USS Cimarron (AO-22) on 28 November 1942
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Class:        CIMARRON (AO-22)
Design        MC Tanker (T3-S2-A1)
Displacement (tons):        7,256 light, 25,440 lim.
Dimensions (feet):        553.0' oa, 525.0' wl x 75.0' e x 32.3' lim.
Original Armament:        4-5"/38 (1941: AO-22)
Later armaments:
Group 1: AO 22, 23, 24 and 26:
1-5"/51 3-3"/23 (1941: AO-23, 24, 26);
1-5"/51 3-3"/50 8-20mm (1942: AO-23, 24);
4-5"/38 8-20mm (1942: AO-22, 24); 4-5"/38 2-1.1"Q 8<16-20mm (1942-43: AO- 22, 24, 26); 4-5"/38 2-40mmT 12-20mm (1945: AO-22); 4-5"/38 4-40mmT 8>4- 20mm (1945: AO-24); 4-5"/38 2-40mmQ 2-40mmT 4-20mmT (1949-52: AO-22, 26); 4-5"/38 2-40mmQ 4-20mmT (1951: AO-22);
3-5"/38 2-40mmQ 2-40mmT 4>0-20mmT (1955); 3-5"/38 (1958-59).
Group 2: AO-25 and 30:
1-5"/51 4-3"/50 (1941-42: also AO-28 and 33); 1-5"/51 4-3"/50 2-1.1"Q 8<10- 20mm (1942-43);
1-5"/38 4-3"/50 2-1.1"Q 12-20mm (1942-43); 1-5"/38 4-3"/50 4-40mmT 8-20mmS or 4-20mmT (1944-45); 1-5"/38 4-3"/50 2-40mmQ 2-40mmT 4-20mmT (1955: AO-30); 1-5"/38 4-3"/50 4-40mmT (1957: AO-25);
4-3"/50 (1958-61).
Group 3: AO-27 and 32:
2-5"/51 2-3"/50 (1941-42: also AO-29); 2-5"/51 2-3"/50 8-20mm (1942: AO-32);
1-5"/51 2-3"/50 2-1.1"Q (1 in AO-32) 8-20mm (1942);
1-5"/51 3-3"/50 3-1.1"Q 9-20mm (1942-43);
1-5"/38 3-3"/50 3-1.1"Q 9-20mm (1943); 1-5"/38 3-3"/50 3-40mmT 9>5-20mm (1945); 1-5"/38 3-3"/50 2-40mmQ 1-40mmT 4<6-20mmT (1947-52)
1-5"/38 2-3"/50 2-40mmQ 1-40mmT 6-20mmT (1955-57);
2-3"/50 (1958-61).
Complement        267 (1944)
Speed (kts.):        18.3
Propulsion (HP):        13,500
Machinery:        2 screws, turbines

Construction:

AO	Name	Acq.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
22	CIMARRON	6 Feb 39	Sun SB & DD	25 Apr 38	7 Jan 39	20 Mar 39
23	NEOSHO	4 Aug 39	Federal SB & DD, Kearny	22 Jun 38	29 Apr 39	7 Aug 39
24	PLATTE	1 Dec 39	Bethlehem Sparrows Pt.	14 Sep 38	8 Jul 39	1 Dec 39
25	SABINE	25 Sep 40	Bethlehem Sparrows Pt.	18 Sep 39	27 Apr 40	5 Dec 40
26	SALAMONIE	20 Nov 40	Newport News SB & DD	5 Feb 40	18 Sep 40	28 Apr 41
27	KASKASKIA	22 Oct 40	Newport News SB & DD	16 Jan 39	29 Sep 39	29 Oct 40
28	SANGAMON	22 Oct 40	Federal SB & DD, Kearny	13 Mar 39	4 Nov 39	23 Oct 40
29	SANTEE	30 Oct 40	Sun SB & DD	31 May 38	4 Mar 39	30 Oct 40
30	CHEMUNG	5 Jun 41	Bethlehem Sparrows Pt.	20 Dec 38	9 Sep 39	3 Jul 41
31	CHENANGO	31 May 41	Sun SB & DD	10 Jul 38	1 Apr 39	20 Jun 41
32	GUADALUPE	2 Jun 41	Newport News SB & DD	8 May 39	26 Jan 40	19 Jun 41
33	SUWANNEE	26 Jun 41	Federal SB & DD, Kearny	3 Jun 38	4 Mar 39	16 Jul 41

