USS Winooski ( AO - 38 ) The second USS " Winooski " ( AO - 38 ) was a Kennebec " - class oiler in the United States Navy . " Winooski " was laid down as " Calusa " on 23 April 1941 at Sparrows Point , Maryland , by the Bethlehem Steel Company under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 144 ) ; launched on 12 November 1941 ; sponsored by Mrs . Laurence B . Levi ; taken over by the Navy on 5 January 1942 . She was renamed " Winooski " ( AO - 38 ) on 9 January 1942 ; and commissioned at Baltimore , Maryland , on 27 January 1942 , Commander Walter C . Ansel in command . Service history . 1942 . Following a brief period of shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay , " Winooski " embarked upon her first mission in mid - February . She arrived in Baytown , Texas , on 25 February and began loading a cargo of fuel . The oiler departed Baytown on 2 March and arrived in Norfolk , Virginia on the 7th . The next day , " Winooski " got underway for Newport , Rhode Island , where she remained until the 25th . On that day , the ship got underway in company with and , bound for Iceland . She and her consorts arrived in Reykjavík on 1 April and remained there until the 4th , at which time she returned to sea . The oiler arrived back at Norfolk on 13 April . Four days later , she stood out to sea en route to Baton Rouge , Louisiana . She loaded fuel at Baton Rouge from 23 to 25 April and then set a course back to Norfolk in which port she arrived on the 29th . She discharged her cargo at Craney Island and , on 4 May , embarked upon another voyage to Baytown . The oiler loaded fuel at Baytown from 9 to 11 May and stood out to sea on the return voyage . She reentered Norfolk on the 16th . Four days later , the ship steamed out of Chesapeake Bay again , on her way to NS Argentia , Newfoundland . She arrived at her destination on the 23rd and began almost a month of harbor fuelling duty there . On 15 June , " Winooski " cleared Argentia for Norfolk where she arrived on 29 June . After a nine - day availability at the Norfolk Navy Yard , the oiler resumed duty , starting out on a voyage to Deer Park , Texas , on 8 July . She returned to Norfolk from Deer Park on 21 July but , two days later , headed back to Argentia where she resumed duty as station oiler from 26 July to 13 August . She returned to Norfolk on 16 August and remained there until 2 September at which time she got underway for Iceland once again . She stopped at Reykjavík for one week , from 10 to 17 September , and reentered Norfolk on the 25th . Following a yard availability , " Winooski " began preparations for the amphibious assault on the Moroccan coast . In addition to her cargo of fuel oil , the ship deck - loaded two high - speed fire support boats for use in the invasion . On 24 October , she rendezvoused with the other ships of Task Force ( TF ) 34 and set a course for North Africa . The fleet arrived off Fedhala early in the morning of 8 November . " Winooski " launched the fire support boats and , while they moved in to assist the troops assaulting the beaches , she proceeded to fuel the ships in the anchorage . She continued fueling operations unmolested until 11 November when the enemy launched a series of submarine counterattacks against the invasion fleet . At about 2000 hours that evening , a torpedo from German submarine U - 173 struck the oiler just abaft of the bridge , punching a hole in her number 6 tank and damaging several other compartments as well . " Winooski " listed about eight degrees , but she corrected it almost immediately by shifting cargo and resumed her duties the following day . Further submarine attacks occurred on the 12th , but " Winooski " emerged unscathed and quickly put farther out to sea where she and the other ships maneuvered evasively to avoid submarine attacks . On 15 November , she put into port at Casablanca and resumed fueling operations . She remained in that port until 23 November at which time she got underway for Gibraltar for a three - month repair period . 1943 . On 27 February 1943 , " Winooski " joined a convoy headed for the United States , GUS - 5 . After a transatlantic voyage without incident , the oiler arrived back in Norfolk on 11 March . On the 21st , the ship stood out of Chesapeake Bay on her way to Beaumont , Texas . She arrived in Beaumont on 26 March and began loading cargo . " Winooski " returned to Norfolk on 2 April and remained there for five days . On the 8th , she got underway again , bound for Aruba in the Netherlands West Indies . At Aruba on the 13th , the oiler loaded cargo again and headed back to Norfolk , where she arrived on the 18th . After a brief yard period , during which four PT boats were deck - loaded on board her , " Winooski " departed Norfolk on 25 April for New York , there to join a convoy bound for the Mediterranean Sea . The convoy put to sea on 28 April . " Winooski " arrived in Casablanca on 16 May , loaded additional fuel oil — she had refueled escorts on the transatlantic run — and departed Casablanca on the 18th . The following day , she entered port at Oran , Algeria . That evening , her anchorage came under enemy air attack . The oiler brought every