USS Sapelo ( AO - 11 ) USS " Sapelo " ( AO - 11 ) was a of the United States Navy . Laid down on 3 May 1919 for the United States Shipping Board by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co . , Newport News , Virginia , the ship was launched on 24 December 1919 , transferred to the Navy on 30 January 1920 , and commissioned on 19 February 1920 , Comdr . W . R . Kennedy , USNRF , in command . Service history . 1920 – 1933 . After carrying fuel oil from Texas ports to shore stations in Panama , Cuba , and on the east coast , " Sapelo " completed her first transatlantic run , to the Firth of Clyde with oil for the British Admiralty , in June 1920 . On her return , she remained in American waters through mid - August ; then loaded fuel oil , gasoline , and stores for store ships and shore stations supporting United States Navy ships operating in Adriatic and Turkish waters . During September , she delivered cargo at Constantinople , Constanţa , Venice , and Split . From there , she proceeded to Brest where she received American war dead to return to the United States . On 29 October , " Sapelo " arrived at New York and , for the next four years , alternately operated along the gulf coast , in the Caribbean , and along the east coast , with semi - annual one - to - three month tours in the Mediterranean – Middle East area . In April 1924 , she transited the Panama Canal and proceeded to San Pedro , California . From there , she refueled ships conducting exercises off the California , Mexican , and Panamanian coasts and carried fuel to shore bases in the Canal Zone . In June , she returned to the east coast ; underwent overhaul ; and , in August , resumed gulf coast - east coast - Caribbean shuttle runs . In January 1925 , she returned to the Pacific for winter maneuvers ; then , in April , departed San Francisco for Hawaii to support units participating in joint Army - Navy exercises . During May and June , she carried fuel oil and gasoline from California to Hawaii ; and , in July , she carried her vital cargo to Samoa . On the 21st , she returned to Pearl Harbor ; but , by the middle of August , was again en route west . After a stop at Wellington , N . Z . , she once more delivered petroleum products to Samoa ; and , on 1 September , she departed Tutuila to return to the United States . By mid - October , " Sapelo " had resumed shuttling fuel from the Texas oil ports to bases in the Caribbean and along the east coast . In late November 1926 , she again transited the Panama Canal ; loaded fuel oil in California ; delivered her cargo to Canal Zone depots ; and returned to the Atlantic for operations along the coast , in the Caribbean , and the Gulf of Mexico . For the next three years , she maintained a similar schedule . Most of her time was spent on the east coast , on the gulf coast , and in the Caribbean with runs , at least twice a year , into the Pacific to carry fuel , supplies , and personnel from California to the Canal Zone and Nicaragua . In 1929 , she interrupted this schedule to carry fuel and torpedoes to the Philippines before returning to the United States to resume her previous operations . In July 1932 , the oiler was transferred to the Pacific . In mid - August , she arrived at San Pedro and , for the next seven months , operated along the California coast with periodic fuel , freight , and passenger runs to Pearl Harbor . In April 1933 , she departed California for the east coast and , in mid - June , arrived in Philadelphia where she was decommissioned on 14 October . 1940 – 1945 . Six years later , World War II broke out in Europe ; and " Sapelo " was ordered activated . Recommissioned on 19 August 1940 , she was assigned to Train , Atlantic Fleet , and homeported at Norfolk . Into the spring of 1941 , she carried petroleum cargoes along the gulf and east coasts . That summer , she extended her runs to Nova Scotia , Newfoundland , and Greenland . In the fall , she commenced runs to Iceland ; and , on 7 December 1941 , she was at sea , en route from NS Argentia to Reykjavík , Iceland . Into the winter of 1943 , she continued to carry vital fuels to ships and shore stations in Canada , Newfoundland , and Iceland . Then , in late March , she departed Boston to deliver fuel oil , aviation gas , and ammunition to Loch Ewe , Scotland . On 15 April , she turned westward with salt water ballast and a partial cargo of ammunition . On the 19th , she arrived at Reykjavík ; and , on the 24th , she departed Iceland to join convoy ONS - 5 . Two days later , the rendezvous was completed , and the convoy of 43 merchant ships moved west on a course to maximize air coverage from bases on Iceland , Greenland , and Newfoundland . Further west , 47 German submarines , organized into Groups " Star , " " Specht , " and " Amsel , " were positioning themselves along projected convoy courses between Iceland and Newfoundland . On the 29th , a unit of " Star " located ONS - 5 and relayed the information . The signals were picked up by the convoy ' s escorts ; and , that night , they drove off the first U - boat attack . The slow convoy continued west . Merchant ships began showing breakdown lights . Escorts began to deplete their fuel tanks . Heavy seas precluded refueling while underway . By 4 May , 10 ships had dropped out of the main convoy body and had been organized into two straggler groups . The convoy ' s screen had been reduced to seven ships . Four additional U - boats joined the attacking units , who were reorganized and repositioned to trap the convoy between Cape Farewell on the southern tip of Greenland and Flemish Cap , some east of Cape Race , Newfoundland . Just prior to 2100 on 4 May , the escort ahead of the convoy dropped three depth charges . For over 30 hours , the convoy came under continuous attack . The escorts fought back , assisted by land - based aircraft ; but ships ahead of , astern of , and to starboard of " Sapelo " were hit . On the night of 5 and 6 May , after the convoy entered a fog bank , German accuracy dropped off . The U - boats waited for morning , but the fog continued to shield the survivors of ONS - 5 . At mid - morning on the 6th , the German attack was called off . The U - boats retired eastward . They had sunk 13 merchantmen . The escorts of ONS — 5 had sunk five U - boats ; Allied aircraft , one . " Sapelo " arrived at New York on 15 May . An overhaul period followed ; and , in July , she resumed resupply runs to bases in the Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland . In September , she shifted south to the Caribbean and through the fall shuttled petroleum products from Aruba and Curaçao to the east coast . In December , she moved north again ; shuttled fuels to Canadian ports ; then , with the spring of 1944 , commenced plying routes between the gulf coast , the east coast , and Bermuda . That summer , she again crossed the Atlantic ; and , in September , she resumed operations along the east and gulf coasts , to Bermuda , and into the Caribbean which she continued until the end of World War II . Decommissioning and disposal . With the end of the war , " Sapelo " was designated for disposal . In September 1945 , she reported to Commander , 5th Naval District for inactivation . On 26 October 1945 , she was decommissioned ; and , on 13 November , her name was struck from the Navy List . She was sold , via the War Shipping Administration to the Patapsco Scrap Co . , in May 1946 .