page_title: USS Manatee (AO-58)
section_title: Korean War
hierarchical_section_title: USS Manatee (AO-58) / Service history / Korean War
caption_attribution_description: English: The U.S. Navy fleet oiler USS Manatee (AO-58) refueling the Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Warramunga (D123) in Korean waters on 27 June 1951.
context_page_description: The USS Manatee (AO-58)—the second vessel of the United States Navy to bear the name—was the Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler named for a river in Florida. Cimarron class oilers were named after American Indian rivers in the southern United States.
  Manatee was laid down 28 August 1943 by the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc. of Sparrows Point, Maryland, as a Maritime Commission type tanker hull with a cargo capacity of 146,000 barrels, under Maritime Commission contract; launched 18 February 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Paul V. McNutt; and commissioned 6 April 1944 with Lieutenant Commander Joseph B. Smyth in command. Smyth had previous experience on an oiler. Just prior to taking charge of the Manatee, he had served as executive officer on the USS Big Horn.
context_section_description: On 17 March 1951 Manatee arrived in Japanese waters to begin her first annual WesPac deployment. After brief periods at Tokuyama and Sasebo, she received orders to replenish the Taiwan Straits Patrol. She returned to Sasebo 20 May and commenced servicing United Nations ships in combat areas off the Korean coast. She continued to operate out of Sasebo for the next five months, returning to Long Beach 11 August. Her next two WestPac deployments, 21 March to 19 October 1952 and 6 February to 29 July 1953, followed the same pattern, one month with the Taiwan Straits Patrol and the remainder of the tour operating out of Sasebo in support of Korean operations. 
  For the next five years Manatee’s operating schedule continued to be six months in the western Pacific, six months on the west coast. During this period, she participated in fleet operations and in underway training exercises, as well as undergoing regular overhauls. Included in her Pacific deployment for 1954 was the replenishment of the ships present in the Marshall Islands for the March hydrogen bomb tests. Manatee received eight battle stars for World War II service and six for Korean War service.
caption: Manatee refuels HMAS Warramunga off Korea on 27 June 1951.
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