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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Willamette (AO-180)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Tango - Sierra NVTS

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (5)
Bottom Row - Navy Expeditionary Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Persian Gulf, Op. Restore Hope, Somalia)

Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:

Laid down, 4 August 1980, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA.

Launched, 18 July 1981

Commissioned USS Willamette (AO-180), 18 December 1981, CDR. David M. Brown, in command

Decommissioned, struck from the Naval Register, and title transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for disposal, 30 April 1999

Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA.

Final Disposition, sold, date unknown, for scrapping at Brownsville, TX.

Specifications:
Displacement 11,645 t.(lt) 37,840 t.(fl)
Length 708'
Beam 88'
Draft 32' (max.)
Speed 20 kts.
Complement 15 Officers, 215 Enlisted
Armament two 6X20mm Phalanx CIWS;
Cargo Capacity 180,000 barrels petroleum products, 600 tons ammunition
Propulsion two 600psi boilers, one steam turbine, single shaft, 24,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	538k	bMrs. Shirley G. Crowe, wife of Admiral William J. Crowe, christens Willamette (AO-180), 18 July 1981, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA.	S. Dale Hargrave
	211k	Willamette (AO-180) sideways launching into the Mississippi River, 18 July 1981, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA.	Tommy Trampp
	40k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo
	54k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** under way off Oahu, HI. US Navy photo	USS Willamette (AO-180) web site
	720k	Stern view *USS Willamette* (AO-180)** during a replenishment at sea, circa 1980s, location unknown.	Ron Reeves
	46k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180) stern view, on her underway replenishment course ready to receive USS Reeves (CG 24)** alongside for refueling in the Hawaii op areas, January 1983.	Chris Ronan
	41k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180) stern view, on her underway replenishment course ready to receive USS Reeves (CG 24)** alongside for refueling in the Hawaii op areas, January 1983.	Chris Ronan
091918024	321k	Aerial view of *USS Willamette* (AO-180)** underway, 2 March 1987, location unknown. Department of Defense photo # DN-SC-87-10729. A U.S. Navy photo by PH3 E. Marten from American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://catalog.archives.gov/id/6418834 and http://catalog.archives.gov/id6418825	Robert Hurst
091918025	425k		Robert Hurst
	720k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180) showing damage to her bow after ramming USS Jason (AR-8), 10 February 1986, about 62 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor. Jason steamed across and through a formation centered around Willamette, in an attempt to take up a position in the formation astern of Willamette. CPO Susano R. Valdez was killed and eight other Jason crew members were injured. The third photo in this set shows a new bow being fitted to Willamette** in April 1986.	Ron Reeves
	960k
	960k
	84k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** under way, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	1146k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180) and the guided-missile cruiser USS Worden (CG-18)** participate in an underway replenishment (UNREP), during a midshipmen's summer training cruise in the Pacific Ocean, 1 July 1986. DVIC photo # DN-ST-87-03014 a US Navy photo by: PH2 Michael D.P. Flynn now in the collections of the Defense Visual Information Center	Robert M. Cieri
	175k	*USS Willamette* (AO--80) services USS Duncan (FFG-10), during an Underway Replenishment (UNREP) at sea as USS Gray (FF 1054)** follows in trail, January 1987. DVIC photo # DNSC0506680 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Defense Visual Information Center	Defense Visual Information Center
	152k	An aerial view of the Kitty Hawk battle group under way in the Pacific Ocean, 2 March 1987. The ships are, left to right, front row: frigate *USS Stein* (FF-1065), guided missile cruiser USS Halsey (CG-23), frigate USS Barbey (FF-1088); second row, guided missile destroyer USS Callaghan (DDG-994), ammunition ship USS Mount Hood (AE-29), aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), combat stores ship USS Mars (AFS-1), and guided missile frigate USS Vandegrift (FFG-48). Fleet oiler USS Willamette (AO-180)** follows. US Navy photos by PH2 Hensley, available from the Defense Imagery Management Operations Center, id.: DN-SC-87-10327.	Museum of Military History, Kissimmee, FL
	179k
	104k
	267k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180) and USS Duncan (FFG-10)** as they prepare for an Underway Replenishment (UNREP) at sea, January 1987. DVIC photo # DNSC0506674 a US navy photo now in the collections of the Defense Visual Information Center	Defense Visual Information Center
	86k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** under way, circa August 1988 - November 1990, location unknown. US Navy photo	Tommy Trampp
	379k	Starboard bow view of *USS Willamette* (AO-180) coming up alongside the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)** (not shown) near Hawaii during an underway replenishment operation, 1 June 1993. DVIC photo # DNA-ST-95-01184 by PH2 Dale W. Novocaine, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Defense Visual Information Center.	Bill Gonyo
	121k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** under way, date and location unknown.	Tommy Trampp
	286k	Ex-*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** laid up in the Maritime Administrations National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA. US Maritime Administration photo.	Ron Reeves
	254k		Ron Reeves
	960k	Ex-*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** being removed from the Maritime Administrations National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA., 26 November 2013, for cleaning at the ex-Mare Island Naval Shipyard, prior to being towed to Brownsville, TX. for dismantling. Photographer unknown.	Ron Reeves
	28k	Ex-*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** under tow in the Panama Canal, March 2014, enroute to Brownsville, TX. for dismantling. Photographer unknown.	Ron Reeves
	240k	Ex-*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** at Brownsville, TX., awaiting scrapping, 17 March 2014.	Photo by Christopher Holley
	34k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** ball cap patch	Tommy Trampp
	131k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** commemorative coins	Ron Reeves
	958k	*USS Willamette* (AO-180)** commemorative coins	Ron Reeves

There is no DANFS history available for USS Willamette (AO-180) at NavSource

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Brown, David Melton	18 December 1982 - November 1984
02	CDR. Hulty, Robert Michael	November 1984 - 11 March 1986
03	CDR. Lundahl, David Carlton	11 March 1986 - 17 August 1988
04	CDR. Williams, Alan Bruce	17 August 1988 - November 1990
05	CDR. Womack, Stephen Lawrence	November 1990 - 8 January 1993
06	CDR. Divis, Conrad Bruce	8 January 1993 - 18 November 1994
07	CAPT. Hackney, Norma Lee	18 November 1994 - November 1996
08	CAPT. Reed, Nori Ann	November 1996 - July 1998
09	CDR. Stone III, Howard Lyons	July 1998 - 30 April 1999


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
Cimarron-Class Booklet of General Plans

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 13 October 2023