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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Lost due to enemy action, 23 January 1942

USS Neches (AO-5)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Foxtrot - Papa NIFP

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 - 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. as Neches (Fuel Ship # 17)

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

USS 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 single 3" AA gun mounts
four .50 cal. machine guns

Propulsion

four Ward boilers

two vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines

twin propellers, 6,080shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
091918302	154k	*Namesake* Neches The Neches River begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for 416 miles through the piney woods of east Texas. Photo - Flaring bases of the Bald cypress trees at the Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas. The preserve is located just north of Houston and Beaumont, TX. and has historically been home to dense woodlands in the state. The Big Thicket was mostly uninhabited until heavy settlement from the U.S. began in the mid-19th century, and was even used as a refuge by runaway slaves and other fugitives. USDA photo by Larry Rana; 30 August 1996. (Flickr) Map - Neches River watershed. by I, Kuru, created from data originating at the USGS, 17 June 2006.	Tommy Trampp
	94k	Neches (Fuel Ship # 17) 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 *USS 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. US Navy photo # NH 105178* from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	Michael Mohl
	139k	Neches (AO-5) transiting the Panama Canal, date unknown. US Navy photo	.
	277k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** underway, circa 1920s, location unknown.	James Gholson for his father James Everett Gholson SC3/c USS Neches
	113k	*USS Neches* (AO-5) alongside USS Sapelo (AO-11)** at Melbourne, Australia during the fleet visit in 1925. Photo by the late Allan Greene	Chris Howell, SOUTHLAND SHIP STORES LIMITED, Port of BLUFF, NEW ZEALAND
	67k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** at anchor, circa 1920s, location unknown. US Navy photo	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
	350k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** transiting the Panama Canal, circa 1920s. Photo given to Chris Howell by the late Alex Wood, possibly a Panama Canal Authority photograph.	Chris Howell, Southland Ship Stores Limited, Port of Bluff, N.Z.
	396k	USS Neches (AO-5) outboard of USS Kanawha at Mare Island, 15 Sept. 1923. Marie Island Naval Shipyard Photo # MINSY 4644-9-23 now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.	Darryl Baker
	93k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** underway in New York harbor, date unknown.	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII Web Site
	112k	*USS Neches* (AO-5) refueling USS Sands (DD-243)**, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Robert Hurst
	62k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** moored pierside, circa 1920s-30s, location unknown. She is carrying her full designed armament of four single 5"/51 gun mounts and two3"/50 AA gun mounts. US Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH 69431, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Mike Green
	118k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** underway in harbor, date and location unknown. US Navy photo.	Jim Kurrasch Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
091900514	169k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** underway, date and location unknown.	Tommy Trampp
	112k	*USS Neches* (AO-5)** departing Mare Island Navy Yard, 29 August 1941, modifications included the addition of positions for two more 3" AA guns on the bow and stern. She is 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.US National Archives, RG-19-LCM. Photo # 19-N-25775, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Mike Green

USS Neches (AO-5)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Meriwether, Henry Thomas	25 October 1920 - 1922
02	CDR. Shapley, Lloyd Stowell	1922 - 4 October 1923
03	CDR. Willson, James David	4 October 1923 - 9 June 1924
04	CDR. Martin, Frank Charles	9 June 1924 - 15 June 1925
05	CAPT. Wallace, Henry George Stewart	15 June 1925 - 5 April 1926
06	CDR. Rees, Albert Shaffner	5 April 1926 - 1 June 1927
07	CAPT. Post, Nathan Woodward	1 June 1927 - 30 June 1928
08	CDR. Brereton Jr., William Denny	30 June 1928 - 20 June 1930
09	CDR. McWhorter, Charles Stakley, USN (USNA 1908)	20 June 1930 - June 1932
10	CAPT. Giffen, Robert Carlisle :VADM	June 1932 - 1934
11	CDR. McCormick, Lynde Dupuy :ADM	April 1936 - May 1937
12	CDR. Knowles, Herbert Bain	1938
13	CDR. Foskett, James Hicks :VADM	1939 - 10 March 1941
14	CDR. Fletcher,Jr., William Bartlett :RADM	10 March 1941 - 23 January 1942


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves. Photos courtesy Bill Gonyo

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
Fleet Tankers Association
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
NAVSEA World War II War Damage Report
Neches sinking by HIJMS I-72, 23 January 1942

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 10 March 2023