USS Kanawha
Class overview
NameKanawha class
Builders
Operators
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byPatoka class
SubclassesCuyama class
Built1913-1921
In commission1915-1946
Planned6
Completed6
Lost3
Retired3
General characteristics
TypeOil tanker
Displacement
  • 5,723 long tons (5,815 t) light
  • 14,800 long tons (15,037 t) full load
Length475 ft 7 in (144.96 m)
Beam56 ft 3 in (17.15 m)
Draft26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
Speed14 knots
Complement317 officers and enlisted
Armament

The Kanawha-class oiler was a class of oil tankers of United States Navy and later sold to the Republic of China Navy.

Development

Six oilers were ordered for construction by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard and the Boston Navy Yard. They were one of the earliest purpose-built oilers for the United States Navy. Kanawha and Maumee were recommissioned during the Second World War meanwhile the other ships remained in service ever since commissioning.[1]

The Cuyama subclass was an improved version of the first two ships of the Kanawha class.

Kanawha, Neches and Pecos were sunk in battles in the Pacific against the Japanese while the other three served until the end of the war. Maumee was transferred on a lend lease to the Nationalist Army in China in which she was renamed ROCS Omei (AO-509).

Ships of class

Pennant number Name Callsign Builders Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
Kanawha-class oiler[2]
AO-1 Kanawha NND / NEQD Mare Island Navy Yard 8 December 1913 11 July 1914 5 June 1915 Sunk off Tulagi Harbor on 8 April 1943
AO-2 / AG-124 Maumee NNE / NEQL 23 July 1914 17 April 1915 20 October 1916 5 November 1946 Transferred to the Republic of China and renamed ROCS Omei (AO-509), fate unknown
Cuyama-class oiler[2]
AO-3 Cuyama NERP Mare Island Navy Yard 15 December 1915 17 June 1916 12 April 1917 12 April 1946 Scrapped on 10 September 1947
AO-4 Brazos NIFK Boston Navy Yard 21 June 1917 1 May 1919 1 October 1919 8 February 1946 Scrapped on 6 January 1947
AO-5 Neches NIFP 8 June 1919 2 June 1920 25 October 1920 Sunk by I-72 on 23 January 1942
AO-6 Pecos NIFQ 2 June 1920 23 April 1921 25 August 1921 Sunk by aircraft from Sōryū on 1 March 1942

Citations

  1. ↑ "Kanawha class Oilers - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 "NavSource Auxiliary Ship Photo Archive". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
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