Jump to content

USS Kennebec (AO-36)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from SS Corsicana (1941))

USS Kennebec
History
United States
NameUSS Kennebec
NamesakeKennebec River
Ordered1 November 1939
BuilderBethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard
Laid down12 August 1940
Launched19 April 1941
Acquired13 January 1942
Commissioned4 February 1942
Decommissioned29 June 1970
Stricken15 July 1976
MottoService God, Country, Fleet
Honors and
awards
FateScrapped, 1982
General characteristics
Class and typeKennebec class oiler
TypeMARAD T2
Tonnage15,910 DWT
Displacement21,077 tons
Length501 ft 8 in (152.91 m)
Beam68 ft (21 m)
Draft29 ft 8.5 in (9.055 m)
Depth37 ft (11 m)
Installed power12,000 shp (8,900 kW)
Propulsion
Speed16.5 knots (30.6 km/h)
Range8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi)
Capacity130,000 bbl (~18,000 t)
Complement214–247
Armament

USS Kennebec (AO-36) was originally the SS Corsicana, a Kennebec class T2 tanker that was built by Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard in Sparrows Point, Maryland. It was delivered to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (later Mobil Oil) on 8 August 1941. It was purchased by the United States Navy on 13 January 1942 and renamed Kennebec.

Service history

[edit]

The fleet oiler later had an eventful career, in so far as it was decommissioned four times and twice stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. Kennebec was decommissioned on 4 September 1950 at San Diego, California, and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet for only four months. It was already recommissioned on 11 January 1951, at Oakland, California. On 25 September 1954 it was decommissioned, again at San Diego and laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group. It was recommissioned on 14 December 1956, only to be decommissioned again on 31 October 1957. This time the ship was stricken from the Naval Register on 14 January 1959 and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for laying up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. However, Kennebec was reacquired by the U.S. Navy and recommissioned on 16 December 1961. It served the Pacific Fleet during the Vietnam War up to 1970.

The ship decommissioned for the last time on 29 June 1970 at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility, Mare Island, Vallejo, California, and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for laying up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Kennebec was again stricken from the Naval Register on 15 July 1976. On 6 April 1982 it was sold by MARAD to Levin Metals Corporation for $180,077.00, and subsequently scrapped.

Propeller

[edit]

Today, the ship's only propeller sits outside the Building 1503 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It is a 19 ft 8 in (5.99 m) diameter prop with a 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m) pitch. It was made by Bethlehem Steel Co. at the Staten Island plant. The finish weight was 41,775 lb (18,949 kg).

References

[edit]

Public Domain This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  • T2 Tanker site
  • 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.
[edit]