Disposition:

AO	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
22	CIMARRON	30 Sep 68	1 Oct 68	15 Sep 69	MA/S	15 Sep 69
23	NEOSHO	--	24 Jun 42	7 May 42	Lost	--
24	PLATTE	19 Sep 70	25 Sep 70	14 May 71	MA/S	14 May 71
25	SABINE	20 Feb 69	1 Dec 76	1 Sep 71	MA/R	1 Aug 83
26	SALAMONIE	20 Dec 68	2 Sep 69	25 Sep 69	MA/D	24 Jul 70
27	KASKASKIA	19 Dec 69	19 Dec 69	17 Apr 70	MA/D	3 Aug 70
28	SANGAMON	25 Feb 42	--	14 Feb 42	AVG	--
29	SANTEE	20 Mar 42	--	14 Feb 42	AVG	--
30	CHEMUNG	18 Sep 70	18 Sep 70	14 May 71	MA/S	14 May 71
31	CHENANGO	16 Mar 42	--	14 Feb 42	AVG	--
32	GUADALUPE	15 May 75	15 May 75	16 Oct 75	MA/S	16 Oct 75
33	SUWANNEE	21 Feb 42	--	14 Feb 42	AVG	--

Class Notes:
FY 1939 (AO 22-24), 1941 (others). The Navy entered the 1920s with the clear realization that the fleet of the future would be oil fired and with a replenishment force of 17 new oilers of three classes (the 14.5-knot Navy-built AO-1 class and the 10-knot civilian-built AO-9 and AO-15 classes). In the 1930s it had the same 17 tankers, now nearing retirement age and too slow, and war plans required many more for an advance across the central Pacific. On 27 Sep 33 the Secretary of the Navy wrote to the Navy's General Board, stating that the latest military characteristics of naval auxiliaries had been drawn up in 1914 and directing that these characteristics be brought up to date. In December and January the Board developed drafts of revised characteristics for the types of large auxiliary vessels that the Navy had built in 1914-1917 including oilers (AO). After discussion the Board promulgated on 8 Jan 35 characteristics that called for a ship that could carry at least 10,000 and preferably 12,000 tons of cargo oil at a sustained speed of 16.5 knots over a distance of at least 10,000 miles. Like other new auxiliaries it was to have an armament of four 5-inch or 6-inch guns, single purpose weapons being considered sufficient.

One fleet oiler was included in the Navy's proposed 1938 auxiliary building program, and in February 1936 the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) distributed its first preliminary design of the ship within the Navy Department and to forces afloat. On 16 Aug 37 it circulated new preliminary plans and stated that because the type was included in the auxiliary construction bill it had to proceed with the development of contract plans and needed comments promptly. The design provided for a ship of 23,700 tons full load, a length of 519 feet between perpendiculars and 528 feet overall, a beam of 73 feet, and a maximum deep load draft of 32.5 feet when carrying heavy oil during the summer. At this draft a cargo of 13,650 tons could be carried. These measurements were very similar to those of the T-2 tanker design developed by the Shipping Board Bureau in 1934 and 1935 which could operate at an economical speed of 13.5 knots and an emergency speed of 15 knots. (At this time the normal operating speed for tankers was around 12 knots.) The Navy ship was designed for a maximum speed at full load of about 17.5 knots to guarantee the desired 16.5 knots sustained speed. (Forces afloat wanted 18 knots sustained.) The 12,500 SHP needed to attain these designed speeds required the use of twin screws, for which diesel propulsion was selected. As in other new large auxiliaries, an armament of 4-5”/38 dual purpose guns on the center line was included and the ship was fitted with a 45,000 pound capacity crane to permit hoisting a 4-engine patrol plane in an emergency at sea.

