USS Severn ( AO - 61 ) USS Severn ( AO - 61 ) was a . She was constructed for the U . S . Navy during World War II and her assignment was to provide liquids , such as fuel or water , to ships in the forward battle areas . She survived this dangerous task and returned home post - war with two battle star s to her credit . The fourth Navy ship to be named " Severn " , she was laid down under Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 727 ) on 24 November 1943 by the Bethlehem - Sparrows Point Shipyard , Inc . , Sparrows Point , Maryland ; launched on 31 May 1944 ; sponsored by Mrs . Harold B . Hinton ; and delivered and commissioned on 19 July 1944 , Lt . Comdr . Owen Rees in command . Pacific Theatre operations . Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay , " Severn " departed the U . S . East Coast for the Panama Canal and duty as a fresh water carrier in the Pacific . Assigned to ServRon 8 , she arrived at Pearl Harbor on 8 September and at Eniwetok on 22 September . There she discharged her cargo into YO ' s ; and , on the 28th , sailed for the Admiralties . At Manus , on 3 October , she commenced watering amphibious craft of the U . S . 7th Fleet preparing for the Leyte invasion ; and , on 13 October , got under way for Hollandia , whence she sailed for Leyte Gulf on the 18 October . Philippine Islands invasion . On 23 October the Battle for Leyte Gulf began ; and , as that day turned into the 24th , " Severn " entered the gulf . After daylight , she moved into San Pedro Bay . An hour later , she underwent her first air attack ; and , on the 25th , began discharging fresh water . Missed by a bomb from a plane . Through the daily air attacks of the next few weeks , " Severn " continued to provide U . S . 7th Fleet units with water . By November , the attacks were down to two a day and were usually broken up by friendly aircraft . But , on the 24th , an enemy plane penetrated the CAP cover and released a bomb aimed at the water carrier . The bomb missed " Severn " , but hit " PC - 1124 " then receiving water . In December , " Severn " returned to Manus ; took on more water , clothing , dry provisions , and lube oil ; loaded an " LCVP " and 2 jeeps at Hollandia ; then returned to the Philippines in time to support the landings in Lingayen Gulf . Arriving in that gulf on 13 January 1945 , she distributed water and fuel oil through the 26th ; then returned to San Pedro Bay . From Leyte , she proceeded back to the Admiralties ; and , on 14 February , got under way for the Western Carolines . South Pacific operations . During March , " Severn " filled her cargo tanks with water at Guam and offloaded at Ulithi — into ships staging for the Okinawa campaign . In April , she continued to focus her operations on Ulithi , which she left only to rendezvous with U . S . 5th Fleet units at sea to return to the Marianas to refill her cargo tanks . In May , with the arrival of at Ulithi , she commenced roughly triangular operations which took her from the Carolines to the Admiralties to the Marianas and back to the Carolines — taking on potable water at Manus and Guam and discharging it into water carriers and small craft at Saipan and Ulithi . End - of - war activity . In August , " Severn " moved up to Okinawa to discharge water to ships in Buckner Bay and in the Hagushi anchorage . After the end of hostilities , she remained at Okinawa , and - during September , October , and November , she shuttled water from Samar to the Ryūkyūs . In December , she carried water to distributing ships at Sasebo , Kagoshima , and Wakayama , Japan ; and , on the 27th , sailed for the United States . Nuclear testing at Bikini . " Severn " arrived at San Pedro , California , on 10 January 1946 . Overhaul followed ; and , in May , she sailed for the Marshalls . There , into October , she provided fresh water to units of Joint Task Force 1 during Operation Crossroads , the atomic test series conducted that summer at Bikini Atoll . She then returned to the United States ; and , in December , assumed the duties of an oiler and initially transported Navy special fuel and diesel fuel between U . S . West Coast ports . Post - war runs . At mid - month , " Severn " sailed for Japan where she joined ServRon 3 and commenced shuttling fuel between Japanese and Korean ports . In February 1947 , she was transferred to Persian Gulf runs ; and , into July , moved fuel from Ras at Tanura to Yokosuka . In July , she returned to the U . S . West Coast for overhaul ; and , in November , resumed runs between Japan and the Persian Gulf . In May 1948 , her schedule was altered ; and , into September , she carried petroleum products from the Middle East to the east coast of the United States . She then returned to the Pacific ; and , but for a run to Europe , she conducted Persian Gulf - Japan runs until ordered back to the United States for inactivation in January 1950 . Decommissioning . At the end of that month , she proceeded to the Puget Sound Navy Yard for tank cleaning and voyage repairs ; then , in early April , moved south to San Diego , California , to complete inactivation . Despite the outbreak of hostilities in Korea , she was decommissioned as scheduled on 3 July but was soon reactivated again as that conflict drew available shipping into the Pacific and produced unfilled demands in other areas . Recommissioned during Korean War . " Severn " was recommissioned on 29 December 1950 and , although assigned to Service Force , Atlantic , was initially employed in transpacific service . By April 1951 , when she transited the Panama Canal to take up duties with the Atlantic Fleet , she had completed two runs to Japan . East Coast operations . Homeported at Newport , Rhode Island , " Severn " operated along the east coast and in the Puerto Rican area into the fall and , in November , was deployed , for the first time , to the Mediterranean for duty with the U . S . 6th Fleet . In March 1952 , she returned to Newport . During the summer , she participated in midshipman cruise " Baker ; " and , in the fall , after availability and independent ship exercises , resumed participation in scheduled operations in the western Atlantic and Caribbean . " Severn " returned to Newport , Rhode Island , from her next to last Mediterranean deployment on 10 June 1971 . She spent the next 18 months engaged in operations and exercises out of Newport . Her final deployment to the Mediterranean was from January through August 1973 . Final decommissioning . During the first six months of 1974 , " Severn " was at Newport preparing for decommissioning . On 1 July 1974 , she was decommissioned and towed to the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Her name was struck from the Navy List , and her hulk was turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal . Subsequently , she was sold , 22 January 1975 , by MARAD . Her current fate is unknown . Military awards and honors . " Severn " earned two battle stars during World War II .