USS Patoka ( AO - 9 ) USS " Patoka " ( AO – 9 / AV – 6 / AG – 125 ) was a fleet oiler made famous as a tender for the airship s , and . It was also notable in that its height ( ) figured prominently in the design of Rainbow Bridge in Texas ( the bridge design required that the " Patoka " , then the tallest ship in the Naval fleet , could sail under it ; however , it never did ) . Named for the Patoka River , " Patoka " was laid down on 17 December 1918 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company of Newport News , Virginia and launched on 26 July 1919 . Acquired by the Navy from the USSB on 3 September 1919 , and commissioned on 13 October 1919 , Comdr . Ernest F . Robinson in command . 1920s and 1930s . Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service , " Patoka " departed Norfolk on 4 November 1919 for Port Arthur , Texas , where she loaded fuel oil and sailed for Scotland , arriving on the Clyde on 6 December . She returned to Port Arthur for more oil and got under way on 9 January 1920 for the Adriatic Sea , arriving at Split on 12 February . Returning to the United States in April " Patoka " went back to the Near East , arriving at Constantinople in June . After duty in the Adriatic and Mediterranean she returned to the United States , and served on both the east and west coasts until 1924 when she was selected as a tender for rigid airship " Shenandoah " . A mooring mast some 125 feet above the water was constructed ; additional accommodations both for the crew of " Shenandoah " and for the men who handled and supplied the airship were added ; facilities for the helium , gasoline , and other supplies necessary for " Shenandoah " were built ; as well as handling and stowage facilities for three seaplanes . This work by the Norfolk Navy Yard was completed shortly after 1 July 1924 . " Patoka " retained her classification of AO – 9 . " Patoka " engaged in a short series of mooring experiments with the " Shenandoah " , which had reported to the Commander , Scouting Fleet , for duty on 1 August 1924 . The first successful mooring was made on 8 August 1924 . In October , " Patoka " , " Milwaukee " , and " Detroit " , were assigned stations in the mid - Atlantic to furnish the airship " Los Angeles " with the weather reports and forecasts during her flight , 12 to 15 October 1924 , from Germany , where she had been built , to Lakehurst Naval Air Station , New Jersey . During 1925 " Patoka " operated with both " Shenandoah " and " Los Angeles " in demonstrating the mobility of airships , and in reducing the number of ground personnel required to handle them . A projected polar flight by " Shenandoah " , using " Patoka " as her base of operations , was cancelled when the airship was lost in a storm on 3 September 1925 . Between 1925 and 1932 " Patoka " operated with " Los Angeles " and served as her base of supply and operations on her long - range flights to Puerto Rico ( 1925 ) , Panama ( 1928 ) , Florida ( 1929 ) , and during the fleet concentration off Panama ( 1931 ) . During 1932 she also operated with the newly acquired airship " Akron " , but the decommissioning of " Los Angeles " on 30 June 1932 , and the crash of " Akron " on 4 April 1933 , foretold a rest for " Patoka " . She was decommissioned on 31 August 1933 . On 10 November 1939 " Patoka " recommissioned at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Comdr . C . A . F . Sprague in command , and reported to Patrol Wing 5 , Aircraft , Scouting Force . Her classification had been changed to AV – 6 , seaplane tender , on 11 October 1939 . On 18 January 1940 she departed Puget Sound and , after taking on fuel and cargo at San Pedro , arrived at San Diego on the 31st . She steamed for the east coast on 5 February and reached Norfolk on 25 March . Next " Patoka " was assigned to the Naval Transportation Service in June and was reclassified AO – 9 on 19 June 1940 . On 13 August she departed Norfolk and sailed to Houston . Between August and December 1940 , she operated out of Houston and Baytown , Texas , delivering fuel oil to Boston , Melville , Norfolk , Charleston , and Key West . From March 1941 to September " Patoka " delivered fuel oil and general cargo to various units of the Fleet in the Atlantic , Gulf , and Caribbean areas . On 28 September she departed Norfolk and proceeded , via Aruba , to Recife , Brazil . " Patoka " made one more round trip to Recife before the United States entered World War II . World War II , 1941 - 1943 . On 7 December 1941 , " Patoka " was moored at Recife , acting as tanker , cargo , store ship , and repair ship . Here she supplied the units of Task Force 3 ( later 23 ) with fuel , diesel , lubricating oil ; gasoline stores ; provisions ; and repairs . Shortly after the turn of the new year 1942 , she got under way for Bahia , Brazil , anchoring there on 8 January . There , she received word that ships bearing rubber and other vital war goods had left French Indochina bound for the Axis controlled ports in Europe . " Patoka " requested and received permission to patrol the shipping lanes off Bahia . When she had completed her patrol duties she put into port and returned to Recife on 22 January . Six days later she was bound for San Juan , Puerto Rico , but en route she was diverted to Trinidad , B . W . I . Taking on fuel and stores she returned to Recife . Standing out of the harbor on 21 February , she again set course , changed several times to avoid reported submarines , and reached San Juan , Puerto Rico , on 4 March . Her return trip to Recife was made without incident . On 25 May 1942 , while again returning to Recife from Trinidad escorted by , " Patoka " sighted an enemy submarine on the surface . " Jouett " attacked , forcing the U - boat to dive and continued the attack until " Patoka " had escaped . " Patoka " remained at Recife , continuing to supply the ships of Task Force 23 with provisions , supplies and tender services until April 1943 , with occasional trips to Puerto Rico and Trinidad for replenishment . " Patoka " then got underway for home , reaching Norfolk on 22 May for overhaul . She sailed for New York on 6 August to join a convoy bound for Aruba , N . W . I . and resumed operations along the coast of South America . 1944 - 1945 . In April 1944 , she carried 62 prisoners of war ( German naval and merchant marine personnel ) from Rio de Janeiro to Recife where they were turned over to the U . S . Army . " Patoka " departed on 24 March and arrived Norfolk on 6 April for an overhaul period , to prepare for duty in the Pacific . On 15 June , " Patoka " departed from Norfolk for the Panama Canal and Pearl Harbor . There she was outfitted for duty as a minecraft tender and was reclassified AG – 125 on 15 August 1945 . Shortly thereafter she sailed via Guam for Okinawa , reaching Buckner Bay on 5 September . " Patoka " provided the minecraft with tender services until 21 September at which time she got underway for Wakayama , Japan . Anchoring there on 23 September , she continued to provide logistic support to units of the 5th Fleet , servicing mine vessels of Task Group 52 . 6 . She remained with the occupation forces until the spring of 1946 , returning to the United States on 10 March 1946 . Fate . " Patoka " was decommissioned on 1 July 1946 , transferred to the War Shipping Administration , and was struck from the Navy List on 31 July 1946 . She was sold to Dulien Steel Products Co . for scrap on 15 March 1948 .