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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Ashtabula (AO-51)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Alpha - Uniform NZAU

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive - 24 October 1944) - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
Second Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5)
Third Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2)
Fourth Row - Korean Service Medal (7) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (4-Quemoy-Matsu, 9-Vietnam, 1-Korea, 1-Op. Frequent Wind) - Vietnam Service Medal (8)
Fifth Row - Humanitarian Service Medal (1-Frequent Wind, 1-Snowgo, New York) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal
Sixth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:

Laid down, 1 October 1942, as a Maritime Commission type (T3-S2-A3) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 717), at Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard., Inc., Sparrows Point, MD.

Launched, 22 May 1943

Acquired by the Navy, 7 August 1943

Commission USS Ashtabula (AO-51), 7 August 1943, CDR. Louis Joseph Modave in command

During World War II USS Ashtabula was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater participated in eight campaigns including:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Marshall Islands operation Occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls, 29 January to 8 February 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 24 March to 30 June 1945 5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of Okinawa Gunto operations, 16 March to 13 June 1945
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Saipan, 11 June to 10 August 1944 Battle of Philippine Seas, 19 to 20 June 1944 Capture and occupation of Guam, 21 to 26 July 1944	3d Fleet operations against Japan , 10 July to 14 August 1945
Leyte operation Leyte landings, 25 to 28 October 1944

Between 1945 and 1956 USS Ashtabula was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
2 September 1945 to 4 March 1946	2 September 1945 to 4 March 1946
17 May to 14 June 1946	17 May to 14 June 1946
16 to 26 November 1946	29 December 1948 to 14 February 1949
16 to 17 February 1949	23 October to 6 December 1950
18 to 20 October 1950	20 January to 21 February 1952
	13 January to 14 February 1954
	23 to 30 January 1955
	21 February to 17 March 1955
	31 January to 4 March 1956

During Korean War USS Ashtabula participated in the following campaigns:

**Korean War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Communist China Aggression 8 December 1950 to 18 January 1951	Second Korean Winter 28 November to 5 December 1951 19 December 1951 to 9 January 1952 11 to 18 March 1952
First UN Counter Offensive 4 to 9 and 21 to 28 March 1951 31 March to 4 April 1951 9 to10, 15, and 19 to 21 April 1951	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 30 October to 6 November 1952
Communist China Spring Offensive 22 to 30 April 1951 12 to 22 May 1951 6 to 12 and 15 to 21 June 1951	Third Korean Winter 13 to 22 November 1952
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 29 October to 16 November 1951 20 to 27 November 1951

During the Vietnam War USS Ashtabula participated in the following campaigns:

**Vietnam War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnam Defense 4 to 17 August 1965 24 August to 1 September 1965 7 to 15 September 1965 22 September to 4 October 1965 17 October to 2 November 1965 19 to 29 November 1965 7 to 21 December 1965	Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 1 to 16 November 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive 2 to 8 January 1966 19 January to 1 February 1966	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 20 to 24 August 1970 15 September to 3 October 1970 23 October to 3 November 1970 13 November to 2 December 1970 18 December 1970 16 January to 1 February 1971 4 to 25 December 1971 31 December 1971 to 5 January 1971
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 7 to 12 and 17 to 25 September 1966 10 to 16 and 20 to 29 October 1966 4 to 10 November 1966 5 to 7 and 16 to 26 December 1966 22 January to 5 February 1967 23 February to 2 March 1967 10 to 17 March 1967	Consolidation II 3 to 5 January 1972 12 January to 3 February 1972 12 to 29 February 1972 10 to 17 March 1972
Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 14 to 27 June 1969 3 to 11 and 17 to 24 July 1969 30 July to 6 August 1969 21 August to 15 September 1969 30 September to 9 October 1969 18 to 22 October 1969	Vietnam Ceasefire 1 to 11 April 1972 19 April to 17 May 1972 29 May to 19 June 1972 29 June to 13 July 1972 21 to 30 July 1972

Decommissioned, 30 September 1982

Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 22 November 1982, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.

