USS YO-144 on 12 March 1943
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Class: CONCRETE BARGES (YO-144, YOG-40)
Design MC B7-A2
Displacement (tons): 6866 light, 12,910 full load
Dimensions (feet): 375.0' oa, 360.0' wl x 56' x 30' max
Original Armament: 4-20mm
Later armaments: --
Complement 13 (1944)
Speed (kts.): --
Propulsion (HP): --
Machinery: Non-self propelled
Construction:
| MC | Name | Acq. | Builder | Keel | Launch | Commiss. |
| 634 | YOG-85 | 22 Jul 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 1 May 42 | 13 Oct 42 | 27 Aug 43 |
| 635 | YO-144 | 18 Feb 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 21 May 42 | 11 Nov 42 | 18 Feb 43 |
| 636 | YOG-40 | 13 Apr 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 19 Oct 42 | 25 Dec 42 | 13 Apr 43 |
| 637 | YOG-41 | 29 Apr 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 21 Nov 42 | 22 Feb 43 | 29 Apr 43 |
| 638 | YOG-42 | 22 May 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 6 Dec 42 | 23 Mar 43 | 22 May 43 |
| 1220 | YO-145 | 3 Jul 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 29 Dec 42 | 25 Apr 43 | 3 Jul 43 |
| 1221 | YO-146 | 12 Aug 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 23 Feb 43 | 16 May 43 | 12 Aug 43 |
| 1222 | YOG-53 | 26 Jul 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 28 Feb 43 | 29 May 43 | 26 Jul 43 |
| 1223 | YO-159 | 27 Aug 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 2 Apr 43 | 20 Jun 43 | 27 Aug 43 |
| 1224 | YO-160 | 31 Aug 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 30 Apr 43 | 6 Jul 43 | 31 Aug 43 |
| 1225 | YO-161 | 16 Sep 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 18 May 43 | 31 Jul 43 | 16 Sep 43 |
| 1226 | YO-162 | 28 Sep 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 31 May 43 | 9 Aug 43 | 28 Sep 43 |
| 1227 | YO-163 | 20 Oct 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 21 Jun 43 | 18 Aug 43 | 20 Oct 43 |
| 1228 | YO-182 | 16 Nov 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 8 Jul 43 | 6 Sep 43 | 16 Nov 43 |
| 1229 | YO-183 | 27 Nov 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 2 Aug 43 | 23 Sep 43 | 27 Nov 43 |
| 1230 | YOG-82 | 7 Dec 43 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 11 Aug 43 | 9 Oct 43 | 7 Dec 43 |
| 1231 | YO-184 | 6 Jan 44 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 19 Aug 43 | 24 Oct 43 | 6 Jan 44 |
| 1232 | YO-185 | 18 Jan 44 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 7 Sep 43 | 6 Nov 43 | 18 Jan 44 |
| 1233 | YOG-83 | 25 Jan 44 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 24 Sep 43 | 27 Nov 43 | 25 Jan 44 |
| 1234 | YO-186 | 16 Mar 44 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 11 Oct 43 | 12 Dec 43 | 16 Mar 44 |
| 1235 | YO-187 | 18 May 44 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 24 Oct 43 | 25 Dec 43 | 18 May 44 |
| 1236 | YOG-84 | 18 Apr 44 | Concrete Ship Constructors | 6 Nov 43 | 27 Jan 44 | 18 Apr 44 |
Disposition:
| MC | Name | Decomm. | Strike | Disposal | Fate | MA Sale |
| 634 | YOG-85 | -- | 20 Dec 50 | 9 Aug 51 | Sold | -- |
| 635 | YO-144 | -- | 1 Jul 67 | Jul 67 | Trf. | -- |
| 636 | YOG-40 | -- | 27 Feb 51 | 18 Apr 51 | Sold | -- |
| 637 | YOG-41 | -- | 1 Nov 59 | -- | Sold | -- |
| 638 | YOG-42 | -- | 15 Aug 49 | -- | Unk. | -- |
| 1220 | YO-145 | -- | 1 Feb 60 | -- | Sold | -- |
| 1221 | YO-146 | -- | 21 Nov 57 | Jul 57 | Lost | -- |
| 1222 | YOG-53 | -- | 1 Nov 59 | -- | Sold | -- |
| 1223 | YO-159 | -- | 22 Jan 44 | 16 Jan 44 | Lost | -- |
| 1224 | YO-160 | -- | 15 Aug 46 | 25 Jul 46 | Test | -- |
| 1225 | YO-161 | -- | 13 Dec 46 | 29 Nov 46 | Dest. | -- |
