USS ''Silica'' (IX-151), a designated an

unclassified miscellaneous vessel The IX (unclassified–miscellaneous) hull classification symbol is used for ships of the United States Navy that do not fit into one of the standard categories. Similar lists of 'miscellaneous' ships can found at : and :. Ship status i ...

, was the only ship of 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 ...

to be named for

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

. Her keel was laid down as SS ''Bauxite'' (T. B7-D1, MC hull 1331) on 5 December 1943 by

Barrett & Hilp Barret, Barrett, or Barretts may refer to: People * Barrett (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Barrett Brown (born 1981), American journalist and activist) *Barrett Carter (born 2002), American football player * Barrett Foa, ...

, Belair Shipyard,

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. She was launched on 31 December 1943 sponsored by Mrs. William O'Neill, and renamed Silica. Acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 8 June 1944 under command of Lt. Ormond A. Seavey USNR. Later she was under command of Lt. J. B. Neal USNR.

Service history

World War II, 1944–45

''Silica'' was acquired for use as a store ship to be used to provide general supplies at advance bases. She was assigned to Service Squadron 8, Service Force, Pacific Fleet. On 30 June, ''Gulf Star'' took her in tow at San Francisco and departed for

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, arriving on 13 July. Three days later, the barge was towed to

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

. towed her from there to

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

where she remained from 16 October 1944 to 7 May 1945. towed her to the

Philippine Islands The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

where she remained until August when she was towed to

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

Wrecked by a typhoon

''Silica'' was driven aground in

Buckner Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all ...

on 9 October 1945 by Typhoon Louise. A Board of Inquiry found her damaged beyond economical repair and recommended that she be destroyed or sunk in deep water. ''Silica'' was decommissioned on 30 November 1945 and 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 3 January 1946. Refloated and sunk in deep water at unknown date.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silica (IX-151) Trefoil-class concrete barges Ships built in San Francisco 1943 ships Maritime incidents in October 1945 Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean