View source for USS Guadalupe (AO-32)

{{short description|Oiler of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Guadalupe}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Guadalupe (AO-32) refuels USS Maury (DD-401) and USS Lexington (CV-16) in November 1943.jpg
|Ship caption=''Guadalupe'' refueling {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|6}} and {{USS|Maury|DD-401|6}} in 1943
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1975}}
|Ship name=USS ''Guadalupe''
|Ship namesake=[[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]] in Texas
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company]], [[Newport News, Virginia]]
|Ship original cost=
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|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=26 January 1940
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. W. L. Inslee
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=1 June 1941
|Ship commissioned=19 June 1941
|Ship decommissioned=1974
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
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|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=14 May 1975
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|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 16 October 1975
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Cimarron|oiler|0||1939}} [[Oiler (ship)|oiler]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|7470|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|24830|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length={{convert|553|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft={{convert|32|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship propulsion=*Twin screws, {{convert|30400|shp|0|abbr=on}}
*Steam (600psi), [[Fuel oil#Bunker fuel|NSFO]]
|Ship speed={{convert|18|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement=304
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*4 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}/38 cal. guns]] (4×1)
*4 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm]] AA guns
*4 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] AA guns
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{{Infobox service record
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|operations=[[World War II]], [[Korean War]], [[Vietnam War]]
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'''USS ''Guadalupe'' (AO-32)''', a {{sclass|Cimarron|oiler|0||1939}} [[fleet replenishment oiler]] that served in the [[United States Navy]], it was named for the [[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]] in [[Texas]].

==Construction, acquisition, and commissioning==
''Guadalupe'' was launched as '''SS ''Esso Raleigh''''' 26 January 1940 by the [[Northrop Grumman Newport News|Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company]] at [[Newport News, Virginia]]; sponsored by Mrs. W. L. Inslee, wife of the late manager of the Traffic Division, Marine Department, [[Standard Oil of New Jersey#History|Standard Oil of New Jersey]]; taken over by the [[Maritime Commission]] as MC Hull #12; acquired by the Navy 1 June 1941; and commissioned 19 June 1941.

==Pre-World War II==
Six weeks of coastwise voyages carrying oil from [[Texas]] to [[New Jersey]] ended 16 August as ''Guadalupe'' docked at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]]. Receiving as deck cargo six [[PT boats]] later to form the famous squadron commanded by [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[John D. Bulkeley]], ''Guadalupe'' sailed for the [[Philippine Sea|Western Pacific]] on 19 August. After discharging cargo and oil at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Manila]], and [[Cavite]], the tanker returned to [[Norfolk, Virginia]] 13 November via [[San Diego]]. After America's sudden plunge into war, she put into [[Baltimore]] to be fitted with guns.

==World War II==
In January 1942 ''Guadalupe'' sailed to the Pacific, where she was to participate in virtually every major campaign of the long and bloody war. After months of developing and refining techniques for [[Underway replenishment|refueling]] at sea, a science then in its infancy, ''Guadalupe'' sailed from [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Territory of Hawaii]], on 2 June 1942 to refuel American ships participating in the [[Battle of Midway]], on 5 June 1942 {{convert|550|mi}} east of [[Midway Atoll]]. About 04:00 the {{Jsub|I-156}} sighted ''Guadalupe'' being escorted by two destroyers but failed to reach a favorable firing position. Except for ''I-168'', ''I-156'' was the only submarine that made contact with the Americans during the battle. From Midway Atoll ''Guadalupe'' sailed north to spend the rest of the summer supporting American forces in the [[Attu Island|Attu]] campaign.

As the United States launched its first offensive effort in the Pacific, ''Guadalupe'' sailed south to spend the final four months of 1942 fueling warships operating in and around [[Guadalcanal]]. The first half of 1943 saw her in overhaul in the United States and operating in the [[Aleutians]], with two shuttle trips to Pearl Harbor with fuel and planes. Departing Pearl 22 August ''Guadalupe'' sailed to the central Pacific to support the [[Gilbert Islands]] campaign.

After a late winter overhaul, she returned to the Pacific theater in February 1944 operating in support of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Marc A. Mitscher]]'s carrier force during the [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] campaign. A short break at Pearl Harbor ended as ''Guadalupe'' sailed on 11 May to operate in support of the [[US 5th Fleet]] during the [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|Marianas campaign]]. From there she sailed in late August to support [[Admiral]] [[William F. Halsey]]'s [[US 3rd Fleet]] in action against the Japanese in the [[Palau Islands]] and Philippines operating areas. One of her major tasks was refueling ships during the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].

On 29 December 1944 ''Guadalupe'' sailed from [[Ulithi]] with units of [[Task Force 38]], then preparing for the invasion of [[Lingayen Gulf]]. Joining a fast carrier strike force under Vice Admiral [[John S. McCain, Sr.]], ''Guadalupe'' steamed through [[Luzon Strait]] into the [[South China Sea]] on the night of 9–10 January 1945, concurrent with the first invasion waves on Lingayen Gulf. During the transit of the strait, another tanker,
{{USS|Nantahala|AO-60|6}}, collided with ''Guadalupe'', putting a large hole in the [[Bow (ship)|bow]]. Jury-rigged repairs enabled ''Guadalupe'' to continue with the fast carrier group as they conducted strikes against Japanese positions on Formosa and along the China coast.

