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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Monongahela (AO-178)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Yankee - Charlie
 NHYC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Unit Commendation - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2)
Second Row - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (3) - Navy Expeditionary Medal (1-Lebanon, 1-Libya) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Lebanon) - Armed Forces Service Medal - Coast Guard SOS Ribbon
Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 15 August 1978, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA.
  • Launched, 4 August 1979
  • Commissioned USS Monongahela (AO-178), 5 September 1981, CDR. Eugene A. Bard, in command
  • Decommissioned, 30 September 1999
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 30 September 1999
  • Title transfer to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 30 September 1999, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Fort Eustis, VA.
    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 Source
    Monongahela
    091904206    		 154k
    Namesake
    Monongahela - The Monongahela River is a 130-mile-long river in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. (Wikipedia)
    Photo - The Monongahela River at Fairmont, West Virginia, 2006. ©Tim Kiser
    Map - Monongahela River basin ©Pfly (real name unknown)    		 Tommy Trampp
    Monongahela 183k Monongahela (AO 178) under way in the Mississippi River, 6 April 1981, running builders trials.
    US National Archives Photo # USN 1180808, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Monongahela 58k USS Monongahela (AO 178) under way in the North Atlantic in March 1984. Photo taken from a Wessex helicopter assigned to RFA Regent. Robert Hurst
    Monongahela 78k Overhead view of USS Monongahela (AO 178) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Wendell Royce McLaughlin Jr.
    Monongahela 45k USS Monongahela (AO 178) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		  
    Monongahela 37k Only fifty yards separate USS Monongahela (AO 178) and USS Enterprise (CVN 65) during a replenishment at sea in the Mediterranean, 17 February 1999.
    Photo by Jason D. Malcom PH3 USN. US Navy photo [990217-N-7216M-002]    		 All Hands Magazine
    Monongahela 860k USS Monongahela (AO 178) at Genoa, Italy, 15 May 1999. Photo by Carlo Martinelli
    Monongahela
    091917810    		 220k USS Monongahela (AO 178) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		  
    Monongahela
    091917811    		 232k USS Monongahela (AO 178) underway off Norfolk, VA., date unknown.
    ©Nobe Smith    		 Nicholas Tiberio
    Monongahela
    091917812    		 200k
    Monongahela 3519k USS Monongahela (AO 178) under way, circa late-1970s - early 1980s, location unknown.
    Photo ©Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, VA. Available on line at Atlantic Fleet Sales web site    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Monongahela 409k USS Monongahela (AO 178) anchored in an Italian port, 1 April 1986. The guided missile cruiser USS Biddle (CG-34) is visible in the background.
    US Defenseimagery.mil photo VIRIN: DN-SN-86-1029.    		 Robert Hurst
    CV-60 Saratoga 222k

    An aerial view of USS Saratoga (CV-60), the guided missile destroyer USS USS Scott (DDG-995) and USS Monongahela (AO-178), tied up at a pier, at Diego Garcia, 12 December 1985. This was the first time an aircraft carrier visited the island.
    US National Archives Photo # DN-SC-86-03500US, a US Navy photo by PH1 P. D. Goodrich

    		 NARA
    Monongahela
    091917814    		 186k USS Monongahela (AO 178) undergoing overhaul at Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corp., Norfolk, VA., 7 July 1988. Note the guided missile destroyer USS Lawrence (DDG-4) moored to the right of Monogahela.
    U.S. Department of Defense photo # DN-ST-88-07998, a U.S Navy photo by Don S. Montgomery, USN (Ret.) available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 6434106    		 Robert Hurst
    Monongahela 446k USS Monongahela (AO 178) moored at Naval Station Norfolk, VA., Pier 3, 4 July 1993. The oiler's hull had been lengthened to increase fuel capacity.
    US National Archives Identifier (NAID) 6483938    		 Robert Hurst
    Monongahela
    091917813    		 227k USS Monongahela (AO 178) underway off Norfolk, VA., date unknown.
    ©Nobe Smith    		 Nicholas Tiberio
    There is no history available for USS Monongahela (AO-178) at NavSource
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Bard, Albert Eugene5 September 1981 - 28 April 1983
    02CDR. Grause, Francis Patrick28 April 1983 - 26 June 1985
    03CDR. Davis III, David William26 June 1985 - 5 August 1987
    04CDR. Diddlemeyer, Lawrence Florian, USN (USNA 1969)5 August 1987 - 1 August 1989
    05CDR. Frahler, Donald Andrew, USN (USNA 1972)1 August 1989 - 23 May 1991
    06CDR. Hunt, Patrick William23 May 1991 - 22 February 1993
    07CDR. Denis, David Arthur22 February 1993 - 1 April 1994
    08CDR. Greco, Francis John (Frank)1 April 1994 - 10 January 1996
    09CDR. Lehr, Steven Eugene10 January 1996 - 17 September 1997
    10CDR. Faasse, David William17 September 1997 - 28 September 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
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To the Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 18 August 2023