USS Chiwawa (AO-68)
_at_anchor_off_Okinawa_on_7_September_1945.jpg)
USS Chiwawa (AO-68) at anchor off Okinawa on 7 September 1945
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Ordered: | as T3-S-A1 tanker hull, MC hull 516 |
| Laid down: | as SS Samoset |
| Launched: | 25 June 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 24 December 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 6 May 1946 |
| Struck: | date unknown |
| Fate: | Sold by the MARAD in 1961 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Chiwawa class oiler |
| Type: | MARAD T3-S-A1 |
| Tonnage: | 16,543 DWT |
| Displacement: | 21,077 tons |
| Length: | 501 ft 7.75 in (152.9017 m) |
| Beam: | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 10.5 in (9.106 m) |
| Depth: | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Installed power: | 7,000 shp (5,200 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 15.3 knots (28.3 km/h) |
| Range: | 14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) |
| Capacity: | 133,800 bbl (~18,250 t) |
| Complement: | 13 officers 200 enlisted |
| Armament: | one 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, four 3"/50 guns, four twin 40mm gun mounts, four twin 20mm gun mounts |
USS Chiwawa (AO-68) was a T3-S-A1 Kennebec-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Chiwawa River in Washington.
Chiwawa was launched 25 June 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract as SS Samoset; sponsored by Mrs. H. G. Smith; acquired by the Navy 24 December 1942; commissioned the same day, Commander Harold F. Fultz in command; and reported to the Atlantic Fleet.
The Chiwawa was designated a T3-S-A1 design, where "T" stood for tanker, "3" meant longer than 500 feet (150 m), "S" stood for single-screw steam propulsion, and "A1" meant first design of its kind.
Chiwawa cleared Norfolk, Virginia, 13 February 1943 to load oil at Aruba, and returned to New York 25 February to join a convoy for Casablanca, Morocco, which sailed 4 March. Attacked by a wolf-pack east of the Azores, the convoy lost four ships, but aircraft from Port Lyautey, Morocco, drove the U-boats away, and the remainder of the convoy arrived safely 21 March. Chiwawa put out of Casablanca in convoy 11 April for Norfolk, arriving 28 April after a quiet passage. Between 4 May and 17 July she ferried oil on the east coast, loading at Aruba, Netherlands West Indies, and Port Arthur, Texas, and discharging her cargo at Bermuda, Argentia, Newfoundland and Norfolk. She made three convoy crossings, to Scotland, Wales, and Casablanca, between 17 July and 4 December, then resumed operations to Port Arthur and Aruba, except for the period 25 January-8 March 1944, when she again crossed to North Africa.
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