USS Patuxent (AO-44) (original) (raw)

USS Patuxent (AO-44) was a Kennebec-class oiler in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second U.S. Navy ship named for the Patuxent River in Maryland. The type T2-A tanker was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 159) on 5 March 1942 as SS Emmkay by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. (hull number 228) at Chester, Pennsylvania, for the Keystone Co. She was launched on 25 July 1942, sponsored by Mrs. W. H. Blanchard, acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 28 September 1942, converted by the Maryland Drydock Company, Baltimore, Maryland, and commissioned on 22 October 1942.