German ship Dithmarschen
_underway_in_October_1946.jpg) |
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany
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| Class and type: | Dithmarschen |
| Name: | Dithmarschen |
| Builder: | Schichau-Werke, Danzig |
| Laid down: | 6 June 1936 |
| Launched: | 12 June 1937 |
| Commissioned: | 20 July 1938 |
| Fate: | Captured, May 1945 |
| History | |
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| Name: | USS Conecuh |
| Builder: | Schichau-Werke, Danzig |
| Launched: | 1938, as Dithmarschen |
| Acquired: | 15 January 1946 |
| In service: | 2 May 1946, as USS Dithmarschen (IX-301) |
| Out of service: | 24 October 1946 |
| Renamed: | USS Conecuh, 1 October 1946 |
| Reclassified: | AO-110 (Fleet Oiler), 1 October 1946 |
| Commissioned: | 16 February 1953 |
| Decommissioned: | 3 April 1956 |
| Reclassified: | AOR-110 (Replenishment Oiler), 4 September 1952 |
| Struck: | 1 June 1960 |
| Fate: | Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 3 April 1956 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Replenishment oiler |
| Displacement: | 8,820 long tons (8,962 t) |
| Length: | 584 ft (178 m) |
| Beam: | 72 ft (22 m) |
| Draft: | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | four MAN nine-cylinder Diesel, two shafts, 22,000 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
| Range: | 12500 nm (23200 km) at 15 kn |
| Complement: | 284 |
| Armament: | 3 x 150 mm, 2 x 37 mm, 4 x 20 mm; 8 × 40 mm guns (U.S. Navy) |
USS Conecuh (AOR-110) was a fleet replenishment tanker, originally built by F. Schichau, Danzig, in 1938 as a combination oiler and supply vessel or "Trossschiff" for the Kriegsmarine and christened as Dithmarschen. Taken over by British authorities at Bremerhaven when World War II ended, Dithmarschen was allocated to the United States Navy on 15 January 1946 by the Inter-Allied Reparations Commission.
To support naval operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the German Navy ran trials with various vessels in the 1920 and early 1930s. After testing two vessels of an intermediate type, the design evolved into the Ditmarschen-class. Six were built altogether, one of which was never completed. As Germany did not possess any ports on the Atlantic Ocean or any overseas bases, the Dithmarschen-class combined the roles fulfilled by tanker, repair ship, ammunition ship and dry cargo ship. The ships were even equipped with a small hospital. The main cargo were almost 9,000 tons of fuel oil and 400 tons of lubricating oil. As it was probable that the ships were underway for an extended time, the range was 12,500 nm at 15 knots. The maximum speed was 23 knots. A heavy armament was fitted, consisting of three 15 cm/L48 guns, two 3,7 cm and four 20 mm anti-aircraft guns and eight machine guns.
Dithmarschen, or Ditmarsh (in the oldest form of the name Thiatmaresgaho, Dietmar's Gau), a territory between the Eider, the Elbe and the North Sea. In U.S. service, her name was changed to Conecuh on 1 October 1946, after the Conecuh River in Alabama.
Ditmarschen was being overhauled at the beginning of World War II. From June to November 1940, she supported the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway. In November, she refueled the cruiser Admiral Hipper during her operations in the Atlantic Ocean. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were again supported in the Atlantic Ocean during Operation Berlin in early 1941. Between October 1941 and December 1942, Ditmarschen operated in the Baltic Sea, supporting German ships during Operation Barbarossa. For the remainder of the war, she operated off Norway. At the end of the war, she had returned to Bremerhaven, where she was taken over by the British.
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