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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124)
ex
 Mission San Gabriel (AO-124) (1947 - 1949)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Oscar - Delta
 NHOD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
National Defense Service Medal
Mission Buenaventura Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 31 January 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A2) tanker hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1817) at Marinship Corp., Sausalito, CA.
  • Launched, 17 April 1944
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission, 27 May 1944
  • Chartered to Deconhill Shipping, Co., 28 May 1944, for operation
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 28 February 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Marinship Corp, Sausalito, CA.
  • Acquired by the Navy, 14 October 1947
  • Placed in service by Naval Transportation Service (NTS) as Mission San Gabriel (AO-124)
  • Transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) 1 October 1949
  • Placed in service as USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124)
  • Placed out of service, 28 December 1949
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Withdrawn from Reserve and placed in service with MSTS, 18 July 1950
  • Placed out of service, 31 March 1954
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Withdrawn from Reserve and placed in service with MSTS, 8 October 1956
  • Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, 20 December 1957
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration, 20 December 1957, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Merchant Service
    Transferred by the Maritime Administration to Hudson Waterways Corp.(Exchange Program), 24 June 1966, renamed SS Delaware
    Converted to a containership and train ferry, renamed SS Seatrain Delaware, 21 November 1966.
    Sold to Tyler Tanker Corp., 30 June 1972 and title transferred to the Maritime Administration (Trade-in and Build Program)
    Chartered to Tyler Tanker Corp., 30 June 1972
    Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA., 14 May 1973
    Renamed SS Delaware, 8 August 1983
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 16 October 1983, to Isaac Manuel Verela Davillo, Spain
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,532 t.(lt) 21,880 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 10"
    Speed 15.1 kts (trial)
    Complement
    52 CivMar
    17 US Navy Armed Guard
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 15,300DWT
    Oil 120,400 Bbls
    Gasoline 575,000 Gals
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 9,235 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric turbo-electric engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox D-type boilers, 600psi 825°

    Ship's Service Generators
     two turbo-drive 400Kw 450V A.C.
     two turbo-drive 85Kw 120V D.C.
     two turbo-drive 55Kw 120V D.C.
     one turbo-drive 50Kw 450V A.C.
    single propeller, 10,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124)
    Mission San Gabriel
    091912409    		 293k
    Namesake
    Mission San Gabriel Arcángel - is a Roman Catholic mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, CA. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish missions in California. San Gabriel Arcángel was named after the Archangel Gabriel and often referred to as the "Godmother of the Pueblo of Los Angeles." The mission was built and run using what has been described as slave labor from nearby Tongva villages, such as Yaanga. When the nearby Pueblo de los Ángeles was built in 1781, the mission competed with the emerging pueblo for control of Indigenous labor.
    Photo of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in San Gabriel, California, 15 April 2005 by ©Robert A. Estremo    		 Tommy Trampp
    Mission San Gabriel 90k USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124) under way in the harbor at Long Beach, CA., date unknown. David Buell
    Mission San Gabriel 1187k USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124) underway in the San Pedro/Long Beach, CA. area, date unknown. David Buell
    Mission San Gabriel 154k USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124) in bound for Yokohama, 14 September 1953 Bob Milloy
    Mission San Gabriel 215k
    Merchant Service Seatrain Corp.
    Mission San Gabriel 95k Stern view of ex-Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124) in commercial service as SS Seatrain Delaware moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany while working cargo, in July 1971. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Mission San Gabriel 72k SS Seatrain Delaware moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany while working cargo, in July 1971. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Mission San Gabriel 48k Aft Superstructure view of SS Seatrain Delaware moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany while working cargo, in July 1971. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Mission San Gabriel 48k SS Seatrain Delaware in bound for Yokohama, date unknown.
    Photo courtesy Bob Milloy, Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    USNS Mission San Gabriel (T-AO-124)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 12 February 2021