USS Wautauga

History
United States
Name	USS Wautauga (AOG-22)
Namesake	Wautauga River
Ordered	as SS Conroe, T1-M-A2 tanker hull, MC hull 791
Builder	Todd Galveston, Galveston, Texas
Yard number	111
Laid down	14 June 1943
Launched	10 January 1944
Commissioned	28 September 1944
Decommissioned	26 April 1947
Stricken	13 July 1948
Fate	Transferred to the Republic of China Navy, 1947
Taiwan
Name	ROCS Yu Chuan (AO-303)
Fate	Wrecked, 1959; scrapped, 1964
General characteristics
Class and type	Mettawee-class gasoline tanker
Tonnage	1,228 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Displacement	846 tons(lt) 2,270 tons(fl)
Length	220 ft 6 in (67.21 m)
Beam	37 ft (11 m)
Draft	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion	Diesel direct drive, single screw, 720 hp
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement	62
Armament	one single 3 in (76 mm) dual purpose gun mount, two 40 mm guns, three single 20 mm guns gun mounts

USS Wautauga (AOG-22) was a Mettawee-class gasoline tanker of the United States Navy during World War II.

Wautauga, formerly Conroe, was laid down on 14 June 1943 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 791) at Galveston, Texas, by the Todd-Galveston Dry Dock Co.; launched on 10 January 1944; sponsored by Mrs. E. R. Cox; converted for naval use by the Todd-Houston Shipbuilding Corp., and commissioned on 28 September 1944 at Galveston.

Following shakedown, Wautauga got underway on 20 October for the U.S. West Coast and remained in the Panama Canal Zone for a week before resuming her voyage on the 29th and proceeding via San Diego, California, to the Hawaiian Islands. She eventually arrived at Pearl Harbor on 2 December and joined Service Squadron 8.

Wautauga remained at Pearl Harbor through the end of the year 1944 and got underway on 13 January 1945 for the western Pacific Ocean, arriving at Eniwetok 12 days later. She sailed from the Marshalls on 7 February and reached Saipan on the 11th—where she remained, performing fueling and fuel carrier services until 22 May. Underway with Convoy SIW (Saipan to Iwo Jima) 28, she transported a cargo of fuel to Iwo Jima, arriving there on 25 May for a six-day stay, before returning to Saipan with Convoy IWS (Iwo Jima to Saipan ) 22.

Continuing to work out of Saipan between June 1945 and March 1946, Wautauga made two more fuel-carrying voyages to Iwo Jima; two to Marcus, and one to Guam. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 23 April and remained there, performing local oiler duties, until departing on 26 October to transport a cargo of aviation gasoline and lubricants to Canton Island. Returning to Pearl Harbor from Canton on 26 November the gasoline tanker carried cargoes of gasoline and oil to Palmyra Atoll and Guam en route to the Philippines.

Arriving at Manila on 25 March 1947, Wautauga departed on 1 April for Subic Bay, where she arrived on the 2d to commence inactivation proceedings. Decommissioned on 26 April 1947, Wautauga was turned over to the Republic of China Navy on 15 June 1948 and struck from the Navy List on 13 July 1948. She served as Yu Chuan (AO-303) until scrapped by the Taiwanese Navy, 1959.

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AOG-22 Wautauga