Navy efforts during 1937 to get funds from Congress to build one of these oilers failed and it was deleted from the 1938 building program. The Department of Commerce's new Maritime Commission (MC) and the Navy Department, however, had recently designed a commercial tanker of 16,300 deadweight tons and 500 feet length with a speed of 15 knots (probably a refinement of the Shipping Board's T-2) that would reasonably meet the Navy's needs if the speed were increased to 16.5 knots. Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 the MC could pay for national defense features in privately-built tankers that were in excess of commercial requirements, in this case primarily the extra speed (the economical speed of commercial tankers was then between 12 and 13 knots). In the fall of 1937 the MC began negotiating with oil companies to build high speed tankers, and by December the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey had obtained bids for 13-knot and 18-knot variants of a 16,300 deadweight ton tanker. (The price difference between the two variants helped determine the size of the MC's subsidy for the increased speed.) The plans and specifications for the ships, prepared for Standard Oil by E. L. Stewart, were probably influenced by earlier Navy design work. On 3 Jan 38 the MC and Standard Oil signed an agreement for the construction by Standard Oil of 12 high speed tankers with national defense features desired by the Navy, and on the same day Standard Oil signed separate contracts with four shipyards for three ships each. Standard Oil soon sold two early ships to the Keystone Tankship Corp., a firm recently formed to support the Shell Oil Co. The twelve ships became hulls 2-13 in the MC's new building program, although the MC paid only for the national defense features and the ships belonged to Standard Oil. Only two weeks later the Navy took its first step toward acquiring one of the ships, and on 20 Jul 38 the Secretary of the Navy included the purchase of three of them in the Navy's Fiscal Year 1939 building program as AO 22-24. On 27 Oct 38 or 1 Nov 38 Standard Oil sold the first two ships back to the MC which then sold them to the Navy. AO 22 and AO-23 received minimal conversions primarily involving crew berthing and messing and no armament at the Philadelphia Navy Yard (completed in early May and on 6 Oct 39 respectively) and were then pressed into service carrying oil to Pearl Harbor. AO-24, whose procurement was authorized by Congress in May 1939, completed a similar minimal conversion on 19 Mar 40. The Navy intended to bring all three ships back to Philadelphia for a full conversion including installation of armament after about a year of operation. All twelve ships were initially carried in MC records as simply "Tankers", sometimes further specified as "Twin screw." They were later retroactively given the T3-S2-A1 designation given to their design when it was used to build the repeat ALLAGASH (AO-51) class.

On 20 Jun 40 CNO, acting as Secretary of the Navy, wrote to the Maritime Commission stating that world conditions made it necessary for the Navy to acquire from the merchant marine 18 to 21 additional auxiliary vessels ranging in size and type from transports to tugs, including two more tankers of the CIMARRON class. These, AO 25-26, were part of a large group of naval auxiliaries whose construction or acquisition was directed by the Secretary of the Navy in the 70% Expansion Program on 5 Aug 40 along with many combatant ships. This program was the second increment of the Two Ocean Navy mobilization effort and was also funded in Fiscal Year 1941. They were the last two of the 12 high speed tankers to be built and the only ones that had not already been delivered to their commercial operators. On 3 Sep 40 CNO instructed BuShips to acquire ESSO ALBANY, scheduled for completion at Sparrows Point on 15 Sep 40, and ESSO COLUMBIA, scheduled for delivery at Newport News on 15 Feb 41. On 7 Sep 40 CNO informed BuShips and BuOrd that ESSO ALBANY, after completion, would be given a preliminary conversion of about ten weeks duration at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, during which she would receive a conversion similar to the preliminary conversion done on PLATTE (AO-24). This would include a battery of 1-5"/51 and 4-3"/50 guns. As ESSO COLUMBIA would not be completed until early 1941, CNO asked BuShips to arrange to have her shipbuilding contract modified to incorporate in her the features contemplated for the CIMARRON class on final conversion. She was to be fitted to receive a battery of 4-5"/38 guns with director, but as these would probably not be available when the ship was completed she should be fitted temporarily with the same armament at ESSO ALBANY.

