The USS Aroostook (AOG-14) was a gasoline tanker constructed with steel hull and powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system. Originally launched as Esso Delivery No. 11 on December 8, 1937, at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., she was the first all-welded tanker owned by Standard Oil of New Jersey. Delivered on February 8, 1938, she was initially operated by Standard Oil and homeported in Baltimore, Maryland. Acquired by the U.S. Navy from the War Shipping Administration on April 1, 1943, the vessel was renamed Aroostook and classified as AOG-14. Following conversion at Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Baltimore, she was commissioned on April 18, 1943. The ship's primary mission was to transport gasoline safely to warships and remote Navy stations, a task considered highly hazardous due to the flammable nature of her cargo. After a brief stay in Norfolk, Virginia, Aroostook departed on April 28, 1943, to join U.S. Naval Forces in Northwest African waters. She traversed Bermuda and Gibraltar en route to Oran, Tunisia, arriving in May to begin operations in the Mediterranean theater. Her service included calling at numerous ports such as Bari, Isola Santo Stefano, Civitavecchia, Taranto, Piombino, Livorno, Palermo, and Naples, along with Malta. Her operations were vital in supporting Allied naval activities across the Mediterranean. Notably, during her service, she experienced minimal enemy contact, with the sole incident occurring at Bari, Italy, on December 2, 1943, when a nearby ammunition explosion caused concussion and shrapnel damage to her but resulted in no casualties. Decommissioned on January 18, 1945, at Bizerte, she was transferred to the French government the following day and renamed Lac Pavin. Serving with the French Navy under lend-lease, she remained in service until her sale in March 1949, after which she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register. The vessel was ultimately scrapped in 1953, marking the end of her maritime service.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.