USS Neches (AO-5)
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Neches |
| Namesake: | Neches River |
| Laid down: | 8 June 1919 |
| Launched: | 2 June 1920 |
| Sponsored by: | Helen Griffin |
| Commissioned: | 25 October 1920 |
| Identification: | Hull number: AO-5 |
| Fate: | Torpedoed and sunk by I-72, 23 January 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kanawaha-class replenishment oiler |
| Displacement: | 5,723 long tons (5,815 t) |
| Length: | 475 feet (144.8 m) |
| Beam: | 56 feet (17.1 m) |
| Draft: | 26 feet 6 inches (8.1 m) |
| Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement: | 144 |
| Armament: |
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USS Neches (AO–5) was laid down on 8 June 1919 by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts; launched on 2 June 1920, sponsored by Miss Helen Griffin, daughter of Rear Admiral Robert Griffin; and commissioned on 25 October 1920, with Commander H. T. Meriwether, USNRF, in command.
Originally classified as Fuel Ship No. 17 through 1920, Neches was assigned to Boston until 3 March 1922. During service with the Atlantic Fleet, she performed fleet fuel duties along the East Coast, participated in tactical exercises, carried mail, and towed targets. She also made several trips to Port Arthur, Texas, for fuel oil and gasoline.
She fueled at Fall River, Massachusetts, in early March 1922 and then steamed for Norfolk, Virginia. She next got underway for her new home yard at Mare Island, California, and thence to San Diego, California, her new homeport, whence she operated as a fleet oiler. She underwent commencing on 1 May 1926 at Mare Island, during which a new hydraulic gasoline stowage system was installed. During the ensuing 15 years Neches was a busy ship. She participated in and helped develop fleet tactics, fueled the fleet, and supplied oil and gasoline to bases in the Panama Canal Zone, Caribbean, and Hawaii.
The oiler was underway from San Diego to Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked that base. She arrived on 10 December 1941, rapidly off-loaded and hurriedly returned to San Diego in order to take on more cargo for Pearl Harbor. Neches was returning to Pearl Harbor with damage control hulk DCH 1 (IX-44), formerly destroyer Walker (DD-163), in tow. On 28 December 1941, DCH 1 was cast adrift and scuttled by gunfire from Neches at 26°35′N 143°49′W.
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