Kalamazoo AOG-30

Kalamazoo

A river in Michigan.

(ScStr: t. 6,160; 1. 354'5"; b. 56'8"; dr. 17'6"; s. 19 k.; a. none)

Kalamazoo, a double turreted monitor, was laid down in 1863 at New York Navy Yard. Work on the monitor was suspended 27 November 1865 and was never resumed. The unfinished ship was renamed Colossus 15 June 1869; without seeing any service she was broken up in 1884.

I

(AOG-.30: dp. 845; 1. 220'6"; b. 37'; dr. 13'11"; s. 10 k.; cpl. 62. a. 1 3", 2 40mm., 3 20mm.; cl. Mettawee; T. Tl-M-A2)

Kalamazoo (AOG-30) was laid down 7 July 1944 by East Coast Shipyards, Inc., Bayonne, N.J., under a Maritime Commission contract; launched 30 August 1944; sponsored by Miss Harriett Savage; acquired by the Navy 7 October; and commissioned 14 October at New York Navy Yard, Lt. W. Pierson, Jr., USCGR, in command.

Following shakedown in the Caribbean, Kalamazoo cleared Norfolk, Va., 7 December for Aruba, Dutch West Indies, to load fuel oil. She departed Aruba 21 December for duty in the Southwest Pacific. After fueling operations in the Solomons, Admiralties, and Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, she arrived Leyte Gulf, P.I., 4 March 1945 as a unit of the Service Force, 7th Fleet. She operated as a gasoline tanker out of San Pedro Bay until 15 April when she sailed for fueling operations off the southern Philippines. Arriving Police Harbor, Mindanao, 20 April, she served for more than 7 months in the Celebes Sea, transporting cargo and fuel from Borneo and Morotai to ports in Mindanao.

Departing Zamboanga, Mindanao, 1 December, Kalamazoo steamed via Manila to Subic Bay, Luzon, where she remained until sailing for the United States 11 January 1946. She reached San Francisco 12 March and cleared port on the 22d for passage to the Gulf Coast. On 1 April while en route to the Panama Canal Zone her main engine failed. Kennabago (AO -81) assisted her to Balboa where she arrived 10 April. Under tow from rescue tug ATR-85, she departed Cristobol, C.Z., 26 April for Mobile, Ala., where she arrived 3 May. Kalamazoo decommissioned 18 May and subsequently was turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal. She transferred to Colombia 26 November 1947 and was renamed Bals de Lezo (BT-62).