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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Kaweah (AO-15)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Uniform - Golf - Kilo NUGK

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Medal (with "A" device)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

Kaweah Class Fleet Oiler:

Laid down, date unknown, under a United States Shipping Board (USSB) contact at William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, PA.

Launched in 1919

Acquired from the USSB, 20 October 1921

Commissioned USS Kaweah (AO-15), 28 December 1921, LCDR. O. Bevelagua, USNRF, in command

Decommissioned, 15 August 1922, at Norfolk, VA.

Laid up in Reserve

Recommissioned, 16 December 1940, CDR. Charles B. McVay in command

Decommissioned, 16 November 1945

Struck from the Naval Register, 28 November 1945

Transferred to the War Shipping Administration, 28 May 1946, for disposal

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping 28 May 1946 to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD. for $15,500.00 (PD-X-145). Withdrawn from the James River Reserve Fleet and delivered to Boston Metals, 11 June 1946. Scrapping completed, 1 July 1947

Specifications:
Displacement 4,410 t.(lt) 14,950 t.(fl)
Length 446'
Beam 58' 2"
Draft 25' 6"
Speed 11.3 kts.

Complement

Officers 15

Enlisted 237

Largest Boom Capacity 8 t.

Cargo Capacity 9,000 DWT

Oil 53,100 Bbls

Gasoline 358, 000 Gals

Armament

two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

two single .50 cal mgs.

two single .30 cal mgs.

Fuel Capacity

NSFO 5,935 Bbls

Propulsion

one Cramp triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine

three single end boilers, 190psi °Sat
Ship's Service Generators
two turbo-drive 75Kw 120V D.C.
one turbo-drive 60Kw 120V D.C.

single propeller, 2,800shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
091901503	117k	*Namesake* Kaweah - The lower Kaweah River at Terminus Dam, Tulare County, CA., looking towards Three Rivers and Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada, 31 December 2006. Photo by Phil Mieszkowski	Tommy Trampp
091901504	181k	USS Kaweah underway with 5" gun on bow added by CDR. Charles B. McVay III, 28 December 1941. Photo by LTjg. H Todd Stradford, medical officer. llicensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license	Robert Hurst
	139k	USS Kaweah near Norfolk Navy Yard, 13 June 1943. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. Photo # 19-N-51952, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Robert Hurst
	53k	USS Kaweah underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo from the collections of the US Navy Memorial.	Stan Svec

USS Kaweah (AO-15)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	LCDR. Bevelagua, Ottorino USNRF	28 December 1921 - 15 August 1922
	Decommissioned	15 August 1922 - 15 December 1940
02	CDR. McVay III, Charles Butler :RADM	15 December 1940 - 1942
03	CDR. Haff, Theodore Germond	1942 - January 1943
04	CDR. Fluck, Herbert Byron	January 1943 - 5 December 1944
05	CDR. Hyatt, Delwyn	5 December 1944 - 16 November 1945


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
MARAD Vessel History Database

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