Silica IX-161

Silica

(IX-161: dp. 5,636; 1. 366'4", b. 54'; dr. 26'; s. non
self-propelled; cpl. 52; a. 1 40mm.; cl. Silica)

Silica (IX-151) was laid down as SS Bauxite B7-D1 (MC hull 1331) on 5 December 1943 by the Barrett, Hilp, & Belair Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif.; launched on 31 December 1943, sponsored by Mrs. William O'Neill; acquired by the Navy and commissioned on 8 June 1944, Lt. Ormond A. Seavey, USNR, in command.

Silica, a concrete barge, was acquired for use as a store ship to be used to provide general supplies at advance bases. She was assigned to Service Squadron 8,

Service Force, Pacific Fleet. On 30 June, Gulf Star took her in tow at San Francisco and departed for Pearl Harbor, arriving on 13 July. Three days later, the barge was towed to Eniwetok. Megrez (AK-126) towed her from there to Ulithi where she remained from 16 October 1944 to 7 May 1945. Serrano (ATF-112) towed her to the Philippine Islands where she remained until August when she was towed to Okinawa.

Silica was driven aground in Buckner Bay on 9 October by a typhoon. A Board of Inquiry found her damaged beyond economical repair and recommended that she be destroyed or sunk in deep water. Silica was decommissioned on 30 November 1945 and struck from the Navy list on 3 January 1946.