The USS Raccoon (IX-127) was an Armadillo-class tanker built as a Liberty ship initially named J. C. W. Becham. Constructed by the Delta Shipbuilding Company in New Orleans, Louisiana, her keel was laid down on November 7, 1943. She was launched on December 23, 1943, sponsored by Mrs. J. C. W. Becham, and accepted from the War Shipping Administration on January 31, 1944. The vessel was officially commissioned into the U.S. Navy on February 1, 1944. As a mobile station tanker, the Raccoon was designed to support naval operations by transporting and delivering fuel oil and lubricants. After shakedown operations along the Gulf Coast, she loaded fuel at Corpus Christi, Texas, and then transited through the Panama Canal to join the U.S. Third Fleet at Espiritu Santo in April 1944. Her operational duties included fueling battleships, destroyers, and amphibious ships at various locations in the Pacific Theater, such as Purvis Bay, Efate in the New Hebrides, and Samoa. The Raccoon played a vital role in station fueling duties, supporting fleet operations around the Russell Islands, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima. Notably, she operated off Iwo Jima, where she provided fuel for destroyers and escorts engaged in patrol and screening duties. During her service, she came under kamikaze attack on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, illustrating her proximity to active combat zones. She continued her operations through the end of World War II, including harbor fueling at Saipan from June 1945 into April 1946. After the war, the USS Raccoon departed from the Mariana Islands, transited back through the Panama Canal, and arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, in June 1946. She was decommissioned on July 10, 1946, transferred back to the War Shipping Administration, and was officially struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July 31, 1946. Her service underscores her importance as a logistical support vessel in the Pacific Theater during World War II, facilitating fleet operations across crucial locations in the island-hopping campaign.

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