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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS French Creek (T-AO-159)

Suamico Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 30 August 1944, as Maritime Administration type (T2-SE-A1) tanker hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1787) at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, PA.
  • Launched, 8 December 1944
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission, 30 December 1944
  • Transferred to Cities Service Oil Co. in December 1944 for operation
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration (trade-in) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Administration in November 1956
  • Assigned to the Military Transportation Service (MSTS) and placed in service as USNS French Creek (T-AO-159), 28 November 1956
  • Placed out of service, struck from the Naval Register, and returned to MARAD, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia WA., 2 October 1967
  • Transferred to the US Army Material Command, 7 March 1966
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 26 January 1971, to Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp. c/o Nissho-Twai American Steel Corp, under Maritime Administration contract MA-6226 for $352,120.00
    Specifications (As Built):
    Displacement 10,200 t.(lt) 22,380 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 10"
    Speed 15.1 kts.
    Complement unknown
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament none
    Cargo Capacity 15,300 DWT
    Oil 120,400 Bbls
    Gasoline 575,000 Gals
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 9,235 Bbls,
    Propulsion
    one General Electric turbo-electric engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boiler, 450psi 730°
    Ship's Service Generators
     two turbo-drive 400Kw 450V A.C.
     two turbo-drive 85Kw 120V D.C.
     two turbo-drive 55Kw 120V D.C.
     one turbo-drive 50Kw 450V A.C.
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service Cities Service Oil Co.
    French Creek 56k Cities Service Oil Co. tanker SS French Creek underway, date and location unknown.
    8Courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    French Creek
    091915904    		 106k Cities Service Oil Co. tanker SS French Creek blocked by striking oil workers, at Boston, MA., date unknown.
    Courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    USNS French Creek (T-AO-159)
    French Creek
    091915903    		 494k
    Namesake
    French Creek is a tributary of the Allegheny River in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York.
    Photo - French Creek at Franklin, PA., 14 August 2012.
    Photo - ©Finetooth, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
    Map - French Creek Valley Conservancy    		 Tommyh Trampp
    French Creek 39k USNS French Creek (T-AO-159) moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    © A. Duncan, courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    USNS French Creek (T-AO-159)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 20 September 2024