{{stack|[[File:USS Ajax (AR-6) repairing USS Guadalupe (AO-32) at Ulithi, 9 February 1945.jpg|thumb|{{USS|Ajax|AR-6|6}} repairing ''Guadalupe'' at Ulithi on 9 February 1945]]}}

A month's availability at Ulithi to repair her damaged bow ended in late February and ''Guadalupe'' again steamed for battle, this time operating in support of the [[Iwo Jima]] invasion. After two weeks off Iwo Jima, 24 February to 7 March, ''Guadalupe'' returned empty to Ulithi to prepare for her role in the [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa campaign]]. Departing Ulithi on 25 March 1945, ''Guadalupe'' spent three weeks off Okinawa, returned to Ulithi for more fuel, and then spent another three weeks off Okinawa. As the struggle raged on the island, the Americans' last campaign in the Pacific before the Japanese home islands, ''Guadalupe'' operated through heavy weather and high seas to provide other services, as well as her normal duties of refueling the giant invasion fleet, largest ever assembled in the Pacific.

Okinawa marked the end of ''Guadalupe''{{'}}s service in the Pacific war. She sailed for the United States and overhaul on 24 May, and was two days out of Pearl Harbor on her way back to the fleet when the Japanese surrender ended the war on 15 August 1945. From Pearl Harbor, ''Guadalupe'' went to [[Jinsen]], Korea, where she replenished units of the [[US 7th Fleet]] occupying [[Yellow Sea]] ports. The tanker sailed for Okinawa on 22 October and remained there through 1945.

==Post-War operations==
In the post-war period ''Guadalupe'' remained on duty in the Pacific, supplying fuel oil to American units in Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, and scores of islands. Some of this fuel oil she picked up at [[Bahrain]], [[Arabia]], as she sailed from the Far East to Norfolk via the [[Suez Canal]] and [[Gibraltar]] in 1948, returning over the same route.

==Korean War==

When North Korean [[Communist]] troops crossed the 38th parallel on 24 June 1950, ''Guadalupe'' was undergoing repairs at [[Long Beach, California]], but quickly re-entered service. Sailing for the Pacific on 29 July, she spent three months shuttling fuel oil between Hawaii, [[Kwajalein]], and [[Guam]] before joining the 7th Fleet at [[U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]], Japan, 1 December 1950. Operating with various units of the fleet, ''Guadalupe'' visited Okinawa, Hong Kong, and Formosa in addition to refueling American and United Nations ships in the Korean replenishment area. She also sailed along the Korean coast to support the [[siege of Wonsan]] harbor.

[[File:USS Guadalupe (AO-32) refuels HMAS Hobart (D39) off Vietnam in 1967.jpg|thumb|''Guadalupe'' refueling {{HMAS|Hobart|D 39|6}} in 1967]]

An uneasy peace settled over the war-torn peninsula in August 1953, while ''Guadalupe'' was undergoing overhaul in California, but she returned to the Pacific to support American forces on the Formosa Patrol and training operations. From that time, the tanker's year settled into a routine of six months deployment with the 7th Fleet and six months operating out of Long Beach. In her Far East operations, ''Guadalupe'' has visited every major Pacific port – Hong Kong, Manila, Tokyo, [[Ceylon]], Formosa – while playing her unsung but vital role in keeping the peace.

==Later career==
''Guadalupe'' continued her service through the [[Vietnam War]] and made a brief appearance in the 1965 film ''[[In Harm's Way (film)|In Harm's Way]]'' with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. She was decommissioned in 1974 and struck from the [[Navy List]] 14 May 1975. She was transferred to the [[Maritime Administration]] and sold for scrapping 16 October 1975.

==Awards==
*[[Meritorious Unit Commendation]]
*[[American Defense Service Medal]]
*[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with 13 [[battle star]]s
*[[World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[Navy Occupation Medal]] with "ASIA" clasp
*[[China Service Medal]]
*[[National Defense Service Medal]] with star
*[[Korean Service Medal]] with 5 battle stars
*[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]] with 2 stars
*[[Vietnam Service Medal]] with 15 [[campaign star]]s
*[[United Nations Korea Medal]]
*[[Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal]]

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/g/guadalupe.html}}

== External links ==
*{{navsource|09/19032}}
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/ao32.htm hazegray.org: USS ''Guadalupe'']
*{{cite book
| last = Wildenberg
| first = Thomas
| year = 1996
| url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/GSBO/index.html
| title = Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912–1995
| location = Annapolis, Maryland
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| access-date = 28 April 2009
}}

{{Cimarron class oiler (1939)}}
{{Type T3-S2-A tankers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guadalupe (AO-32)}}
[[Category:Cimarron-class oilers (1939)]]
[[Category:Ships built in Newport News, Virginia]]
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II tankers of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign]]
[[Category:Korean War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States]]