USS Cimarron (AO-22)

USS Cimarron at Norfolk Navy Yard in 1942
History
Name:	USS Cimarron
Namesake:	The Cimarron River in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas
Builder:	Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania
Laid down:	18 April 1938
Launched:	7 January 1939
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Louise Harrington Leahy
Commissioned:	20 March 1939
Decommissioned:	October 1968
Struck:	October 1968
Honors and awards:	10 battle stars for World War II service 7 battle stars for Korean War service 4 campaign stars for Vietnam War service
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 1969
General characteristics
Class and type:	Cimarron class fleet replenishment oiler
Displacement:	7,470 long tons (7,590 t) light 24,830 long tons (25,228 t) full load
Length:	553 ft (169 m)
Beam:	75 ft (23 m)
Draft:	32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
Propulsion:	Twin screws, 30,400 shp (22,669 kW) Steam (600psi), NSFO
Speed:	18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h)
Complement:	304
Sensors and processing systems:	Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS)
Armament:	4 × 5 in (130 mm)/38 cal. guns 4 × 40 mm AA guns 4 × 20 mm AA guns During Korean War reduced to: 3 × 5 in./38 mounts 3 in. mounts replaced 20 & 40 mm
Service record
Commanders:	Lieutenant Commander William W. Behrens, Jr.
Operations:	World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War
Awards:	10 battle stars (World War II) 7 battle stars (Korea) 4 campaign stars (Vietnam)

USS Cimarron (AO-22) was a Cimarron-class oiler serving with the United States Navy and only the second ship to be named for the Cimarron River in the southwestern United States. She was launched 7 January 1939 by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania; sponsored by Mrs. William D. Leahy; and commissioned 20 March 1939 with Lieutenant Commander William W. Behrens, Jr. in command.

Cimarron cleared Houston 31 May 1939 for Pearl Harbor, arriving 21 July. She transported oil between west coast ports and Pearl Harbor, making 13 such voyages until she sailed for the east coast on 19 August 1940. After repairs and alterations, she began oil runs on the east coast, principally between Baton Rouge and Norfolk, until August 1941, when she took part in amphibious operations. From 5–16 September she put to sea with a transport convoy bound for Iceland, and voyaged north again from 12 October to 5 November to refuel ships at Placentia Bay. On 15 November 1941, she joined a convoy at Trinidad bound for Singapore with reinforcements, but was detached from the convoy on 9 December at Cape Town, South Africa. Returning to Trinidad on 31 December, she operated from Brazilian ports to Iceland until 4 March 1942, when she cleared Norfolk for San Francisco.