Struck from the Naval Register, 6 September 1991

Final Disposition, disposed of as target 15 October 2000

USS Ashtabula was awarded five battle stars for World War II service, seven battle stars for Korean War service, and eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Specifications:
Displacement 7,470 t.(lt) 23,235 t.(fl) 25,440 t. (lim)
Length 553'
Beam 75'
Draft 32' 4" (lim)
Speed 18.3 kts.
Complement 20 Officers, 278 Enlisted
Largest boom capacity 10 tons
Cargo Capacity

Navy Standard Fuel Oil 123,700 bbls.

Gasoline 788,000 bbls.
Armament

one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount

four single 3'/50 dual purpose gun mounts

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
Fuel Oil Capacity 15,000 bbls.
Propulsion

two Bethlehem turbines

four Foster-Wheeler boilers "K" type boilers 450psi 750°

double Falk main reduction gears

two ships service generators, 1-turbo-drive 400kW 230V A.C., 1 diesel 150kW 230V A.C.

twin screws. 13,500shp
Jumboized Specifications Changes:
Displacement 16,500 t.(lt) 36,500 t.(fl)
Length 644'
Complement 20 officers, 350 enlisted
Armament four single 3"/50 gun mounts
Cargo Capacity 145,000 barrels

Size	Image Description	Contributed By / Source
94k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51) refuels USS Boxer (CV-21)** and a destroyer in heavy seas, during operations off the Korean coast. Photo is dated 10 April 1951. US National Archives photo # 80-G-435050, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives	US Naval Historical Center
76k	Broadside view of *USS Ashtabula* (AO-51) off Mare Island, 30 October 1956. Ashtabula** was undergoing repairs at Mare Island from 15 August. to 31 October 1956. Mare Island Naval Shipyard photo # 31969-10-56, 10/30/56	Darryl Baker
150k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51)** underway in port, date and location unknown. US Navy photo	Tommy Trampp
40k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51) refueling USS Thomaston (LSD-28)** refueling, circa January-February 1963, Pacific Ocean	Ron Reeves
112k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51) refueling USS Ranger (CVA-61) and USS Worden (DLG-18)** in WestPac, circa 1964-65. Photo from USS Ranger Cruise book 1964-65	John Slaughter USS Ranger
296k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51)** after Jumboization, 1968	Ed Benningfield GMG1 USNR Ret, USS Ashtabula 1968-70
64k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51)** refueling an unidentified destroyer off the coast of Vietnam, with USCGC Rush (WHEC 723) making an approach to starboard, circa 1970s	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret USCGC Rush web site
104k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51)** underway at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, HI., date unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, February 1981 issue/	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
108k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51) refuels USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14)** refueling while operating off the coast of Vietnam, circa early 1966. US Navy photo received for the "All Hands" magazine Editorial Department, 14 February 1966. US Navy photo# NH 97487 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	US Naval Historical Center
127k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51)** at anchor at Hong Kong in 1975. Photos courtesy of Karsten Petersen, Sailor-Global Images.	Robert Hurst
122k		Robert Hurst
77k	*USS Ashtabula* (AO-51) moored pierside at Naval Station Subic Bay in March 1981. USNS Mercury (T-AKR-10)** on the opposite side of the pier is taking on containerized cargo. US Navy photo from "US Amphibious Boats and Craft", by Norman Friedman.	Robert Hurst
64k	Ex-USS Ashtabula as target ship. In all, *Ashtabula* was subjected to eight Harpoon missiles, two standard (SM-2) missiles, three Sea Skua missiles, four bombs from S-3 Vikings, and over 100 rounds of gunfire from 3", 100mm, and 5" guns.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
64k	This 15 October 2000 view shows a close-up of ex-USS Ashtabula's stern, where a Sea Skua missile scored a hit. The missile was equipped with a penetration warhead, so it exploded inside the ship, causing major internal destruction but leaving relatively little external evidence	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
64k	Despite the terrific pounding she suffered from a force of seven US, British and French ships on October 14th, ex USS Ashtabula remained afloat the next day. She was finally sent to the bottom by demolition charges. The frigate in the background is *USS Thach* (FFG 43)**.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
64k	The last view of ex-USS Ashtabula, a tough ship by any standards, or a sad commentary on modern day missiles. Frigate in the background is *USS Thach* (FFG 43)**.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret

For more photos and information about USS Ashtabula, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
U.S. Navy Oilers
USS Ashtabula 1943 - 2000
Commanding Officers

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

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 8 February 2012