 May 1970, and subsequently sold toSalvamento y Demolicion Naval S. A.,Barcelona, Spain,[5] for scrapping, completed, 27 October 1970.[2]
Grumium received onebattle stars for World War II service.[3]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
