USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)

USS Kalamazoo in underway replenishment with USS Saratoga.
History
United States
Name: USS Kalamazoo
Namesake: Kalamazoo, Michigan and the Kalamazoo River
Builder: General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down: 1 October 1970
Launched: 1 November 1972
Commissioned: 11 August 1973, as USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)
Decommissioned: 16 August 1996
Struck: 29 October 1998
Honors and
awards:		 Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Fate: Sold for scrap, 15 July 2008, for $1,465,726
General characteristics
Class and type: Wichita-class replenishment oiler
Displacement:
  • 14,048 long tons (14,273 t) light
  • 39,790 long tons (40,429 t) full
Length: 659 ft (201 m)
Beam: 96 ft (29 m)
Draft: 37 ft (11 m)
Propulsion: 3 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 32,000 shp (23,862 kW)
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement: 34 officers, 463 enlisted
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
Aviation facilities: Helo Deck and berthing for 8 Airdet Personnel

USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1973. She continued to support Navy requirements until 1996 when she was placed in the reserve fleet and later struck.

Construction

Kalamazoo was laid down on 1 October 1970 and launched on 1 November 1972 at the shipyard of the General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts. On 11 August 1973 she was commissioned USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) and placed into service for the fleet. Her first homeport was Mayport Naval Station, Mayport, Florida.

Service history

[1]
Date to Date Deployment or event
11 August 1973 — Commissioned
June 1974 February 1975 Mediterranean
January 1975 December 1975 Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award Atlantic Fleet Winner
April 1975 October 1975 Blue Nose - Arctic Circle
July 1976 July 1976 New York Harbor Tall Ships Celebration
April 1978 May 1979 Regular overhaul
April 1980 September 1980 Mediterranean-Indian Ocean
8 October 1981 — Shellback Initiation - Atlantic Ocean
October 1981 April 1982 Mediterranean-West Africa
November 1982 May 1983 Mediterranean
December 1983 June 1984 Overhaul - Hoboken N.J.
May 1985 December 1985 Mediterranean-Lebanon
August 1986 October 1986 North Atlantic: Blue Nose
December 1986 June 1987 Mediterranean
December 1988 June 1989 Mediterranean
December 1989 May 1990 Mediterranean: This was called the Unexpected Cruise that was taken when USS Detroit (AOE-4) was unable to sail
December 1990 June 1991 "Operation Desert Storm"
October 1992 April 1993 Mediterranean
May 1994 November 1994 Mediterranean-Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf
16 August 1996 — Decommissioned

Decommissioning

On 16 August 1996 Kalamazoo was decommissioned and placed in reserve at the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Lee Hall, Virginia. She was struck from the Navy list on 29 October 1998 and, on 15 July 2008, she was sold by the U.S. Maritime Administration to Esco Marine, Brownsville, Texas, for $1,465,726. Kalamazoo was towed out of James River Reserve Fleet on Tuesday, 30 September 2008, en route to ESCO Brownsville.[2]

Honors and awards

Qualified Kalamazoo personnel were authorized the following:

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6).
  1. ↑ "USS KALAMAZOO (AOR-6) Deployments & History". hullnumber.com. 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-local_atbay_1002oct02,0,5855783.story


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