gun on board — including the light ma - chineguns on the deck - loaded PT ' s — to bear on the attackers but failed to score a kill . The enemy , however , did little better , for the harbor suffered very little damage . The oiler remained in North Africa until 22 July , providing distant support for the invasion and occupation of Sicily . She unloaded the PT boats on 22 May ; and , on 1 June , she shifted to Mers El Kébir . On 21 July , the oiler moved back to Oran where she remained overnight before getting underway for Gibraltar . There , the ship joined up with a convoy and set a course for the United States . She arrived in Hampton Roads on 3 August . On 12 August , she embarked upon another voyage to Beaumont , Texas , arriving there on the 18th . She loaded cargo and then got underway again on the 20th . The oiler arrived back at Norfolk on 25 August and began preparations for another transatlantic voyage . On 1 September , the ship headed for New York where she arrived on the following day . On 5 September , " Winooski " put to sea with a convoy bound for the British Isles . She provided refueling services to the convoy ' s escorts along the way and arrived in Belfast Lough , Ireland , on 14 September . After further refueling operations , she moved to Loch Long , Scotland , where she discharged the remainder of her oil to the dock . After a visit to Gourock , Scotland , the oiler departed the United Kingdom , bound for home . She reentered Norfolk on 1 October and remained there one week before embarking upon another voyage to Aruba . She reached the Dutch colony on 13 October , loaded oil , and headed back to Norfolk on the 14th . She returned to Hampton Roads on the 20th , discharged her cargo at the Standard Oil dock , and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for a 20 - day availability . She exited the yard on 11 November and anchored in Hampton Roads . Between 13 and 26 November , " Winooski " made another round - trip voyage from Norfolk to Texas and back . On 5 December , she rendezvoused with another transatlantic convoy , this time off Cape Henry , Virginia , and set a course for North Africa . She arrived in Casablanca on 20 December and remained there until the 28th , at which time she joined the homeward - bounty Convoy GUS - 25 . 1944 . The oiler reentered Chesapeake Bay on 17 January 1944 and moored at Norfolk . On 4 February , " Winooski " departed Norfolk with a load of oil bound for Bermuda . She arrived at her destination on 6 February , discharged her cargo and , on 14 February , set a course for Baytown , Texas . She loaded cargo at Baytown between the 20th and the 24th and then shaped a course back to Norfolk , where she arrived on 1 March . From 5 to 19 March , the oiler made another Texas run , this time to Port Arthur and back to Norfolk . Six days after her return , she was on her way back to Texas . On the return voyage , however , the ship was diverted to Casco Bay , Maine , where she discharged her cargo . The ship entered New York on 9 April and remained there until the 12th at which time she headed back to Texas for another load of oil . " Winooski " reentered New York harbor on the 27th and began preparations for another transatlantic voyage . The convoy stood out of New York on 3 May , and " Winooski " arrived in Avonmouth , England , on the 16th . From there , she moved to Belfast whence she departed on the 19th to return to the United States . The oiler arrived back in New York on 28 May and remained there until 8 June when she stood out to sea with another convoy , bound for Europe . She arrived in Swansea , England , on the 19th . She discharged cargo there and returned to sea on the 22d . After a brief stop at Belfast Lough , " Winooski " departed for home on 24 June and reentered Norfolk on Independence Day 1944 . She remained in the Norfolk area until 14 July when she returned to sea with a convoy bound for the Mediterranean , a part of the force being sent to invade southern France . " Winooski " reached the Strait of Gibraltar on 28 July and put into Mers El Kébir on the 30th . On 3 August , she set sail for Palermo , Sicily , and arrived there two days later . The oiler remained at Palermo providing logistics support for the bombardment and fire support units of the invasion fleet until 28 August . On that day she departed Palermo and , after visits to Bizerte and Oran , got underway to return home on 4 September . She entered New York harbor 10 days later . The ship stayed in the New York area until 18 September when she headed back to Norfolk . The ship arrived at her destination on the 19th and entered the navy yard for alterations . She completed modifications on 8 October and , after a series of trials , departed Norfolk on the 14th . The oiler made a stop at Aruba to load oil and aviation gasoline and then set a course for the Panama Canal . She arrived at Cristobal , Canal Zone , on 22 October and transited the canal that same day . On 23 October , " Winooski " — by then a unit of the Pacific Fleet — embarked upon a long voyage to the Admiralty Islands . She arrived in Seeadler Harbor at Manus on 16 November and remained there for more than a month fueling American warships and conducting underway training . On 23 December , she departed Manus with Task Group ( TG ) 77 . 