USS Merrimack (AO-37)
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| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | SS Caddo |
| Namesake: | The Caddo River in Arkansas |
| Ordered: | 12 September 1940 |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard |
| Launched: | 1 July 1941 |
| Acquired: | 31 December 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 4 February 1942 |
| Renamed: | USS Merrimack 9 February 1942 |
| Namesake: | The Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire |
| Decommissioned: | 8 February 1950 |
| Recommissioned: | 6 December 1950 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 December 1954 |
| Honors and awards: |
8 battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate: | Sold 19 March 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kennebec class oiler |
| Type: | MARAD T2 |
| Tonnage: | 15,910 DWT |
| Displacement: | 21,077 tons |
| Length: | 501 ft 8 in (152.91 m) |
| Beam: | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 8.5 in (9.055 m) |
| Depth: | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Installed power: | 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) |
| Capacity: | 130,000 bbl (~18,000 t) |
| Complement: | 214–247 |
| Armament: |
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The third USS Merrimack (AO-37) (ex-Caddo) was one of five Kennebec-class fleet oilers (also known as a type T2 tanker) built during World War II for service in the United States Navy. She also service in the Cold War. She was named after the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Merrimack was laid down as SS Caddo under Maritime Commission contract on 12 September 1940 by Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point, Maryland. She was launched on 1 July 1941 and acquired by the U.S. Navy from Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (later Mobil Oil) on 31 December 1941. She was renamed Merrimack on 9 January 1942, and commissioned 4 February 1942, Captain William E. Hilbert in command.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, the new fleet oiler spent the next two-and-a-half years steaming the Atlantic seaways carrying oil for Allied ships from Argentia, Newfoundland to Montevideo, Uruguay, and from ports along the United States East Coast to staging areas in the British Isles and the Mediterranean. Her primary duty was fueling the escorts which protected Allied convoys from German U-boats.
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