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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

AO-39 Kankakee

Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Tango - Lima
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (1) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Cuba, 1-Dominican Republic)
Fourth Row - Philippine Presidential Unit Citation - Korean Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal
Fifth Row - Philippine Independence Medal - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
Kennebec Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down as SS Colina, a Maritime Commission type (T2-SA) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 146), at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrows Point, MD.
  • Launched, 24 January 1942
  • Acquired by the Navy, 31 March 1942
  • Commissioned USS Kankakee (AO-39), 4 May 1942, CAPT. W. H. Mayes in command
  • Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), 26 February 1946
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 1 October 1949
  • Decommissioned, 30 November1955, at Philadelphia, PA.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet
  • Recommissioned, 20 December 1956 and assigned to MSTS, CDR. G. R. Wells
  • Decommissioned, 4 November 1957, at New York, N.Y.
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
  • Reacquired and placed in reserve, 1 February 1959
  • Recommissioned, 29 November 1961, at New Orleans, LA., CAPT. M. O. Slater in command
  • Decommissioned (date unknown)
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 January 1973
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
  • Final Disposition, sold by MARAD, 1 April 1976, fate unknown
  • Kankakee received six battle stars for World War II service and one for Korean service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,013 t.(lt.) 21,077 t.(fl.)
    Length 501' 5"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 2"
    Speed 16.5kts.
    Complement 214
    Armament one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts, four twin 40mm gun mounts, four twin 20mm gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 134,000 barrels
    Propulsion geared turbine, single screw, 12,000hp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Kankakee 77k Forward port quarter view of Kankakee (AO-39) departing Mare Island, 23 August 1942. Kankakee was undergoing repairs at Mare Island from 14 July to 23 August 1942.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5020-8-42, 8/23/42.    		 Darryl Baker
    Kankakee 75k Broadside view of Kankakee (AO-39) off Mare Island, 23 August 1942.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5022-8-42, 8/23/42.    		 Darryl Baker
    Kankakee 85k Aft port quarter view of Kankakee (AO-39) departing Mare Island, 23 August 1942.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5023-8-42, 8/23/42.    		 Darryl Baker
    Kankakee 62k Kankakee (AO-39) during underway replenishment, date and place unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Kankakee 110k Kankakee (AO-39) in dry dock at East Boston, June 1962 © Richard Leonhardt
    Kankakee 92k Kankakee (AO-39) dry docked, at East Boston, June 1962 © Richard Leonhardt
    Kankakee 83k Kankakee (AO-39) underway with Gainard (DD-706) coming alongside to port for refueling. © Richard Leonhardt
    Kankakee 123k Kankakee (AO-39) and Gainard (DD-706) after completing an underway refueling evolution, date and place unknown. © Richard Leonhardt
    Kankakee 80k Kankakee (AO-39) refueling Wasp (CVS-18) in the North Atlantic, circa 1967-68. Ben Brooks
    View the Kankakee (AO-39)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    1942 U.S.S Kankakee AO-39 1968
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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 20 July 2007