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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Lost due to enemy action, 23 January 1942

AO-5 Neches

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 23 January 1942) - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Individual Awards

Purple Heart (57 KIA, 23 January 1942)
Maumee Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 8 June 1919, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.
  • Launched, 2 June 1920
  • Commissioned USS Neches (AO-5), 25 October 1920, CDR. H. T. Meriwether, USNRF, in command
  • Lost to enemy action, 23 January 1942, with the loss of 57 men. Torpedoed by Japanese submarine HIJMS I-172 at 42° 01N 160° 06W. ,
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Neches earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,400 t.(lt) 14,800 t.(fl)
    Length 475' 1"
    Beam 56' 2"
    Draft 26' 8"
    Speed 14.3 kts.
  • Cargo Capacity 7,843 tons fuel oil
    Complement 136
    Armament
    Original configuration - four single 5"/51 caliber low angle guns (two side by side on the forecastle and two side by side on the stern, two single 3" antiaircraft guns atop the cargo tank deck amidships
    World War II upgrade additions - two 3" AA guns, four .50 cal. MGs
    Propulsion four Ward boilers, two vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines, twin screws, 6,080shp
    .
    IS Navy photo # NH 105178 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Neches 94k Neches (Fuel Ship # 5) launching at Boston Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA., 2 June 1920. Neches is in the center of the image. The U.S. Army Transport USAT George Washington is at right, and New Jersey (Battleship # 16) is at left. Note the crowd of onlookers on the ships, piers and buildings flanking Neches, and the large number of double-ended lifeboats in the right foreground. Panoramic photo by the Chester Photo Service, 39 Court Street, Boston, MA. Michael Mohl
    Neches 139k Neches (AO-5) transiting the Panama Canal, date unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Neches 277k Neches (AO-5) underway, circa 1920s, location unknown. James Gholson for his father James Everett Gholson SC3/c USS Neches
    Neches 67k Neches (AO-5) at anchor, circa 1920s, location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Neches 84k Neches (AO-5) transiting the Panama Canal, date unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII Web Site
    Neches 93k Neches (AO-5) underway in New York harbor, date unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII Web Site
    Neches 46k Neches (AO-5) refueling Sands (DD-243), date and place unknown. Hyperwar US navy in WWII Web Site
    Neches 42k Neches (AO-5) departing Mare Island Navy Yard, 29 August 1941 enroute to San Diego to upgrade her air defenses with two additional 3" guns and, four water-cooled Browning .50 caliber machine guns for the four gun tubs atop the bridge. Her 5" guns were retained. Note the lack of Radar. Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    View the Neches (AO-5)
    DANFS history entry at the US Naval Historical Center
    Neches sinking by HIJMS I-72, 23 January 1942
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    NAVSEA World War II War Damage Report
    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
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 18 January 2007