USS Mississinewa ( AO - 59 ) USS " Mississinewa " ( AO - 59 ) was the first of two United States Navy ships of the name . She was a T3 - S2 - A3 Auxiliary Oiler of the US Navy , laid down on 5 October 1943 by the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard , Inc . , Sparrows Point , Maryland ; launched on 28 March 1944 ; sponsored by Miss Margaret Pence ; and commissioned on 18 May 1944 . " Mississinewa " was commanded by Captain Philip G . Beck . World War II . " Mississinewa " began her brief but active wartime service on 18 May 1944 . Having completed shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay , she sailed for Aruba , Netherland West Indies , to take on her first cargo . Filling her cargo tanks on 23 – 24 June she continued on to the Pacific Ocean , arriving Pearl Harbor on 10 July . As a unit of Service Squadron 10 ( ServRon 10 ) , she then steamed to Eniwetok where she first fueled ships of the 3rd Fleet . On 25 August , she got underway for Manus where she supplied fuel and stores and delivered mail to ships of TF 38 , the fast carrier force , 32 and 31 during the assault and occupation of the Palaus . Returning to Manus on 30 September , she replenished her tanks and again headed north to refuel TF 38 as that force struck at Japanese shipping and shore installations in the Philippines , on Taiwan , and in the Ryukyus in preparation for the Philippine campaign . On 19 October , having emptied her tanks into ships scheduled to take part in the landings at Leyte , she sailed to Ulithi , her new base . Thence in early November , " Mississinewa " sailed her last fueling at sea assignment , returning on the 15th . The next day , she replenished her cargo tanks , filling them almost to capacity with of aviation gas , of diesel fuel , and of fuel oil . Four days later , 20 November , she was still anchored in berth No . 131 . At 05 : 47 , shortly after reveille , a heavy explosion rocked the oiler . Seconds later , fumes in an aviation gas cargo tank ignited , causing a second explosion . Massive flames immediately burst from midship forward . Bunker C oil immediately engulfed the ship , with aviation gas on top of that . The aviation gas acted like a wick . Fanned by a light wind , the fire spread aft quickly . A few minutes later the fires reached the after magazine and caused yet another explosion to tear through the ship . The ship was abandoned and soon enveloped in flames over high . Fleet tugs were immediately brought in to try to extinguish the fire , but in spite of their efforts , at about 09 : 00 the ship slowly turned over and disappeared . Fifteen minutes later , the fire on the water was out and Ulithi anchorage was again quiet . This ship was the first to be hit by a Japanese " Kaiten " manned torpedo . The ship sank with a loss of 63 hands as well as the " kaiten " pilot . Of the five " kaiten " sent against US ships , only one was successful , but the explosion and fire from " Mississinewa " was so great that the Japanese Naval Command back in Tokyo were erroneously informed that three aircraft carriers were hit . This resulted in an expansion of the " kaiten " program , even though it would not significantly affect the war . " Mississinewa " was hit in the front starboard bow area , the " kaiten " probably released by Japanese submarine " I - 47 " just outside Ulithi Lagoon , Yap State , FSM . " Mississinewa " received four battle stars for World War II service . Recent history . On 6 April 2001 , after a search , the hulk of the ship was found again . It is now treated as a memorial for over 50 sailors whose remains are still there . A full narrative of the wreck ' s discovery , with details of the ship ' s loss and photographs of the initial exploration dives , is documented on the website Bentprop . org . Later in 2001 , in response to concerns voiced by the local government about oil being released from the site , the U . S . Navy led a survey dive to determine the status of the wreck and the potential for environmental damage from the deteriorating hulk . Divers confirmed that the potential for a large release of the tanker ' s cargo fuel made a recovery attempt necessary . A report from that survey expedition is posted on the at Supervisor of Salvage and Diving website . In February 2003 , a US Navy salvage team led an expedition to recover as much oil as possible . Divers used " hot taps " to drill into the oil tanks and removed all accessible oil , nearly 2 million US gallons ( 7 , 600 m ) , rendering the wreck safer . This final expedition is also documented on the SupSalv website and is available here .