USS Salamonie (AO-26)
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| History | |
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| Name: |
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| Builder: | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, VA |
| Laid down: | 5 February 1940 |
| Launched: | 18 September 1940 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. Eugene Holman |
| Commissioned: | 28 April 1941 |
| Struck: | 2 September 1969 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping, 24 September 1970 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cimarron-class oiler |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 553 ft (169 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m) |
| Installed power: | 30,400 shp (22,669 kW) |
| Propulsion: | twin screws, steam (450 lbf/in2), NSFO |
| Speed: | 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 304 |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War II |
USS Salamonie (AO-26) was a Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler, named for the Salamonie River in Indiana.
Salamonie was laid down on 5 February 1940 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 13) as Esso Columbia by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia.; launched on 18 September 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Eugene Holman; designated for US Navy use on 20 November 1940; and commissioned on 28 April 1941, Commander T.M. Waldschmidt in command.
After runs to various North American Atlantic Ocean ports, Salamonie got underway for her first overseas mission on 13 November 1942 in a large convoy headed for Casablanca, North Africa. Then, after several convoys to the United Kingdom the oiler was overhauled in Norfolk, Virginia, and fitted with radar.
On 12 February 1943 in the North Atlantic Salamonie suffered a steering fault and accidentally rammed the troopship USAT Uruguay amidships. The tanker's bow made a 70-foot (21 m) hole in Uruguay's hull and penetrated her hospital, killing 13 soldiers and injuring 50. One soldier landed on the tanker's deck, where he was not discovered until Salamonie had changed course to Bermuda for repairs.
Salamonie sailed for the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal on 8 July 1944 and reported for duty to Commander Service Force, US 7th Fleet, at Milne Bay, New Guinea, on 23 August. Salamonie joined the Leyte invasion force in Hollandia on 8 October 1944 and later supported both the Morotai and Mindoro strike forces. She spent the final months of the war supporting Allied operations in the Philippines.
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