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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Cimarron (AO-177)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Yankee - Foxtrot
 NHYF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (3) - National Defense Service Medal
Bottom Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (7-Persian Gulf) - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 18 March 1978 at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA
  • Launched, 28 April 1979
  • Commissioned USS Cimarron (AO-177), 10 January 1981, at Oakland, CA., CAPT. Robert S. Black USN in command
  • Decommissioned, 15 December 1998
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 3 May 1999
  • Title transfer to MARAD, 3 May 1999, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 1 October 2012, for $991,726, ESCO Marine Brownsville, TX.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 26,000 t.(lt) 36977 t.(fl)
    Length
    Original - 591' 6"
    Jumboized - 700"
    Beam 88'
    Draft 32' (max.)
    Speed 20 kts.
    Complement
    15 Officers
    318 Enlisted
    Armament
    two Phalanx CIWS
    two 25MM MK 38 Machine Guns
    four .50-Caliber Machines Guns
    Cargo Capacity
    Oil - 75,000 Bbls
    JP-5 - 45,000 Bbls
    Dry Fleet Freight - 360 t.
    Ammunition - 600 t.
    Lube Oil 125 55-Gal Drums
    Refrigerated 60 t.
    Bottle Gas - 584 Cylinders
    ISO Containers - 21
    Propulsion
    one steam turbine
    two 600psi boilers
    single propeller, 24,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Cimarron
    0919022053    		 235k
    Namesake
    Cimarron River extends 698 miles across New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. The headwaters flow from Johnson Mesa west of Folsom in northeastern New Mexico.    		 Tommy Trampp
    ©Wikipedia map
    Cimarron 126k Cimarron (AO-177) dressed for her christening ceremony at Avondale Shipyard, Westwego, Louisiana, 28 April 1979.
    US National Archives Photo # USN 1174926, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Cimarron 140k Cimarron (AO-177) under way in the Mississippi River during builders sea trials, 16 July 1980
    US National Archives Photo # USN 1179239 , a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Cimarron
    USN 1179646    		 199k Cimarron (AO-177) on builder sea trials, in the Gulf of Mexico, 5 November 1980.
    US National Archives Photo # USN 1179646 , and USN 1179647 US Navy photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Cimarron
    USN 1179647    		 156k
    Cimarron 231k USS Cimarron (AO-177) while undergoing builders sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, November 1980. Mike Smolinski
    Cimarron 53k USS Cimarron (AO-177) during a full power run while undergoing fleet acceptance trials in 1981 off the California coast. Robert Hurst
    Cimarron 116k USS Cimarron (AO-177) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Cimarron 252k USS Cimarron (AO-177) moored after recently arriving at San Diego in August 1981. Photo by ©David Buell
    Cimarron 61k USS Cimarron (AO-177) outbound to sea from San Francisco Bay, with the Golden Gate Bridge in background.
    US Navy photo    		  
    Cimarron 53k USS Cimarron (AO-177) under way, date and location unknown. Chris Plum
    Cimarron
    091917704
    DN-SC-90-07716     		504k USS Cimarron (AO-177) underway off Apra Harbor, Guam, 21 March 1983.
    Defenseimagery photos # DN-SC-90-07716 and number unknown, US Navy photos by PH1 Smith, now in the collections of Defense Imagery.    		 Robert Hurst and Chris Plum
    Cimarron
    091917703,
    DN-number unknown     		431k
    Cimarron
    091917718    		 287k USS Cimarron (AO-177) underway, 24 May 1985, location unknown.
    U.S. Department of Defense photo # DN-SC-86-08015, a U.S. Navy photo by PH3 K. Mcglothlin available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 6405354    		 Robert Hurst
    Cimarron 1260k USS Cimarron (AO-177) at anchor in the harbor at Melbourne, Australia, date unknown. Photo from the Chris Howell collection with copyright
    Cimarron 76k USS Cimarron (AO-177) drydocked, date and location unknown. Chris Plum
    Cimarron 125k USS Cimarron (AO-177) moored at Avondale Shipyard, New Orleans, LA. in April 1992.
    US National Archives identifier (NAID) 6483969    		 Robert Hurst
    Cimarron
    091917719    		 179k USS Cimarron (AO-177) returning to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at the end of exercise "RIMPAC '98", 2 August 1998.
    U.S. Department of Defense photo # DN-SD-00-01207 a U.S Navy photo by PH1(Nac) James G. McCarter. This image is available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 6510540.    		 Robert Hurst
    Cimarron 119k USS Cimarron (AO-177) plaque Tommy Trampp
    There is no history available for USS Cimarron (AO-177) at NavSource
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Black, Robert Steven10 January 1981 - 7 January 1983
    02CAPT. Peschka Jr., Jerome Aloysius7 January 1983 - 7 August 1985
    03CDR. Lines, David Freeman7 August 1985 - 18 December 1987
    04CDR. Egan, Dennis James18 December 1987 - 12 December 1989
    05CDR. Shaver, Eric Bruce12 December 1989 - 22 November 1991
    06CDR. Gernes, Deborah Sue22 November 1991 - 27 August 1993
    07CDR. Patterson, Torkel Lloyd27 August 1993 - 31 March 1994
    08LCDR. Bergin, David31 March 1994 - 10 April 1994
    09CAPT. Capello, Leonard William (Lenny)10 April 1994 - 19 June 1994
    10CDR. Felmly, Michael Lloyd19 June 1994 - 4 March 1996
    11CDR. Perdue, David Michael4 March 1996 - 27 February 1998
    12CDR. Richter, Steven Lee, USN (USNA 1981)27 February 1998 - 15 December 1998
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Fleet Tankers Association
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    USS Cimarron (AO-177) Welcome Aboard brochure
    Cimarron-Class Booklet of General Plans
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To the Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 18 August 2023