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AO-51 Ashtabula
AO-98 Caloosahatchee

The mission of the fleet oiler is to operate as a unit of an underway replenishment group, furnishing replenishment of petroleum products to the fleet at sea. Oilers transport bulk petroleum and lubricants from depots to battle group station ships effecting delivery and consolidation underway. In addition, they are capable of delivering petroleum and cargo to combatants and support forces by alongside and vertical replenishment. The number of Navy-manned fleet oilers has diminished as more and more Military Sealift Command ships, all civilian manned, have assumed responsibilities for supplying ships of the fleet. The Caloosahatchee and her sister ship the Canisteo were the two surviving members of the World War II Ashtabula-Class (AO 51), the majority of which units were retired in the 1970s. Some of these vessels were retained until the early 1990s in the National Defense Reserve Fleet prior to disposal and sale by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for scrapping.

Specifications

Displacement Light Displacement: 10847 tons
Full Displacement: 34750 tons
Dead Weight: 23903 tons
Length Overall Length: 644 ft
Waterline Length: 616 ft
Beam Extreme Beam: 75 ft
Waterline Beam: 75 ft
Draft 35 feet
Speed 18 knots
Power Plant Steam turbine, four boilers, two shafts, 13,500 shaft horsepower
Armament Two 3-inch/50-caliber anti-aircraft weapons
Aircraft None; a small area for vertical replenishment is provided
Complement Officers: 22
Enlisted: 362

Ships

Name Number Builder Homeport Ordered Commissioned Decommissioned
AshtabulaAO-51 ~ 194307 Aug 194330 Sep 1982
CalienteAO-53 ~ 1943~ 1943 ~ 1973
ChikaskiaAO-54 ~ 1943~ 1943 ~ 1976
AucillaAO-56 Bethlehem~ 194322 Dec 1943 ~ 1976
MariasAO-57 ~ 1943~ 194415 Aug 1982
NantahalaAO-60 ~ 1943~ 1944 ~ 1973
SevernAO-61 ~ 1943~ 1944 ~ 1974
TalugaAO-62 Bethlehem~ 194325 Aug 194429 Aug 1983
ChipolaAO-63 ~ 1944~ 1944 ~ 1973
TolovanaAO-64 ~ 1944~ 1944 ~ 197?
AllagashAO-97 ~ 1944~ 1944 ~ 1973
Caloosahatchee AO-98 BethlehemNorfolk02 May 194410 Oct 194528 Feb 1990
Canisteo AO-99 Bethlehem Norfolk02 May 194403 Dec 194502 Oct 1989
NOTES:
Not all sequential hull numbers were assigned.
AO 65, AO 72, AO 77 and AO 93 were units of other classes.

Sources and Resources


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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ao-51.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Friday, March 05, 1999 6:58:18 AM