USS Asphalt

USS Asphalt (IX-153), a Trefoil-class concrete barge designated an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for asphalt. Her keel was laid down in 1943 at San Francisco, California, by Barrett & Hilp, Belair Shipyards. She was originally to be called ‘Quartz’, and was christened as such by Mrs. Reginald Pecknold.^[3] She was acquired by the Navy on 30 June 1944 through the Maritime Commission and was placed in service that same day.

History
United States
Name	USS Asphalt
Builder	Barrett & Hilp, Belair Shipyards, San Francisco, California
Laid down	1943[1]
Launched	29 October 1943[2]
In service	30 June 1944
Stricken	23 February 1945
Fate	Wrecked by storm, 6 October 1944, then abandoned
Notes	Semi-submerged at 15°13′2.60″N 145°42′14.27″E
General characteristics
Class & type	Trefoil-class cargo barge
Displacement	5,636 long tons (5,726 t) light 10,960 long tons (11,136 t) full
Length	366 ft (112 m)
Beam	54 ft (16 m)
Draft	33 ft (10 m)
Propulsion	None
Speed	Not self-propelled
Complement	52
Armament	1 × 40 mm AA gun

Service history

Assigned to the Service Force, Pacific Fleet, as a floating provisions storage facility, she spent her brief career at forward bases, for the most part at Saipan, as a unit of Service Squadron 10. When a typhoon struck the anchorage at Saipan on 6 October 1944, Asphalt's anchor chains parted, and she was driven hard aground on a coral reef. The barge was then declared a total loss. After her cargo and machinery were salvaged, she was abandoned. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 23 February 1945.