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| USN (As Built) Steel hull four-masted barque (U.S. Navy service) fuel barge (non self-propelled) 2,999 Tons 312' 1" x 45' 2" x 25' 6"  Prewar via Puget Sound |
Ship History Built by Arthur Sewall & Company in Bath, Maine. Laid down 1898 as a steel hull four-masted barque at a cost of $140,000 to the company and rigged with sky and royal sails over double top and single topgallant sails. Launched July 26, 1898 as Erskine M. Phelps owned by at Arthur Sewall & Company under the command of Captain Robert J. Graham. On February 4, 1913 sold to Union Oil Company of Los Angeles and converted into a schooner rigged tank barge. During 1919 sold to T. A. Hays in San Francisco. In 1922 re-rigged as a four masted schooner. On November 3, 1942 requisitioned by the U.S. Navy (USN) as USS Erskine M. Phelps (YON-147). Used as a fuel barge (non self-propelled) to refuel warships and vessels. Wartime History During early 1943, Erskine M. Phelps was towed to the South Pacific and operated in Tulagi Harbor refueling Allied warships and vessels. On March 6, 1943 refuels USS Radford (DD-446) between 10:32am to 11:15am with 38,540 gallons of fuel. On April 7, 1943 moored alongside HMNZS Moa (T233) in Tulagi Harbor. At 3:00pm a Japanese air raid commenced and Type 99 Carrier Bomber Kanbaku / D3A2 Vals from Zuikaku scored a direct hit on HMNZS Moa (T233) that passed through the upper deck out the hull before exploding plus two near misses. During the same attack, Phelps sustained damage by bomb splinters and partially sinks, settling on the bottom. Afterwards, refloated, repaired and returned to service refueling warships in Tulagi Harbor. On May 4, 1943 refuels USS Radford (DD-446) between 10:23am to 11:00am. On May 6, 1943 refuels USS Gamble (DM-15) between 11:59am to 12:23pm. Sometime later, moved to Seeadler Harbor off Manus Island and used to refuel warships and vessels until the end of the Pacific War. Fate On December 8, 1945 scuttled off Manus Island. Awards For her World War II service, Erskine Phelps earned one battle star for April 7, 1943. References Some sources list the vessek as "USS Erskine Phelps" or "Erskine Phelps" without the middle initial. On April 7, 1943 Phelps was listed as sunk in some reports, while Admiral Nimitz describes her as only "badly damaged". Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society Joe Williamson Collection negative number 233-4 (photo) bruzelius.info - Erskine M. Phelps NavSource - YON Fuel Barge (Non Self-propelled) Index NARA USS Radford War Diary May 1943 page 7 "(May 6, 1943) 1032 moored port side to Erskine Phelps and commenced fueling. 1115 completed fueling, having received 38,540 gallons of fuel at 84° F." Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Combat Narratives - Solomon Islands Campaign: IX Bombardments of Munda and Vila-Stanmore, January-May 1943 pages 55, 62 (Page 55) "The first attacks were directed at these latter ships, the enemy having apparently failed to sight Task Force AFIRM. Bomb concussions damaged the oil hulk Erskine Phelps" (Page 62) Since the Gamble carried only 83,000 gallons of oil—a bare minimum supply for the trip from her base at Espiritu Santo to Kula Gulf and Tulagi—it was decided to have these ships fuel [May 11, 1943] from the Erskine Phelps at Tulagi, and return to that base for additional fuel before heading home to Espiritu Santo. (Footnote 62)" Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Awahou (YAG-24) 1942-1944 "At 1500 [April 7, 1943], Awahou's lookouts counted 36 Japanese dive bombers in their ship's vicinity. Two minutes later, they commenced their attack on the shipping in Tulagi harbor. One Val scored a direct hit on the New Zealand Navy corvette HMNZS Moa, which had been moored, fueling, alongside the station tanker Erskine M. Phelps (YON-147) and the unfortunate little ship sank 'in about four minutes.' The bombing also left Erskine M. Phelps in a sinking condition as well." Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Part 4 - Campaign and Service Medals pages 119 (battle star Erskine Phelps) X Attack of I-Operation by Richard Dunn pages 30-31 South Pacific Air War: The Role of Airpower in the New Guinea and Solomon Island Campaigns, January 1943 to February 1944 (2024) by Richard Dunn pages 219 (April 7, 1943) Thanks to Richard Dunn for additional information Contribute
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