Figure 1: USS Oberon (AK-56) underway off Kearny, New Jersey, 15 June 1942. She is painted in the splotch patterns of Camouflage Measure 12 (Modified). Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: USS Oberon (now AKA-14) underway off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 February 1944. Courtesy of Frank Jankowski, 1981. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: USS Oberon (AKA-14) underway off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 February 1944. US Navy Bureau of Ships photograph now in the collections of the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: USS Oberon (AKA-14) underway off the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7 February 1944. US Navy Bureau of Ships photograph now in the collections of the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: USS Oberon (AKA-14) at anchor, circa the later 1940s. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: USS Oberon (AKA-14) photographed circa the late 1940s or early 1950s, probably while entering San Diego Harbor, San Diego, California. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.
Named after a star, the 7,391-ton USS Oberon (AK-56) was an Arcturus
class attack cargo ship that was built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock
Corporation at Kearny, New Jersey. Originally laid down as the freighter S.S. Delabla,
the ship was re-named Oberon on 16 February 1942 while still under
construction and designated AK-56. But the ship was not formally acquired by
the US Navy until she was completed on 15 June 1942 and was commissioned the
same day. Oberon was approximately 459 feet long and 63 feet wide, had a
top speed of 16.5 knots, and had a crew of 494 officers and men. The cargo ship
had a heavy defensive armament of one 5-inch gun, four twin 40-mm anti-aircraft
guns, and eighteen single 20-mm anti-aircraft guns. Oberon could also
carry roughly 4,375 tons of cargo.
After a brief shakedown cruise, Oberon was assigned to a task
force on 24 October 1942 that was bound for North Africa. Even though the task
force was attacked by German aircraft and submarines (which managed to sink
several cargo ships), Oberon reached her destination of Fedala, French
Morocco, on 8 November 1942 and unloaded her vital supplies to the American
troops on shore. Once this mission was completed, Oberon returned to the
United States and reached Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 24 November.
In early 1943, Oberon transited the Panama Canal and was
assigned to operations in the Pacific Ocean. While steaming into the Pacific, Oberon
was re-classified an attack cargo ship and re-designated AKA-14 on 1 February
1943. After unloading cargo at New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific, Oberon
returned to the east coast of the United States and arrived at Norfolk,
Virginia, on 12 March 1943. After completing an overhaul, Oberon again
crossed the Atlantic and entered the Mediterranean. The ship participated in
the Allied invasion of Sicily, arriving off the coast of Gela, Sicily, on 10
July. Two months later, Oberon took part in the invasion of Salerno on
mainland Italy. On 6 November, the ship assisted in the defense of convoy
MKF-25A, which fought off a determined attack made by German aircraft. Oberon
then delivered cargo to various ports in North Africa before being sent with a
full load of supplies plus 120 US Army paratroopers to Belfast, Northern
Ireland. Shortly after arriving at Belfast, a severe Atlantic storm damaged the
ship to such an extent that she had to return to the United States for repairs.
After completing repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Oberon was sent back to North Africa in April 1944. On 15
August, Oberon was part of the huge Allied amphibious assault force that
invaded southern France. After delivering troops and valuable supplies to St.
Tropez, France, Oberon made five additional trips to various ports in
Italy and North Africa before being sent back to the United States in October.
Once again assigned to the Pacific Fleet, Oberon started 1945 by
transiting the Panama Canal again and then continued on to the island of Leyte
in the Philippines, arriving there on 21 February 1945. After that, the ship
was part of the amphibious assault forces that attacked Kerama Retto in March
and then Okinawa on 1 April, both objectives located near the Japanese home
islands. Like all of the American warships off Okinawa, Oberon had to
endure numerous assaults by Japanese kamikaze aircraft. Fortunately, Oberon’s
gun crews were able to fight off all of these attacks and even managed to shoot
down one of the Japanese planes. Oberon left Okinawa on 26 April to
deliver supplies in the South Pacific and later received news of Japan’s
surrender while steaming to the Philippines. Oberon then carried
American occupation troops to Aomori on Honshu Island in Japan, arriving there
on 25 September. After an additional trip to Yokohama, Japan, Oberon
returned to the United States and arrived at San Francisco, California, in
December 1945.
After the end of World War II, Oberon served with the Navy
Transportation Service (NTS) carrying cargo and personnel between America’s
west coast and US military bases in the Pacific. Incorporated into the Military
Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) on 1 October 1949 and re-designated T-AKA-14,
Oberon went on to serve as an ammunition replenishment ship during the
Korean War, which started in June 1950. Arriving at Sasebo, Japan, on 15
January 1951, Oberon remained in this area of operations for seven
months. While at sea on 9 March, Oberon conducted her first transfer of
ammunition to American aircraft carriers. She then spent several months
transporting supplies from Sasebo to Wonsan, Korea. Oberon completed a
second tour of duty off the cost of Korea during the first five months of 1952.