On 9 Oct 40 SecNav directed the acquisition of all seven remaining high speed tankers, of which five were being operated by Standard Oil of New Jersey and two by Keystone Tankship. The Navy wanted three of them immediately (by about 21 October) and the other four by about 1 December. The first three (AO 27-29) were SEAKAY and ESSO TRENTON, to be converted at Bethlehem, Key Highway, Baltimore, and ESSO RICHMOND, to be converted at the East Boston plant of Bethlehem or some other East Boston yard. The later four (AO 30-33) were MARKAY (Keystone) and ESSO NEW ORLEANS, ESSO ANNAPOLIS, and ESSO RALEIGH. On 16 Nov 40 the Navy advised the Maritime Commission that the Navy would not hold firm to the 1 December delivery date for the final four ships but would notify the MC and the oil companies when the requirements of the Navy necessitated delivery. It was only on 6 May 41 that CNO recommended that BuShips proceed with the acquisition and conversion of these four ships.

As of October 1940 the first five of these ships (AO 22-26) were supposed to receive the prewar standard armament for large auxiliaries, consisting of 4-5"/38 DP guns controlled by a Mk. 37 fire control director. AO 22-24 and most of the others entered service with no armament at all. Between September 1940 and April 1941 AO-22 received her full 5/38" armament, with director, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. On 12 Mar 41 the Navy Department's Antiaircraft Defense Board noted the extreme importance of testing the effectiveness of the Navy's 5"/38 AA batteries under actual war conditions and recommended that the four 5"/38 guns and Mk-37 director then assigned to AO-23 plus one more 5"/38 caliber gun then assigned to new construction be diverted and assigned to the British Navy for service test on one of their active vessels. This vessel was undoubtedly the light cruiser DELHI, which emerged from a refit in the U.S. with 5-5"/38 and a Mk-37 director. The Board then recommended that, in order not to deprive AO-23 of all AA defense, a four-gun 3"/50 battery be installed instead of the 5"/38 battery. This recommendation was soon followed, although the aftermost 3"/50 was replaced with a low-angle 5"/51. On 30 Jul 41 the 4-5"/38 guns assigned to AO-24 were transferred to the anti-aircraft gunnery trials ship UTAH (AG-16), and the tanker then received the same initial armament as AO-23. AO-26 had already been similarly fitted in April 1941. AO-23 had her anti-aircraft armament upgraded to 3-3"/50 and 8-20mm before her loss in May 1942. AO-24 and 26 received their four 5"/38 guns later in 1942 and by the end of the year they and AO-22 had added 2-1.1" quad and 8-20mm mounts. The other ships of this class were initially fitted with 2-5"/51 and 2-3"/50 guns, all of which were on the centerline, or with what became the wartime standard armament for converted auxiliaries of 1-5"/51 low angle gun aft and 4-3"/50 AA.

The seven ships of this initial group of fast twin-screw tankers that were not converted into escort aircraft carriers or lost during World War II became stalwarts of the postwar replenishment force. They were followed in the World War II procurement effort by 14 more ships of the T3-S2-A1 type ordered by the MC for the Navy in March 1942, another four ordered in June 1944, and a final five ordered in November 1944. Although these were almost exact repeats of the original CIMARRONs (AO 22-32) with the usual wartime improvements in detail, they are listed here separately as the ASHTABULA (AO-51) class (q.v.) for the sake of convenience.

Ship Notes:

