.jpg) USS San Carlos off Houghton, Washington, on 30 March 1944
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | San Carlos |
| Namesake | San Carlos Bay, Florida |
| Builder | Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington |
| Laid down | 17 September 1942 |
| Launched | 20 December 1942 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Henry D. Batterton |
| Commissioned | 21 March 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 30 June 1947 |
| Identification | AVP-51 |
| Honors and awards | Three battle stars for World War II service |
| Name | Josiah Willard Gibbs |
| Namesake | Josiah Willard Gibbs |
| Builder |
|
| In service | 18 December 1958 with Military Sea Transportation Service |
| Out of service | 7 December 1971 |
| Refit | As oceanographic research ship July–December 1958 |
| Stricken | 7 December 1971 |
| Identification | T-AGOR-1 |
| Fate | Transferred to Hellenic Navy, 15 December 1971 |
 Greece | |
| Name | Hephaistos |
| Acquired | 15 December 1971 |
| Stricken | April 1976 |
| Identification | A413 |
| General characteristics (as seaplane tender) | |
| Class and type | Barnegat-class seaplane tender |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 310 ft 9 in (94.72 m) |
| Beam | 41 ft 2 in (12.55 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
| Installed power | 6,000 hp (4,500 kW) |
| Propulsion | Diesel engines, two shafts |
| Speed | 18.6 knots (34.4 km/h) |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors and processing systems | Radar; sonar |
| Armament |
|
| Aviation facilities | Supplies, spare parts, repairs, and berthing for one seaplane squadron; 80,000 US gallons (300,000 L; 67,000 imp gal) aviation fuel |
USS San Carlos (AVP-51) was a Barnegat-class seaplane tender built for the United States Navy during World War II. San Carlos, named after San Carlos Bay, Florida, was in commissioned from 1944 to 1947 and earned three battle stars for service in the Pacific during World War II. After eleven years in reserve, San Carlos was converted to oceanographic research ship USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)—named after American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs—and placed in service as a non-commissioned ship of the Military Sea Transportation Service from 1958 to 1971. In December 1971, the ship was transferred to the Hellenic Navy as Hephaistos (A413), a motor torpedo boat tender. Hephaistos was struck from the rolls of the Hellenic Navy in April 1976.