USS Navasota
_underway_in_the_Pacific_Ocean_on_2_March_1987_(6418814).jpg) USNS Navasota (T-AO-106) in 1986
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Navasota |
| Namesake | The Navasota River in Texas |
| Builder | Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Laid down | 22 February 1945 |
| Launched | 30 August 1945 |
| Commissioned | 27 February 1946 |
| Decommissioned | 13 August 1975 |
| In service | 1975 |
| Out of service | 1991 |
| Reclassified | T-AO-107 after decommissioning |
| Stricken | 2 January 1992 |
| Identification | IMO number: 7737133 |
| Honors and awards | Nine campaign stars for Vietnam War service |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 25 October 1995 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Ashtabula- or Cimarron-class replenishment oiler[1] |
| Displacement |
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| Length |
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| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft |
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| Installed power | 30,400 hp (22.7 MW) |
| Propulsion | geared turbines, four boilers, twin screws |
| Speed | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Capacity | 146,000 barrels (23,200 m3) of fuel oil |
| Complement | 304 (as USS Navasota) |
| Crew | 108 civilians plus a detachment of U.S. Navy personnel (as USNS Navasota) |
| Armament |
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| Notes | "Jumboization" involved the lengthening of Navasota's hull and installation of additional cargo capacity in 1964-1965. |
USS Navasota (AO-106) was an Ashtabula-class replenishment oiler that served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1973, then transferred to the Military Sealift Command to continue service as United States Naval Ship USNS Navasota (T-AO-106) until taken out of service in 1992. Navasota was sold for scrapping in 1995. She was the only U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Navasota.
Construction and commissioning
Navasota was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 22 February 1945 as
Operational history, 1946–63
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After three months of shakedown and training off the United States East Coast, Navasota steamed via the
Navasota departed Pearl Harbor on 13 October 1948, once again en route the Far East. She departed Yokosuka on 20 November 1948 for Qingdao and remained on station until 30 December 1948, when she sailed for California via Pearl Harbor. She arrived at Long Beach, California, on 19 January 1949, steamed to Kodiak, Alaska on 1 February 1949, returned to San Francisco on 25 February 1949, and continued to operate on the west coast of the United States for the next year.
Navasota again deployed to the Western Pacific on 1 May 1950. When the North Koreans crossed the
She steamed for Pearl Harbor on 22 October 1950, and then for Japan via
During her Korean operations Navasota fueled ships in
Navasota steamed from Long Beach on 2 February 1953 for Pearl Harbor to participate in Mercantile Convoy Exercise RES 53B, after which she called at Sasebo on 26 February 1953 to commence her fourth Pacific deployment. For the next seven months, she conducted fueling operations in Korean waters. She was also used as station ship at Kaohsiung, Formosa, where she fueled units of the Formosa Straits Patrol until she headed for Long Beach on 3 September 1953.
For the next ten years, Navasota continued to provide fueling services to the fleet through her annual Western Pacific deployments. In one overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard from February to May 1958, all guns save her single 3-inch (76.2-mm) mounts were removed.
Highlights in this period included service as a fuel ship during the nuclear weapons tests at
"Jumboization", 1963–64
Upon completion of her 15th Western Pacific deployment on 14 October 1963, Navasota was scheduled for "jumboization", the first oiler so designated. She steamed on 14 November 1963 for
The "jumboization" process consisted of five basic steps. First, the
Although replacement of the midsection was the single largest change in the $15,000,000 process, many other important improvements were made during the conversion. A major modification was made to the stern, including a new counterbalanced rudder, new stern casting and struts, and new shorter propeller shafts and stern tubes. The latest in fueling and replenishment at sea equipment was also added, including kingposts with outriggers, ram tensioned span wires and high lines, electric hydraulic winches, cargo elevators, helicopter pickup area, and sliding blocks and cargo drop reels at replenishment stations. New electric pumps, larger cargo piping, and double-hose fueling rigs were also added, as well as a 4,500-kilowatt auxiliary diesel generator plant, and more enclosed stowage space. Habitability was also improved.
Her "jumboization" complete, Navasota left the shipyard on 28 December 1964.
1965–75
After upkeep and training, Navasota steamed 20 August 1965 on her 16th Western Pacific deployment, arriving at Subic Bay on 11 September 1965 and returning to Long Beach on 6 June 1966.
Navasota again steamed for the Western Pacific on 11 October 1966. Arriving at Subic Bay on 3 November 1966, she operated in the
Navasota was decommissioned on 13 August 1975 and transferred to the Military Sealift Command, in which she served as USNS Navasota (T-AO-106) until 1991.
Later career and disposition
Navasota began active service with the Military Sealift Command in 1975. She was taken out of service in 1991. Navasota was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 January 1992. She was sold for scrapping on 25 October 1995.
Battle honors
USS Navasota received nine
See also
- 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 2009-04-28.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- ^ Some sources refer to this class as the Mispillion class
External links
- Photo gallery of Navasota at NavSource Naval History