View source for USS Waupaca

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=USS ''Waupaca''
|Ship namesake=[[Waupaca River]] in Wisconsin
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|Ship laid down=23 November 1944
|Ship launched=4 January 1945
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|Ship commissioned=9 February 1945
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|Ship fate=Sold for commercial service 14 November 1946
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|Ship tonnage={{DWT|1,228|long|disp=long}}
|Ship displacement=846&nbsp;tons(lt) 2,270&nbsp;tons(fl)
|Ship length=220&nbsp;ft 6&nbsp;in
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'''USS ''Waupaca'' (AOG-46)''' was a {{sclass|Mettawee|gasoline tanker}} acquired by the [[United States Navy]] for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations.

''Waupaca'' was laid down under a [[Maritime Commission]] contract (MC hull 2072) on 23 November 1944, at [[Bayonne, New Jersey]], by the [[East Coast Shipyard]], Inc.; launched on 4 January 1945; sponsored by Miss Muriel A. Porter; and commissioned at Marine Basin, [[Brooklyn, New York]], on 9 February 1945.

==World War II service==
 
''Waupaca'' got underway on 7 March for [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. After conducting [[shakedown cruise|shakedown]] in [[Chesapeake Bay]], the tanker proceeded to the [[Netherlands West Indies]]. She arrived at Aruba on 16 April and completed loading a cargo of [[diesel oil]] and [[aviation gasoline]] the following day. Underway on the 17th, she transited the [[Panama Canal]] on the 22d, en route to southern [[California]].

===Pacific Ocean operations===
 
After discharging her cargo upon arrival at [[San Diego]], California, she underwent repairs in dry dock before she proceeded to [[Los Angeles]], California. Soon after her arrival there, she loaded a cargo of diesel and lubricating oil, got underway for [[Hawaii]] on 22 May, and arrived at [[Pearl Harbor]] on 7 June.
 
Assigned to [[Service Squadron]] 8 upon arrival, ''Waupaca'' got underway for the [[Marshall Islands|Marshalls]] on 26 June. She arrived at [[Eniwetok]] [[Atoll]] on 8 July and reported for duty with [[Service Division]] (ServDiv) 102. Based at Eniwetok, the tanker fueled many types of ships—mainly amphibious craft, PC's, and minecraft—from 8 July through the end of hostilities in the [[Pacific Ocean]].

===Sighting a floating mine===
 
After the surrender of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]], [[ServDiv]] 102 received orders to [[Tokyo Bay]] to fuel smaller units of the occupation forces. With a full cargo of diesel and lubricating oils, ''Waupaca'' got underway on 7 September, as part of [[Task Unit]] (TU) 30.9.21, and proceeded for Tokyo Bay. En route, lookouts sighted a floating, drifting, horn-type mine and notified the [[Officer in Tactical Command]] (OTC) of TU 30.9.21, who dispatched a patrol craft to investigate -- ''PC-825'' soon sank the navigational hazard with gunfire.

===End-of-war activity===
 
''Waupaca'' anchored off [[Yokosuka, Japan]], on the 21st, and shifted alongside the damaged Japanese [[battleship]] ''Nagato'' on the 30th to serve as a fueling station. The tanker remained in the Tokyo Bay area into the winter and returned to [[San Francisco]], California, on 18 January 1946.

==Post-war decommissioning==
Decommissioned on 26 March, ''Waupaca'' was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Navy List]] on 1 May, and she was delivered to the Maritime Commission on 1 July 1946. Purchased by the Standard-Vacuum Oil Co., of [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], on 14 November 1946<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pmars.marad.dot.gov/NewCards/5112_9419AF.jpg |title=PMARS is currently down for maintainence &#91;sic&#93;|access-date=16 April 2010 |archive-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304022357/https://pmars.marad.dot.gov/NewCards/5112_9419AF.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref> and renamed ''Mei Shan'', the tanker sailed under the Stars and Stripes until acquired by the Canadian-based firm of Oriental Trade and Transport Co., Ltd., in 1948. Successively renamed ''Stanvac 312'' and ''Stanvac Mei Foo'', she served under the British flag until 1954, when the Philippine subsidiary of [[Standard Vacuum Oil Company|Standard-Vacuum Oil Co.]], based at [[Manila]], purchased the ship and renamed her ''Stanvac Visayas II''. In 1963, she was acquired by [[Mobil Oil]], Philippines, Inc., and renamed ''Mobil Visayas''; and, in 1970, she was sold and again renamed, this time ''Lapu-Lapu Carrier'', by Del Mar Carriers, Inc., under which name she served, under Philippine registry. Renamed ''Vira'' and finally ''Leap Dal'' in 1975, she served until 20 November 1977 when she was sold for scrapping.

==References==
:{{DANFS}}
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/20/2046.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AOG-46 Waupaca]

{{Mettawee class gasoline tankers}}
{{Type T1-M-A2 tankers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waupaca (AOG-46)}}
[[Category:Mettawee-class gasoline tankers]]
[[Category:Type T1-M-A2 tankers of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1945 ships]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships of ExxonMobil]]