| 1226 | YO-162 | -- | 1 Apr 67 | Jul 67 | Trf. | -- |
| 1227 | YO-163 | -- | 5 Mar 47 | Feb 47 | Lost | -- |
| 1228 | YO-182 | -- | 27 Oct 59 | Oct 59 | Dest. | -- |
| 1229 | YO-183 | -- | 1 Feb 60 | Jun 60 | Sold | -- |
| 1230 | YOG-82 | -- | 1 Nov 59 | -- | Sold | -- |
| 1231 | YO-184 | -- | 8 Oct 46 | 18 Sep 46 | Lost | -- |
| 1232 | YO-185 | -- | 28 Mar 46 | 16 Mar 46 | Dest. | -- |
| 1233 | YOG-83 | -- | 21 Oct 48 | 16 Sep 48 | Dest. | -- |
| 1234 | YO-186 | -- | 10 Jun 47 | 5 Apr 48 | Dest. | -- |
| 1235 | YO-187 | -- | 10 Jan 57 | 1957 | Lost | -- |
| 1236 | YOG-84 | -- | 22 Dec 48 | 14 Nov 48 | Lost | -- |
Class Notes:
FY 1942 (YO 144-146, 159-163), 1943 (YOG 40-42, 53), 1944 (YO 182-187, YOG 82-85). In November 1941 the Maritime Commission let contracts to firms in Savannah, Ga., Houston, Tex., and National City (near San Diego), Calif. for 15 concrete barges (five each) to carry oil from Texas to northern East Coast ports. These firms received further contracts in May, June, and September 1942 for a total of 43 of the 366-foot B7-A1 type and 22 of the 375-foot B7-A2 type. In June 1942 builders in San Francisco were also awarded contracts for 26 366-foot B7-D1 barges for the carriage of bauxite. Of these 91 concrete barges, the contracts for 32 of the B7-A1 type and 6 of the B7-D1 type were cancelled Thirteen of the B7-D1 barges became the TREFOIL (IX-149) class, q.v., while five more B7-D1's and all eleven B7-A1's were acquired by the Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks as construction equipment. (Fifteen of these sixteen barges were expended between August 1944 and June 1945 as breakwaters in the Western Pacific.) The Navy ultimately acquired all 22 of the B7-A2 barges for use at advance bases as dirty (YO) and clean (YOG) storage and refueling craft for fuel oil and light (distilled) oils respectively.
On 28 Sep 42 Commander Service Force, Pacific Fleet requested that concrete fuel carrying barges be acquired without delay to meet the serious fuel storage problem of the naval forces in the South Pacific and noted that suitable barges were then being built at National City, Calif., for the MC. The construction of these barges was such that they could be towed to the required locations and used for fuel storage, thus providing the needed fuel storage and expediting the turnaround of tankers serving those areas. In his letter of 26 Oct 42 to the MC requesting the barges SecNav explained that the lack of suitable shore storage facilities for liquid fuel at South Pacific bases had necessitated the employment of mobile tankers for this purpose and that the use of large capacity floating barges provided the only immediate method to expedite the turnaround of the insufficient number of tankers supplying this area. On 24 Oct 42 the Auxiliary Vessels Board estimated that a minimum of six barges was needed and recommended that the Navy acquire the first six to be completed. It recommended that provision be made for the storage of aviation gasoline in one of them. Ultimately they were split evenly between bunker fuel (YO 144-146) and gasoline and diesel oil (YOG 40-42) carriers. On 10 Feb 43 the Navy's Industrial Manager at San Diego reported that the morale of the employees at the Concrete Ship Constructors yard at National City had noticeably improved since the Navy took over the first six vessels because of the desire of all personnel to complete vessels destined for use in war theaters and that YO-144 was then expected to be delivered to the Navy a full month ahead of the date the MC would have received it.
