USS Guyandot was a gasoline tanker acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of transporting gasoline to warships in the fleet, and to remote Navy stations. Guyandot was built as Veedol II in 1930 and acquired from her owners, Tidewater Oil, in March 1943 ; converted at Brewers Drydock, Staten Island, and renamed Guyandot; and commissioned 17 April 1943, Lt. Robert R. Crockett, USNR, in command.
Taking on a full load of fuel oil, she sailed for Bermuda on 1 May; from there she was taken in tow to Oran, where she arrived 26 May. From Oran she sailed to Bizerte, Tunisia, arriving there 8 June; although under frequent air attackGuyandot worked unceasingly shuttling oil through the wreck-laden channel. Sailing to Tunis on 27 June, Guyandot began fueling ships for the Sicilian invasion and, after the assault in late July, carried high octane fuel to the newly taken port of Palermo, again under heavy air attack.
Returning to Tunis 30 August, she began shuttling oil between that port and Bizerte and continued this duty until the Italian invasion was well under way. Arriving in Taranto, Italy, on 8 November, she performed yeoman work in carrying high octane aviation fuel from tankers to the shore. After a month in Palermo for drydock and overhaul, Guyandot returned to Taranto to take on gasoline and then sailed into the Adriatic for the port of Bari, arriving 8 February 1944. From Bari she shuttled oil north to Manfredonia to supply the 15th Air Force at Foggia; this work continued until late March, when she struck an underwater obstacle in Bari and, after two trips with a wooden patch, had to put in for more lasting repairs at Bizerte.
Emerging from drydock 11 May, Guyandot spent a month carrying oil from Bizerte to Italy and then sailed again to Bari, arriving there 15 June 1944. From Bari she took high octane fuel to Manfredonia and Monopoli, carrying approximately 40 million gallons of gasoline for the forces moving up the Italian peninsula. An important break in her shuttle runs came from 2 November to 14 November, when she carried a load of high octane to Piraeus, Greece; the British had landed in Greece only in late October and Guyandot was the first American ship to dock in Piraeus since before the outbreak of war.
Final operations
Back on the Bari-Manfredonia-Monopoli run, Guyandot continued shuttling oil until 9 December, when she sailed to Palermo for repairs and drydocking; on 7 January 1945, she crossed the Mediterranean to Bizerte.
Decommissioning
Decommissioned there 12 January, she was transferred to the French Navy as part of lend-lease. France returned the ship to the Navy on 21 March 1949 and on that same day formally purchased Guyandot for service under the name Lac Noir. Her name was struck from the Navy List 28 April 1949.
Military awards and honors
Guyandot’s crew was eligible for the following medals:
