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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Cedar Creek (T-AO-138)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Quebec - Romeo
 NHQR
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal
Suamico Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 20 September 1943, as a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A1) tanker hull under Maritime Commission contract at Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Chester, PA.
  • Launched, 15 December 1943
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission, 27 December 1943
  • Transfer to the Soviet Union, 30 April 1944, under terms of the Lend-Lease Program, renamed SS Taganrog
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission in 1948
  • Acquired by the US Navy in July 1948
  • Designated (AO-138) and operated under charter for the Naval Transportation Service
  • Transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) 1 October 1949
  • Placed in service as USNS Cedar Creek (T-AO-138)
  • Placed out of service in September 1954, at San Diego. CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Reactivated for service with MSTS, 1 November 1956 and again placed in service as USNS Cedar Creek, (T-AO-138)
  • Placed out of service, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 14 October 1957, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 2 September 1975 to Ziedell Explorations Inc., for $261,898.99 under MARAD sale contract PD-X-998
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,782 t.(lt) 21,880 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30'
    Speed 15.5 kts.
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four 3"/50 guns, four twin 40mm gun mounts
    four twin 20mm gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 140,000 barrels
    Propulsion
    one turbo-electric engine
    single screw. 8,000hp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Cedar Creek 30k SS Cedar Creek probably at the time of her return by the Soviet Union in 1948.
    Courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages.    		 Robert Hurst
    Cedar Creek 29k USNS Cedar Creek (T-AO-138) with "Meccano Decking" erected atop her tank deck creating 12,000 square feet of deck in which to store and transport aircraft, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, March 1951    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Cedar Creek 44k USNS Cedar Creek (T-AO-138) underway with a deck load of aircraft, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, March 1951    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Cedar Creek
    091913804    		 83k USNS Cedar Creek (T-AO-138) underway, date and location unknown
    US Coast Guard photo, courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T-Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    USNS Cedar Creek (T-AO-138)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 15 November 2024