USS Alameda ( AO - 10 ) USS " Alameda " ( Fuel Ship No . 10 / AO - 10 ) , was a United States Navy tanker in commission from 1919 to 1922 . She was built as the civilian tanker SS " Alameda , but transferred to the U . S . Navy after completion in 1919 . She was sold for commercial service and operated under the names SS " Olean and SS " Sweep before she was transferred to the Navy again in World War II as USS " Silver Cloud " ( IX - 143 ) . SS " Alameda " , one of four Design 1128 civilian tankers , was built by William Cramp and Sons for the United States Shipping Board , but was acquired by the U . S . Navy after her completion . After suffering a major fire in 1921 , she was decommissioned in 1922 and sold . Repaired , she entered commercial service as SS " Olean " in 1925 . Around the time the United States entry into World War II in December 1941 , " Olean " was equipped with defensive armament and a complement of Naval Armed Guard smen . In March 1942 , the tanker was sailing unescorted off the North Carolina coast , when she was torpedoed twice by and abandoned with the loss of six men . The ship , however , remained afloat and was towed to Hampton Roads , Virginia . Although originally thought too damaged to repair , she nevertheless reentered service under the control of the War Shipping Administration in April 1943 as SS " Sweep " . In October 1943 , the U . S . Navy selected " Sweep " for service as a floating storage tanker in the Pacific . The ship was transferred to Navy control in July at Eniwetok , and commissioned as USS " Silver Cloud " ( IX - 143 ) . She was transferred to Manus in August , and to Leyte in January 1945 . At the end of 1945 , she sailed to Mobile , Alabama , to await disposal . Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in March 1946 , she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in April , sold for scrapping in January 1947 . Design and construction . " Alameda " was laid down on 16 December 1918 as SS " Alameda " at Philadelphia , by William Cramp and Sons for the United States Shipping Board ( USSB ) . She was one of four Design 1128 tankers built by Cramp , all of which served as United States Navy oilers . " Alameda " was launched on 15 July 1919 , sponsored by Helen Mull Widdows , daughter of Cramp ' s president , J . H . Mull . As built , the ship was in length ( overall ) , abeam , and had a depth of . She drew with of freeboard . She was powered by a single triple - expansion steam engine ( also manufactured by Cramp ) with cylinders of 27 , 45½ , and 76 inches ( 69 , 115 , and 190 cm ) diameter with a stroke . Operating at , her three boilers had a grate area of and heating surface of . The engine generated , and could move the ship with a top speed of . U . S . Navy service , 1919 – 1922 . " Alameda " was acquired by the U . S . Navy from the United States Shipping Board on 17 October 1919 . She was commissioned that same day at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia as USS " Alameda " ( Fuel Ship No . 10 ) with Commander Malcolm P . Nash , USNRF , in command . Soon after commissioning , " Alameda " was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service . She embarked upon her first voyage — to Port Arthur , Texas , on the gulf coast — took on a cargo of oil there , and headed back to the east coast . She entered port at Norfolk , Virginia , on 27 November 1919 and underwent repairs there until 5 December 1919 . After visiting Boston , " Alameda " departed from New York on 29 December 1919 and once again headed for Port Arthur . She stopped at Charleston , South Carolina , for engine repairs on 2 January 1920 , then resumed her voyage to Port Arthur on 11 January 1920 , arriving there on 16 January 1920 . Since no fuel oil was available there at that time , she headed back to Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 23 January 1920 without a cargo . She arrived at Norfolk on 29 January 1920 and began another round of engine repairs . " Alameda " departed Hampton Roads on 11 February 1920 and arrived at Port Arthur on 18 February 1920 . There she loaded a cargo of fuel oil in preparation for her first transatlantic voyage . On 21 February 1920 , " Alameda " departed Port Arthur for the British Isles . She entered port on the River Clyde in Scotland on 13 March 1920 and remained there until 24 March 1920 , when she headed back toward the Texas coast . She reached Port Arthur on 16 April 1920 and began loading another cargo of fuel oil . Once loaded , she put to sea bound for Norfolk , where she arrived on 2 May 1920 . She underwent ten days of repairs at Norfolk before heading for New York on 12 May 1920 . She entered port at New York on 13 May 1920 and began fueling ships of the United States Atlantic Fleet . On 16 May 1920 , " Alameda " departed New York and headed back to Norfolk for additional repairs . On 1 June 1920 , she exited Chesapeake Bay and shaped a course back to Port Arthur . Arriving there on 6 June 1920 she loaded fuel oil and then put to sea bound for Glasgow , Scotland . In the summer of 1920 , the U . S . Navy adopted the alphanumeric system of hull designations , and " Alameda " was designated " AO - 10 " under the new system . " Alameda " continued to serve with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service for the remainder of her naval career . In addition to operations between Port Arthur and ports on the U . S . east coast , she also made further voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to