AO	Name	MC	Notes
22	CIMARRON	2	Purchased 1 Nov 38, completed and acquired 6 Feb 39, first major conversion (4-5"/38) completed 28 Apr 41 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. To buyer 17 Oct 69.
23	NEOSHO	6	Purchased 1 Nov 38, completed and acquired 4 Aug 39, first major conversion (1-5"/51, 3-3"/23) performed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard 31 Mar 41 to 7 Jul 41. Crippled by Japanese aircraft 7 May 42 during the Battle of the Coral Sea, sunk by USS HENLEY (DD-391) 11 May 42.
24	PLATTE	8	Completed and acquired 1 Dec 39, first major conversion (1- 5"/51, 3-3"/23) performed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard 15 Jul 41 to 15 Oct 41. Received her 4-5"/38 gun battery at Mare Island in September-October 1942. To NDRF 24 Mar 71.
25	SABINE	10	Ex merc. ESSO ALBANY (ID-5000D, completed 25 Sep 40). Probably in commission in ordinary 25 Sep 40, full commission 5 Dec 40 when conversion completed by the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In USN reserve 1954-56 (decomm. 14 Feb 55). To MSTS 15 Nov 56, commissioned 10 Dec 56. Decomm 13 Nov 57, to NDRF 16 Dec 57, to MA 10 Dec 58, stk. 1 Feb 59. From MA 11 Aug 61, on list 1 Sep 61, recomm 14 Dec 61. To NDRF 22 Jan 70, permanent transfer to MA 1 Sep 71, title to MA 9 Jun 82.
26	SALAMONIE	13	Ex merc. ESSO COLUMBIA (ID-5000G, delivered to Navy incomplete). Completed conversion (1-5"/51, 3-3"/23) 28 Apr 41 at the Norfolk Navy Yard. Received 4-5"/38 gun battery at Norfolk between 18 May 42 and 1 Jul 42. To buyer 26 Aug 70.
27	KASKASKIA	11	Ex merc. ESSO RICHMOND (ID-5000E, completed 20 Apr 40). Completed conversion 23 Dec 40 at Bethlehen Steel, Simpson Yard, East Boston, Mass. Armament (2-5"/51, 2-3"/50) fitted at Mare Island in December 1941. In USN reserve 1954-56 (decomm. 8 Apr 55). To MSTS 26 Nov 56, recomm. 8 Jan 57. Decomm. 21 Oct 57, to NDRF 2 Dec 57, to MA 10 Dec 58, stk. 1 Feb 59. From MA 10 Aug 61, on list 1 Sep 61, recomm. 6 Dec 61. To buyer 12 Sep 70, scrapped by 16 Feb 71.
28	SANGAMON	7	Ex merc. ESSO TRENTON (ID-5000B, completed 14 Dec 39). Accepted and commissioned at Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. and probably converted there. Received 1-5"/51 gun at Norfolk in January 1942. To AVG-26 14 Feb 42, to ACV-26 20 Aug 42, to CVE-26 15 Jul 43. Damaged by kamikaze 4 May 45, repairs not completed, stk. 1 Nov 45, sold by Navy 11 Feb 48.
29	SANTEE	3	Ex merc. SEAKAY (ID-5000A, Keystone Tankship, completed 23 Mar 39). Accepted and commissioned at Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. and converted there in November 1940. Received armament (2-5"/51, 2-3"/50) at Norfolk in November 1941. To AVG-29 14 Feb 42 (substituted for AO-30 11 Feb 42), to ACV-29 20 Aug 42, to CVE-29 15 Jul 43, to CVHE-29 12 Jun 55 while inactive. Stk. 1 Mar 59, sold by Navy 5 Dec 59, to buyer 17 Feb 60, scrapped by May 1960.
30	CHEMUNG	9	Ex merc. ESSO ANNAPOLIS (ID-5000C, completed 26 Jan 40). Completed conversion 10 Jul 41 at the New York Navy Yard. Selected 1 Feb 42 for conversion to AVG-29 but AO-29 substituted 11 Feb 42. To NDRF 31 Mar 71.
31	CHENANGO	4	Ex merc. ESSO NEW ORLEANS (ID-5000H, completed 14 Apr 39). Commissioned at Bethlehem Steel, Simpson Yard, East Boston, Mass. To AVG-28 14 Feb 42, to ACV-28 20 Aug 42, to CVE-28 15 Jul 43, to CVHE-28 12 Jun 55 while inactive. Stk. 1 Mar 59, sold by Navy 2 Dec 59, to buyer 12 Feb 60, resold May 1961, scrapped by July 1962.
32	GUADALUPE	12	Ex merc. ESSO RALEIGH (ID-5000F, completed 21 Jun 40). Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. (possibly in comm. in ordinary 5 Jun 41, completed 23 Jun 41). To buyer 7 Nov 75.
33	SUWANNEE	5	Ex merc. MARKAY (ID-5000, Keystone Tankship, completed 25 May 39). Commissioned at Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. To AVG-27 14 Feb 42, to ACV-27 20 Aug 42, to CVE-27 15 Jul 43, to CVHE-27 12 Jun 55 while inactive. Stk. 1 Mar 59, sold by Navy 30 Nov 59, to buyer 18 Feb 60, resold May 1961, scrapped by June 1962.

Page Notes:
AO        1939
Compiled:        24 Jul 2010
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2002-2010