USNS ''Rincon'' (T-AOG-77) was a
T1 tanker type, , in operation for the
United States Navy from 1950 through the 1970s. She was originally constructed as MS ''Tarland'' for the
United States Maritime Commission at the end of
World War II, and intended for delivery to the United Kingdom under the terms of
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
. Completed in October 1945, she was delivered to the
Army Transport Service of the
United States Army under the name USAT ''Rincon''. Transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1950, she transported gasoline during the
Korean War, earning two
battle stars in the process. After service extending into the 1970s, the ship was transferred to
South Korea in February 1982. As ROKS ''So Yang'' (AOG-55), she served the
South Korean Navy until the late 1990s, when she was returned to the United States. She was struck from the U.S.
Naval Vessel Register on 23 October 1998.
Career
''Rincon'' (T-AOG-77)—originally slated for use by the British under the terms of the
Lend-Lease Program— was
laid down under a
United States Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2640) as ''Tarland'' on 24 February 1945 by the
Todd-Houston Shipbuilding Corporation of
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. She was sponsored by Mrs. J. L. Baker and
launched as ''Rincon'' on 5 June 1945. She was completed on 5 October 1945 and delivered to the Maritime Commission.
After a brief period of operation, she was entered into the
National Defense Reserve Fleet in April 1946, but was transferred to the Army Transport Service of the
United States Army. As USAT ''Rincon'', she served the U.S. Army until the Army Transport Service was absorbed into the
United States Navy's
Military Sea Transportation Service. She was handed over to the U.S. Navy at
Yokohama on 1 July 1950 and designated T-AOG-77, a
United States Naval Ship
United States Naval Ship (USNS) is the prefix designation given to non- commissioned ships that are property of the United States Navy (USN).
Definition
United States Naval Ships are unarmed auxiliary support vessels owned by the U.S. Navy ...
, and assigned to MSTS, Far East
''Rincon'' immediately commenced shuttling fuel to the Japanese ports whence troops and supplies were being sent to the fighting front in Korea. In September, the ship was assigned
Sasebo–
Pusan shuttle runs as facilities at the latter port were expanded to meet the needs of U.N. forces being lifted into the embattled peninsula. Throughout the three years of conflict, ''Rincon'' interrupted that duty only once for runs to
Saigon
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, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
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and
Haiphong in March 1951. Rincon earned two
battle stars for her service during the
Korean War.
After the
s:Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953, she continued her Japanese–Korean shuttle service until February 1959. Then transferred to MSTS, Pacific, she carried fuel from
Pearl Harbor to
Midway and bases in the
Marshalls until reassigned to MSTS, Far East, in May 1961. She then returned to Sasebo, whence into 1974 she carried gasoline and other fuels to American and Allied forces in the western Pacific, particularly those in
Vietnam.
Leased to South Korea on 21 February 1982, the gasoline tanker served as ROKS ''So Yang'' (AOG-55) until returned to U.S. custody in the late 1990s as the came into service. The tanker was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register on 23 October 1998.
References
External links
Photo galleryat navsource.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rincon (T-Aog-77)
Rincon-class gasoline tankers
Type T1-M-BT2 tankers of the United States Army
Ships built in Houston
1945 ships
Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States
Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States
Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Korea Navy