support U . S . Navy warship s operating in European waters . On 19 November 1921 , while steaming about off Cape Henry , Virginia , " Alameda " suffered an explosion in her fire room and began to burn . When firefighting efforts proved fruitless , her crew abandoned the vessel in stormy seas . Among the ships responding to " Alameda " s distress calls , were the United States Coast Guard cutter and the British steamer " Bristol " , which rescued " Alameda " s entire crew and remained near the burning ship until firefighting equipment arrived . " Alameda " remained afloat and was towed into Norfolk on the 20th . There she remained until formally decommissioned on 29 March 1922 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 August 1922 , and she was sold to the Newport Engineering Company of Washington , D . C . , on 18 August for $ 100 , 000 . Commercial service . Her new owner repaired her , and she entered mercantile service as SS " Olean " in 1925 . By 1930 , she was sailing for the Vacuum Oil Company , and , after that company ' s 1931 merger with Standard Oil Company of New York ( or Socony ) , for the Socony - Vacuum Oil Company which was later renamed Mobil Oil . In March 1930 , " The New York Times " reported that " Olean " s chief engineer disappeared while the ship was steaming from Port Arthur to Paulsboro , New Jersey . According to the article , the engineer ' s wife had received a message from her husband stating that he was worried about their financial affairs . Another death of an " Olean " crewman was reported by " The New York Times " in September 1939 , when a fireman aboard the ship was stabbed to death by a mess attendant while the ship was anchored in the Delaware River at the Port of Paulsboro . Around the time that the United States entered World War II in December 1941 , " Olean " was defensively armed and assigned a crew of four Naval Armed Guard smen . On 14 March 1942 , " Olean " was sailing from Norfolk , Virginia , to Beaumont , Texas . The ship was sailing unescorted and — according to Theodore Bockhoff , the ship ' s master — with all lights extinguished . One survivor , however , reported that a dim light was burning on one of the masts . At 23 : 05 , while near position , about from Cape Lookout , North Carolina , " Olean " was hit in the engine room by a single torpedo launched from under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Erwin Rostin . Damage from the torpedo caused the ship to veer out of control . The Naval Armed Guard spotted " U - 158 " , but were unable to depress their gun far enough to be able to hit the U - boat . At 23 : 45 the order to abandon ship was given and the 36 officers , men , and gunners took to the lifeboats . As the no . 3 boat reached the water , however , a second torpedo launched by Rostin hit the engine room and destroyed the lifeboat , killing one officer and six men . Lifesaving stations at Cape Lookout and Fort Macon sent motor launches and were able to rescue the remaining 30 men from " Olean " nine hours after the attack , and landed them at Morehead City . As with her November 1921 fire , " Olean " did not sink from the twin torpedo hits . She was towed to Hampton Roads and dry docked , but was declared a constructive total loss . The need for shipping was great , and despite the severity of " Olean " s damage , the ship was acquired by the War Shipping Administration ( WSA ) in April 1942 . The WSA had the vessel reconditioned and repaired at Baltimore . The ship was re - engined with a triple - expansion steam engine built in 1941 by Hooven - Owens - Rentschler of Hamilton , Ohio . The cylinders of the new engine were 22½ , 41½ , and 68 inches ( 57 , 105 , and 170 cm ) in diameter and had a stroke , which generated a nominal . The ship was also re - boilered with two water tube boilers that had a heating surface of and operated at . The newly reconditioned ship was renamed " Sweep " and was employed in duties in the Pacific . U . S . Navy service , 1944 – 45 . In October 1943 , the U . S . Navy selected " Sweep " for use as a mobile floating storage tanker in the Pacific and in November chose the name " Silver Cloud " for her . The ship was accepted and commissioned at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands on 12 July 1944 . The Navy acquired " Sweep " for use as a mobile floating storage tanker for fuel oil , and commissioned her as USS " Silver Cloud " ( IX - 143 ) the same day under the command of Lieutenant Commander H . R . Will , USNR . On 15 July , " Silver Cloud " fueled her first ships , two destroyer s . She remained in the Marshall Islands until 17 August , when she departed for Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands . She dropped anchor there in Seeadler Harbor on 28 August and fueled almost 200 ships before departing for Hollandia , New Guinea , on 28 December . After calling at Hollandia , " Silver Cloud " moved to San Pedro Bay at Leyte in the Philippine Islands . She arrived there on 15 January 1945 , and remained in the Philippines until 30 December , when she departed for the Panama Canal and from there to New Orleans , for disposal . She arrived at New Orleans on 10 March 1946 and departed the next day for Mobile , Alabama , arriving there on 12 March . " Silver Cloud " was decommissioned and delivered to the War Shipping Administration on 29 March . She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 April and sold to Pinto Island Metals Company for scrapping on 21 January 1947 .