USS Taganak (AG-45), 1942-1946

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USS Taganak, a 3000-ton (displacement) miscellaneous auxiliary, was built in 1917 as the civilian cargo ship War Shell. She had World War I service as USS Lake Shore (ID # 1792) and was later the merchant vessel Olympic. Acquired by the U.S. Maritime Commission in May 1942 and almost immediately turned over to the Navy, Olympic was renamed Taganak (AG-45) and placed in commission in July 1942. She steamed to the south Pacific in October and carried cargo between ports in that region for the rest of World War II, with one trip back to the U.S. in October 1943 for an overhaul that lasted until February 1944. Taganak had a brief brush with active combat on 19 August 1943, when she was attacked off Australia by the Japanese submarine I-17. She was undamaged in the incident, in which the submarine was sunk by U.S. Navy aircraft and the Royal New Zealand Navy corvette Tui. Arriving at San Francisco, California, in late October 1945, she remained in that area until decommissioning in March 1946. Taganak was sold in November 1946, reportedly for scrapping, but had a long subsequent civilian career under the names Glento, Pilhamm and Lulu, and was not broken up until 1960.

  
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