SS ''Mission San Miguel'' was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The co ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war she was acquired by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as USS ''Mission San Miguel'' (AO-129). Later the tanker transferred to the

Military Sea Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

as USNS ''Mission San Miguel'' (T-AO-129). She was a and was named for

Mission San Miguel Arcángel Mission San Miguel Arcángel is a Spanish mission in San Miguel, California. It was established on July 25, 1797, by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area, whom ...

, located in

San Miguel, California San Miguel (Spanish for "St. Michael") is a unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,172. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined San ...

Career

''Mission San Miguel'' was laid down 11 August 1943 under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

contract by Marine Ship Corporation,

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

; launched 31 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. John W. Hardie; and delivered 19 February 1944. Chartered to Pacific Tankers, Inc. for operations, she spent the remainder of the war carrying fuel to Allied forces overseas. She remained in this capacity until 20 May 1946 when she was returned to the Maritime Commission and laid up in the Maritime Reserve Fleet at

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. Acquired by the Navy on 4 November 1947, she was chartered to

American Pacific Steamship Company General Steamship Company was founded in 1920 in Houston, Texas, United States, as a Private Company, and now goes by Gensteam since 1996. General Steamship Company has a fleet of cargo ships that operate worldwide. Gensteam has a ''Gensteam Oper ...

for operations on the same date, and placed under the operational control of the

Naval Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

as ''Mission San Miguel'' (AO-129). Transferred to the operational control of the newly created

on 1 October 1949, she was redesignated USNS ''Mission San Miguel'' (T-AO-129). She served with MSTS until 22 March 1950, when she was taken out of service and laid up in the U.S. Navy's

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Her stay in reserve was short, for on 24 July she was once again placed in service by MSTS to aid supporting U.S. troops in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. She served with MSTS until 28 May 1954, when she was placed in the San Diego group Pacific Reserve Fleet for laying up. Reactivated and placed in service with MSTS 1 November 1956, she served until 8 October 1957 when she ran aground on

Maro Reef Maro Reef ( Hawaiian: Nalukākala - "surf that arrives in combers") is a largely submerged coral atoll located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was discovered in 1820 by Captain Joseph Allen of the ship '' Maro'', after whose ship the ...

in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

while running at full speed and in ballast. When she began to go down by the stern, USNS ''LST-664'' took off ''Mission San Miguel''s crew despite darkness, 8-foot seas, and numerous

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s. Declared unfit for further naval service and salvage, she was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 20 December 1957. The wreck of the ship was re-discovered on 3 August 2015. The wreck of ''Mission San Miguel'' is in

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage Site, World Heritage listed National monument (United States), U.S. national monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of th ...

, a

marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

. Researchers will map and study the wreck

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

. Wreck location:

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission San Miguel (AO-129) Type T2-SE-A2 tankers Ships built in Sausalito, California 1943 ships World War II tankers of the United States

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

Type T2-SE-A2 tankers of the United States Navy Maritime incidents in 1957 Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Ships sunk with no fatalities