World War II
With the opening of hostilities in Europe, Maumee was brought out of reserve, given an extensive overhaul at Baltimore, Maryland during which she received conventional steampower propulsion, and recommissioned 2 June 1942. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet she was employed as a training ship for PCs, SCs, YNs, and ARs off the North Carolina Capes with periodic refueling runs to the Bermuda training area until 6 November 1942.
At that time she commenced her first transatlantic crossing since World War I. Steaming from Norfolk via Bermuda, she arrived Casablanca 25 November and refueled small craft during the liberation of North Africa. She sailed for home 22 December, returning to Norfolk 9 January 1943 and completing an oil run to Aruba before getting underway again for North Africa 19 March.
Maumee continued to transport fuel to north Africa until 8 July, when she was ordered to carry oil from the Netherlands West Indies to east coast Navy bases. For the next 8 months she operated between the Caribbean and bases as far north as NS Argentia, Newfoundland.
On 25 March 1944, the oiler resumed transatlantic runs, this time along the North Atlantic convoy route to Northern Ireland and England. After completing two voyages, she returned to coastal fueling runs between Aruba and the east coast 22 November.
In May 1945 Maumee received orders to join the Pacific Fleet. She departed Norfolk 20 June and arrived at Pearl Harbor 15 July, the same day she was redesignated AG-124. After a month at Pearl Harbor, she departed for China, arriving off the Yangtze River 30 September. Three days later she ascended the Whangpoo River to Shanghai where she served as a station fuel ship until 16 November, when she sailed for Pearl Harbor.
Read more about this topic: USS Maumee (AO-2)
Famous quotes containing the words world and/or war:
“We mustn’t complain too much of being comedians—it’s an honourable profession. If only we could be good ones the world might gain at least a sense of style. We have failed—that’s all. We are bad comedians, we aren’t bad men.”
—Graham Greene (1904–1991)
“This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final Note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)