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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Lost to enemy action, 7 May 1942

USS Neosho (AO-23)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 7 December 1941, 7 May 1942) - American Defense Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal
Personal Awards

Purple Hearts (3-WIA, Pearl Harbor)

Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:

Laid down, 22 June 1938, as a Maritime Commission type (T3-S2-A1) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC-6) at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.

Launched, 24 April 1939

Commissioned USS Neosho (AO-23), 7 August 1939, CDR. E. A. Mullan in command

During World War II USS Neosho was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following actions:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941	Coral Sea, 4 to 8 May 1942

Lost to enemy action at the Battle of the Coral Sea, fatally damaged by enemy air attack, 7 May 1942, sunk by gunfire from USS Henley (DD-391), 11 May 1942

Neosho received two battle stars for World War II service

Specifications:
Displacement 7,470 t.(lt) 24,830 t.(fl)
Length 553'
Beam 75'
Draft 32' 4"
Speed 18 kts.
Complement 304
Armament

four single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
Cargo Capacity 146,000 barrels
Propulsion, geared turbines twin screws. 30,400hp

Size	Image Description	Source
40k	Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, in the background, *USS Neosho* (AO-23) and in the foreground, USS California (BB-44)** US Navy photo	Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
84k	*USS Neosho* (AO-23)** just after commissioning, 7 August1939. US Navy photo NH 63448 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	.
46k	*USS Neosho* (AO-23)** underway, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	David Merrill
20k	*USS Neosho* (AO-23) refueling USS Yorktown (CV-5), 1 May 1942, shortly before the Battle of Coral Sea. Note use of Yorktown*'s aircraft crane to support her end of the refueling rig. US National Archives photo # 80-G-464653*, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	US Naval Historical Center
23k	a wave breaks over main deck, engulfing hose crew, as *USS Neosho* (AO-23) refuels USS Yorktown (CV-5)** early in May 1942, shortly before the Battle of Coral Sea. US National Archives photo # 80-G-13106, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	US Naval Historical Center
20k	*USS Neosho* (AO-23) refueling USS Yorktown (CV-5)** in heavy seas shortly before the Battle of Coral Sea. US National Archives photo # 80-G-16444, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives	US Naval Historical Center
754k	Aerial view of *USS Neosho* (AO-23)** on fire and sinking in the Coral Sea after an attack by Imperial Japanese Navy dive bombers, 7 May 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea. From Wikimedia Commons. Photo from "Beyond Pearl Harbor: The Untold Stories of Japan's Naval Airmen", by Ron Werneth, Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA, 2008, p. 66. (Japanese Defense Agency, War History Section photo).	Charles Ainsworth

View the USS Neosho (AO-23)
DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center

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

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Pearl Harbor Action Report

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Last Updated 20 March 2009