USS Kanawha ( AO - 1 ) The third USS " Kanawha " ( AO - 1 ) ( originally Fuel Ship No . 13 ) was the first purpose - built oiler of the US Navy . She was laid down 8 December 1913 by the Mare Island Navy Yard , Vallejo , California ; launched 11 July 1914 ; sponsored by Miss Dorothy Bennett ; and commissioned 5 June 1915 , Lt . Comdr . Richard Werner , USNRF , in command . " Kanawha " cleared San Diego 9 June 1915 and arrived Newport , Rhode Island , for service with the Atlantic Fleet . During the following year the oiler made seven trips to Port Arthur , Texas , for fuel oil and gasoline . On 11 October 1916 " Kanawha " was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet . Then , in addition to her fueling duties , she participated in tactical exercises , carried mail , and towed targets . After America entered World War I , the oiler was assigned to Commander , Destroyer Force , Atlantic Fleet , as an escort for the first A . B . F . sent to France . " Kanawha " cleared New York 17 June 1917 and crossed the submarine - infested Atlantic , arriving St . Nazaire 2 July . She returned to New York 10 August for repairs before sailing again 23 September . The oiler cruised in Atlantic waters until 1 November supplying fuel oil to the cruiser force and escorting convoys to Europe . " Kanawha " returned to Philadelphia for repairs , then joined NOTS 8 January 1918 . For the rest of the war , the oiler , ignoring torpedo warnings , carried fuel oil from Halifax to United Kingdom and French ports . " Kanawha " arrived New York 1 May 1919 from her final cruise ; she was detached from NOTS 12 May for reassignment to the Atlantic Fleet . The oiler departed Port Arthur 24 July and arrived at San Pedro , California 9 August . From 1919 to 1929 , " Kanawha " , with the exception of three cruises to Port Arthur to supply units and ports along the Atlantic coast , operated in the Pacific . In addition to servicing ships , the oiler participated in the Army - Navy maneuvers in Hawaii during April 1925 . She then accompanied the Battle Fleet on a goodwill cruise to Australia and New Zealand before resuming coastal fueling operations 25 September 1925 . " Kanawha " was decommissioned at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 18 December 1929 . She was recommissioned 5 June 1934 and cleared Bremerton 21 June for her base at San Pedro . For the following six years she cruised along the West Coast supplying oil and gasoline to ports in the Panama Canal Zone , the Caribbean , and Hawaii . In 1941 " Kanawha " widened her operations , sailing east to Midway and Wake Island s and as far north as Alaska . The oiler was at Mare Island undergoing overhaul at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . " Kanawha " departed San Pedro 21 March 1942 with a convoy loaded with supplies for Hawaii . She continued convoy runs from California to Pearl Harbor until 18 May when she arrived Tongatapu for fueling operations in the South Pacific . Throughout the summer she cruised to New Caledonia , Espiritu Santo , and Efate , providing fuel for destroyers and transports en route to the Pacific campaigns . The oiler departed Pago Pago 12 October and put into San Francisco 29 October for repairs and overhaul . " Kanawha " resumed fueling operations upon her return to Pago Pago 13 February 1943 . For the next two months she serviced ships engaged in the struggle in the Solomon Islands . On 7 April a group of enemy Vals slipped through fighter defenses and zeroed in on " Kanawha " as she awaited an escort in Tulagi harbor . At 1502 , shortly after clearing the harbor , the slow and vulnerable oiler came under bomb attack . The first five planes hit an oil tank under the bridge , causing fires to spread rapidly along the deck . Lt . Comdr . Bock ordered the ship abandoned to minimize danger to his crew from burning oil on the surface . After rescue operations were underway , volunteers returned on board and extinguished fires amidst exploding ammunition . The tug " Rail " towed " Kanawha " to the west side of Tulagi where she was beached shortly before midnight . However , she slid off into deep water and sank before daybreak 8 April . Nineteen of her crew were lost . " Kanawha " received one battle star for World War II service .