Under the Southern Cross: A Petty Officers Chronicle of the Uss Octans, Banana Boat Become World War II Supply Ship for the Southern Pacific Fleet
by Kenneth G. Oliver
Category: History

During World War II, the U.S. Navy took over 35 refrigerated cargo ships from civilian importers to augment the supply fleet, including the United Fruit Company's S.S. Ulna. Renamed the U.S.S. Octans, the ship became part of the Seventh Fleet Service Force, carrying food and supplies as General Douglas MacArthur leapfrogged from his base in Australia to the Philippines. Petty Officer Kenneth G. Oliver here chronicles the ship's service during World War II, from the dangerous journeys to the Pacific Fleet bases through the shipboard activities of the crew to her decommissioning.