SS Alameda, one of four Design 1128 civilian tankers, was built by William Cramp & Sons for the United States Shipping Board, but was acquired by the U.S. Navy after her completion.
Around the time the United States entry into World War II in December 1941, Olean was equipped with defensive armament and a complement of Naval Armed Guardsmen.
In March 1942, the tanker was sailing unescorted off the North Carolina coast, when she was torpedoed twice by U-158 and abandoned with the loss of six men.
Although originally thought too damaged to repair, she nevertheless reentered service under the control of the War Shipping Administration in April 1943 as SS Sweep.
The ship was transferred to Navy control in July at Eniwetok, and commissioned as USS Silver Cloud (IX-143).
Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in March 1946, she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in April, sold for scrapping in January 1947.
She embarked upon her first voyage—to Port Arthur, Texas, on the gulf coast—took on a cargo of oil there, and headed back to the east coast.
She entered port at New York on 13 May 1920 and began fueling ships of the United States Atlantic Fleet.
[2] On 19 November 1921, while steaming about 30 nautical miles (56 km) off Cape Henry, Virginia, Alameda suffered an explosion in her fire room and began to burn.
In March 1930, The New York Times reported that Olean's chief engineer disappeared while the ship was steaming from Port Arthur to Paulsboro, New Jersey.
At 23:05, while near position 34°24′30″N 76°29′0″W / 34.40833°N 76.48333°W / 34.40833; -76.48333, about 15 nautical miles (28 km) from Cape Lookout, North Carolina, Olean was hit in the engine room by a single torpedo launched from U-158 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Erwin Rostin.
3 boat reached the water, however, a second torpedo launched by Rostin hit the engine room and destroyed the lifeboat, killing one officer and six men.
Lifesaving stations at Cape Lookout and Fort Macon sent motor launches and were able to rescue the remaining 30 men from Olean nine hours after the attack, and landed them at Morehead City.
In October 1943, the U.S. Navy selected Sweep for use as a mobile floating storage tanker in the Pacific and in November chose the name Silver Cloud for her.
The Navy acquired Sweep for use as a mobile floating storage tanker for fuel oil, and commissioned her as USS Silver Cloud (IX-143) the same day.
She dropped anchor there in Seeadler Harbor on 28 August and fueled almost 200 ships before departing for Hollandia, New Guinea, on 28 December.
After calling at Hollandia, Silver Cloud moved to San Pedro Bay at Leyte in the Philippine Islands.
She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 April and sold to Pinto Island Metals Company for scrapping on 21 January 1947.