On 11 Nov 42 ComServPac asked for six more of these barges to meet the expanding fuel storage requirements in the South Pacific, and on 20 Nov 42 the Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended that the next six units building at National City be acquired. They were initially also to be split evenly between dirty and clean types but were later reallocated and became YO 159-63 and YOG-53. On 7 Jun 43 SecNav asked the MC for nine more of the National City barges, citing a recommendation from the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, and the impending need for additional floating fuel storage at advance bases. On 11 Jun 43 the Auxiliary Vessels board endorsed the acquisition of these units, which became YO 182-187 and YOG 82-84. In early July 1943 the MC advised the Navy that the first of the National City B7-A2 barges, MC hull 634, which the MC had retained for observation and tests of this new type, was lying idle at San Pedro, Calif., and was available to the Navy for purchase. On 7 Jul 43, two days before SecNav formally asked the MC for the vessel, VCNO instructed BuShips to take it over for conversion to YOG-85, noting that it had never been used to transport fuel and directing that three of its six tanks be loaded with aviation gasoline and the other six with potable water. The Auxiliary Vessels Board recommended the acquisition of this vessel on 16 Jul 43.
In some official Navy sources YO-188 is listed as a member of the YO-144 class. However the contemporary Navy data cards for YO-188 indicate that it was a 120 x 30-foot steel barge acquired by the Bureau of Yards and Docks from the Army Corps of Engineers at New Orleans in 1942 and converted to an oil barge. Later transferred by BuDocks to the 10th Naval District, this barge was placed in service on 30 Jun 43 in Puerto Rico and received its hull number on 17 Jul 43.
Ship Notes:
| MC | Name | MC | Notes |
| 634 | YOG-85 | 634 | Ex merc. CONCRETE NO. 1 (completed 13 Apr 43). To YOGN-85 ca. May 1946. Sold at Kwajalein to Dulien Steel Products, Inc., Los Angeles, and delivered 9 Aug 51. |
| 635 | YO-144 | 635 | Ex merc. CONCRETE NO. 2. To YON-144 ca. May 1946. Active in service in a Pacific Area advance base (probably Subic Bay) from March 1950. In reserve in service Oct. 1958. Transferred to the Philippines 1967. |
| 636 | YOG-40 | 636 | Ex merc. CONCRETE NO. 3. To YOGN-40 ca. May 1946. Found unfit 13 Feb 50, sold at Guam to Luzon Stevedoring Co., Guam. |
| 637 | YOG-41 | 637 | Ex merc. CONCRETE NO. 4. To YOGN-41 ca. May 1946. Active in service in the 14th Naval District (Hawaii) from July 1950. Out of service in reserve June 1957. Reclassified YOS-30 (Oil Storage Barge) in Dec. 1957. To disposal list Oct. 1959, to Navy sale list Nov. 1959. Sale details unknown. |
| 638 | YOG-42 | 638 | Ex merc. CONCRETE NO. 5. To YOGN-42 ca. May 1946. To disposal list May 1946. ComServPac reported no information available on vessel 5 May 49, stk. 15 Aug 49. |
| 1220 | YO-145 | 1220 | To YON-145 ca. May 1946. Out of service in reserve in the 5th Naval District from May 1947. To disposal list Dec. 1959 and to Navy sale list Feb. 1960. Sale details unknown. |
| 1221 | YO-146 | 1221 | To YON-146 ca. May 1946. Active in service in a Pacific Area advance base (probably Subic Bay) from June 1951. To disposal list at Subic Bay 24 Apr 57. Lost by accident July 1957. |
| 1222 | YOG-53 | 1222 | To YOGN-53 ca. May 1946. Active in service in the 14th Naval District (Hawaii) from May 1946 but later listed as out of service in reserve as of this date. Reclassified YOS-31 (Oil Storage Barge) in Dec. 1957. To disposal list Oct. 1959, to Navy sale list Nov. 1959. Sale details unknown. |
| 1223 | YO-159 | 1223 | Attacked by Japanese submarine RO-42 off New Hebrides 14 Jan 44, caught fire and presumed to have sunk night of 15-16 Jan. |
| 1224 | YO-160 | 1224 | To YON-160 ca. May 1946. Sunk by the second (BAKER) atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll on 25 Jul 46. |
| 1225 | YO-161 | 1225 | To YON-161 ca. May 1946. Out of service 9 Sep 46. Hulk destroyed at Eniwetok 29 Nov 46. |
| 1226 | YO-162 | 1226 | To YON-162 ca. May 1946. Active in service in a Pacific Area advance base (probably Subic Bay) from May 1946. In reserve in service Oct. 1958. To Navy sale list 31 Mar 67, removed from sale list 22 May 67, transferred to Philippines ca. July 1967 with YON-144 |
| 1227 | YO-163 | 1227 | To YON-163 ca. May 1946. Sank while being towed from Eniwetok to Kwajalein by HIDASTA (ATF-102), reported 26 Feb 47. |
| 1228 | YO-182 | 1228 | To YON-182 ca. May 1946. In reserve in service in the 14th Naval District (Hawaii) from May 1949. Reclassified YOS-32 (Oil Storage Barge) in Dec. 1957 while in this status. Disposed of by abandoning, scuttling, or sinking Oct. 1959. |
| 1229 | YO-183 | 1229 | To YON-183 ca. May 1946. Placed out of service in reserve in the 14th Naval District (Hawaii) in May 1947. Towed to the 6th Naval District (Charleston, S.C.) between 1 Oct 48 and 1 Jan 49, then out of service in reserve there. In service 1 Jan 52, out of service in reserve 15 Dec 54. To disposal list Dec. 1959, to Navy sale list Feb. 1960. |
| 1230 | YOG-82 | 1230 | To YOGN-82 ca. May 1946. Active in service in the 14th Naval District (Hawaii) from Feb. 1953. Arrived at Midway 2 Jul 54. Out of service in reserve Mar. 1959. To disposal list Oct. 1959, to Navy sale list Nov. 1959. Sale details unknown. Later became part of a breakwater at Powell River, B.C., (100 miles north of Vancouver) with ex-QUARTZ (IX-150), still there 2003. |
| 1231 | YO-184 | 1231 | To YON-184 ca. May 1946. Sank at Eniwetok during typhoon Sep. 1946 |
| 1232 | YO-185 | 1232 | Reported inoperable and in danger of sinking at Saipan 23 Oct 45. Sank in deep water there 16 Mar 46. |
| 1233 | YOG-83 | 1233 | To YOGN-83 ca. May 1946. In Atomic Bomb tests at Bikini 2 Jun 46. Beached at Kwajalein 23 Sep 46. Sunk in deep water off Kwajalein 16 Sep 48. |
| 1234 | YO-186 | 1234 | To YON-186 ca. May 1946. Reported to have no sale value 9 Dec 46. Residual hulk destroyed by sinking at sea off Guam 5 Apr 48. |
| 1235 | YO-187 | 1235 | To YON-187 ca. May 1946. Active in service in the 14th Naval District from July 1946. To YWN-148 16 Oct 50. Lost by grounding off Midway Island 1957. |
| 1236 | YOG-84 | 1236 | To YOGN-84 ca. May 1946. Lost during typhoon at sea off Saipan 14 Nov 48. |
Page Notes:
YO/YOG 1943
Compiled: 14 Sep 2010
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2002-2010