6 and arrived in Leyte Gulf on the 30th . She remained at Leyte until 2 January 1945 at which time she put to sea with TG 77 . 10 , bound for Mindoro where she and the other units of Task Unit ( TU ) 77 . 10 . 5 were to establish a forward logistics base for the forces engaged in the assault and occupation of Luzon . The unit with which " Winooski " steamed came under air attack several times ; and , though the oiler herself escaped unscathed , one ship — — fell victim to the kamikaze attacks and suffered such severe damage that American ships had to sink her with torpedoes . 1945 . " Winooski " arrived safely in Mangarin Bay , Mindoro , on 4 January ; and , though she and her consorts had to put to sea each night because of the danger of air attacks , they remained in that vicinity until 8 January and provided fuel for the warships engaged in the Lingayen Gulf operation . On the 8th , she left Mindoro to rendezvous with TG 77 . 9 , the Luzon Reinforcement Group , and set a course with that task group for Lingayen Gulf . The ships arrived in Lingayen Gulf on the morning of 11 January , but " Winooski " departed the gulf again that evening to join TG 77 . 4 , the Escort Carrier Group , for several days of refueling operations before returning to the gulf on the 15th . She resumed anchorage fueling duty at Lingayen for the remainder of the month . On 10 February , " Winooski " moved from Lingayen Gulf to recently captured Subic Bay . She resumed fueling operations at that location and remained there until near the end of the first week in April . She departed Subic Bay on 5 April and headed back to Leyte , arriving in San Pedro Bay on the 8th . There , the oiler loaded provisions , stores , and a cargo of fuel oil before getting underway for Zamboanga where she arrived on the 16th . Two days later , she departed Zamboanga in company with TU 78 . 2 . 15 for the landing at Pollac harbor on southern Mindanao . The ship arrived in the landing area on the 19th and conducted fueling operations until 29 April when she set sail for Tawi Tawi in the Sulu Archipelago . She arrived at her destination on the 30th and remained there awaiting the successful conclusion of Allied landings at Tarakan , Borneo . On 1 May , she received word that the landings at Tarakan were proceeding smoothly and got underway for Borneo . The oiler arrived at Tarakan on 2 May and remained there conducting fueling operations until the 7th at which time she headed back to the Philippines . Steaming via Tawi Tawi , " Winooski " arrived back in San Pedro Bay on the 10th and remained there until the 14th when she got underway to return to Tarakan . She resumed harbor fueling duty at Tarakan from 16 May to 1 June . From there , she moved back to Tawi Tawi where she conducted fueling operations for a day or two before sailing on to Zamboanga . " Winooski " stayed at Zamboanga , making preparations for the landings at Brunei Bay , Borneo , from 5 to 7 June . On the latter day , she departed Zamboanga and joined TG 78 . 1 . The task group arrived at Brunei Bay on the morning of 10 June . The landings went off smoothly , and the oiler began her usual routine of refueling the ships of the invasion fleet . She carried out those operations until 14 June at which time she headed back to Leyte . She replenished at Leyte on 17 and 18 June and returned to Brunei Bay on the 21st . She remained there until the 29th at which time she headed , via Zamboanga , back to Leyte . " Winooski " replenished at San Pedro Bay from 8 to 12 July and steamed via Guiuan , Samar , back to Brunei Bay . The ship served as station oiler at Brunei Bay from 16 to 19 July and returned to Leyte on the 24th . For the remaining three weeks of the war and through the first four months of the postwar period , " Winooski " steamed the length and breadth of the Philippine Archipelago delivering fuel to American ships throughout the area . On 17 December , relieved her of duty as station oiler at Manila . Three days later , " Winooski " began the long voyage home . En route , however , she received a change in orders ; and , after a brief stop in Pearl Harbor to disembark passengers and load cargo , she reversed course for Japan on 5 January 1946 . 1946 . The oiler arrived at Yokosuka , Japan , on 17 January , discharged her cargo to ships at the naval base , and got underway for home again on the 24th . She arrived in San Francisco , California , on 8 February but remained only nine days . She set sail for Norfolk , Virginia , on the 17th . The ship transited the Panama Canal on the 26th and arrived in Norfolk early in March . After almost two months of preparations , " Winooski " was placed out of commission at Norfolk on 30 April 1946 . She was delivered to the War Shipping Administration for disposal on 1 August 1946 , and her name was stricken from the Navy list on 8 October 1946 . " Winooski " earned four battle stars during World War II . She was later returned to civilian service as " Calusa " ( 1946 ) , " Samuel L . Fuller " ( 1947 ) , " Seanymph " ( 1963 ) , and " Meracoulosa " ( 1965 ) .