USS Cacapon
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Cacapon |
| Namesake | Cacapon River in West Virginia |
| Builder | Sparrows Point, Maryland |
| Launched | 12 June 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. A. V. Doherty |
| Acquired | 21 September 1943 |
| Commissioned | 21 September 1943 |
| Decommissioned | August 1973 |
| Stricken | August 1973 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | oiler |
| Type | T3-S2-A3 tanker hull |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 553 ft (169 m) |
| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Propulsion | Geared turbines, twin screws, 30,400 shp (22,669 kW) |
| Speed | 18 knots (21 mph; 33 km/h) |
| Capacity | 146,000 barrels |
| Complement | 314 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War |
| Awards: |
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USS Cacapon (AO-52) was a
Cacapon was launched 12 June 1943 at Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. A. V. Doherty; acquired by the Navy 21 September 1943; and commissioned the same day. The name is derived from a Shawnee word meaning "medicine waters".[1] Cacapon River and Cacapon Mountain are in West Virginia.
World War II Pacific Theatre operations
On 22 October 1943 Cacapon sailed from
Cacapon served as station tanker successively at
End-of-war activity
Cacapon brought her essential aid to the 3rd Fleet in its final devastating air attacks and bombardments on the Japanese home islands in July 1945, and on 20 September entered
Running aground in the Persian Gulf
In April 1946 she sailed to
Supporting Antarctic operations
On 2 December 1946, Cacapon cleared San Pedro, California, for 10 weeks in the Antarctic in Operation Highjump. She called at Sydney, Australia, en route Long Beach, California, returning home 8 April 1947. Between 1947 and 1950 she cruised in the Pacific on two extended Far Eastern tours.
Korean War operations
Far Eastern operations continued to be the rule for Cacapon when war broke out in
From the end of hostilities in Korea through 1960, Cacapon made six more Far Eastern tours, continuing to sail with the 7th Fleet and the Taiwan Patrol Force. In 1958 she served as the oiler replenishing the ships in Operation Hardtack, which conducted nuclear bomb tests in the lagoons of Bikini and Eniwetok, Marshall Islands.
Vietnam War operations
During her 1955 tour she took part in the evacuation of the
Murder of Andrew Muns
Cacapon was the site of the 1968 strangulation of Ensign Andrew Muns. He was murdered after uncovering a theft of $8,600 from the ship's safe by Michael LeBrun. The Navy initially branded Ensign Muns the thief and accused him of deserting with the stolen cash. At the insistence of the Muns' family, the case was reopened by NCIS in 1998 and a subsequent cold case investigation led to Michael LeBrun.[2] After a lengthy interrogation, LeBrun confessed to the murder and to disposing of the body by throwing Ensign Muns into one of the oiler's massive fuel tanks.[3] The body was never recovered.
Final decommissioning
She was decommissioned, and struck from the Navy List in August 1973 and transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal. Her final disposition was to be sold for scrapping (date unknown) to Zidell Exploration Portland, Oregon.
Awards
Cacapon received four
References
- ^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. pp. 146–147.
- ^ "NCIS agents vow to solve "unsolvable" cold case and restore a sailor's honor". www.cbsnews.com. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in '68 killing". NBC News. 8 September 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Further reading
- Wildenberg, Thomas (1996). Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
