Her keel was laid down as Carl R. Gray by the California Shipbuilding Corporation, in Wilmington, Los Angeles.

After Ulithi, she sailed from Leyte on 29 September for Okinawa and Hiro Wan, Japan, where she put in 16 October.

Gemsbok continued her fueling duties at Nagoya and subsequently sailed for the United States on 20 December, reaching Norfolk, Virginia, on 28 February 1946 via San Diego, California, and Mobile, Alabama.

Decommissioned there 30 April 1946, Gemsbok was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 May 1946 and subsequently sold to Maris Transportation System Inc. and in 1948 renamed Alpha operated by T. J. Stevenson & Company, Inc.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.