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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Manatee (AO-58)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Papa - Juliet
NZPJ

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (8) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - Navy Occupation Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korea Service Medal (4)
Fourth Row - Vietnam Service Medal (9) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2-Taiwan Straits, 1-Quemoy-Matsu, 5-Vietnam, 5-Korea) - Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Fifth Row - Philippine Liberation Medal (2) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

Cimmeron Class Fleet Oiler:

Laid down, date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (T3-S2-A3) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 724) at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrows Point, MD.

Launched, 21 October 1943

Commissioned USS Manatee (AO-58), 12 February 1944, LCDR. Joseph B. Smyth in command

During WWII USS Manatee was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

**Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Marianas operation Capture and occupation of Saipan, 11 June 10 August 1944 Battle of Philippine Sea, 24 June 1944 Capture and occupation of Guam, 12 July to 15 August 1944	Luzon operation Formosa attacks 3 to 4, 9, 15 and 21 January 1945 Luzon attacks, 6 to 7 January 1945 China Coast attacks, 12 and 18 January 1945 Nansei Shoto attack, 22 January 1945
Tinian capture and occupation, 20 July to 10 August 1944	Iwo Jima operation Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 15 to 23 February 1945
Western Caroline Islands operation Raids on Volcano-Bonin Islands and Yap Island, 31 August to 8 September 1944 Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 14 October 1944 Assaults on the Philippine Islands, 9 to 24 September 1944	Okinawa Gunto operation 5th and 3d Fleet raids in support of Okinawa Gunto operation, 26 March to 11 June 1945
Leyte operations 3d Fleet supporting operations Okinawa Attack, 10 October 1944 Northern Luzon and Formosa attacks, 11 to 14 October 1944 Luzon attacks, 20 to 25 November and 14 to 16 December 1944	3d Fleet operations against Japan, 10 to 18 July and 9 to 15 August 1945

During the Korean War USS Manatee participated in the following campaigns:

**Korean War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Communist China Spring Offensive 23 to 26 and 30 to 31 May 1951 5 to 12 and 24 to 26 June 1951 4 to 8 July 1951	Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 11 to 24 May 1952 4 to 14 June 1952 5 to 20 August 1952 27 August to 10 September 1952 17 to 29 September 1952 7 to 17 October 1952
UN Summer-Fall Offensive 9 to 10 and 22 to 26 July 1951	Third Korean Winter 14 to 21 February 1953 6 to 14 March 1953 28 March to 5 April 1953 21 to 30 April 1953
Second Korean Winter 26 March to 11 April 1952 15 to 29 April 1952	Korean Summer-Fall 1953 16 to 19 June 1953 27 June to 8 July 1953

Following World War II and the Korean War USS Manatee was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

Navy Occupation Service Medal	China Service Medal (extended)
2 to 18 September 1945	7 to 25 June 1946
12 December 1945 to 20 February 1946	22 August to 19 October 1946
4 April to 6 June 1946	17 April to 18 May 1951
31 July to 18 August 1946	22 June to 24 July 1952
22 to 26 October 1946	11 May to 12 June 1953
20 to 25 January 1947	1 to 19 May 1955

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

**Vietnam War Campaigns**
Campaign and Dates	Campaign and Dates
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase II 13 to 30 July 1966 8 to 16 August 1966 21 to 29 September 1966 11 to 19 and 22 October 1966 13 to 27 November 1966	Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 6 to 13 and 18 to 26 September 1969 7 to 15 and 30 to 31 October 1969
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase III 6 to 13 and 18 to 28 July 1967 21 to 28 August 1967 10 to 17 September 1967 24 September to 1 October 1967 6 to 13 October 1967 1 to 11 November 1967	Vietnam Winter-Sprint 1970 1 to 9 November 1969 24 November to 1 December 1969 5 to 12, 16 to 23 and 26 to 28 December 1969 3 to 9 and 15 to 21 January 1970
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase IV 19 to 23 and 27 to 30 June 1968	Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VII 27 November to 6 December 1970 28 to 31 December 1970 5 to 13 January 1971 26 January to 3 February 1971 15 to 22 February 1971 28 February to 6 March 1971
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase V 1 to 4, 9 to 16 and 21 to 29 July 1968 5 to12 and 18 to 24 August 1968 4 to 10 September 1968 21 to 27 October 1968	Vietnam Ceasefire 9 to 18 June 1972 5 to 12 July 1972 22 July to 6 August 1972 22 to 27 August 1972 20 to 25 September 1972 1 to 11 October 1972 19 October to 8 November 1972 29 November to 9 December 1972 16 to 28 December 1972 1 January 1973 29 January to 4 February 1973 14 to 18 February 1973
Vietnamese Counteroffensive - Phase VI 13 to 21 and 27 to 29 November 1968

Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register, 14 August 1973

Transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 10 December 1973, to Zidell Exploration, Portland, OR.

USS Manatee received eight battle stars for World War II service, six battle stars for Korean War service and nine campaign stars for Vietnam War service

Specifications:
Displacement 7,236 t.(lt) 25,440 t.(fl)
Length 553'
Beam 75'
Draft 32'
Speed 18.3 kts (trial)

Complement

Officers 23

Enlisted 291

Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.

Armament

one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount

four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts

four twin 40mm AA gun mounts

four twin 20mm AA gun mounts

Cargo Capacity 16,500 DWT

Oil 123,700 bbls

Gasoline, 788,000 Gals

Fuel Capacity NSFO 15,000 Bbls

Propulsion

two Bethlehem Shipbuilding geared turbines

four Foster & Wheeler K-type boilers, 450psi 750°

Ship's Service Generators

two turbo-drive 400Kw 230V A.C.

one Diesel-drive 150Kw 230V A.C.

double Falk Main Reduction Gears

two propellers, 13,500shp

Size	Image Description	Contributed By
51k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** at anchor, date and location unknown. Her camouflage is scheme 32/5AO in this photo, US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, July 1951	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
56k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** at San Diego, CA, circa 1949-1950	James C McCann EM1 USN USS Manatee 1949 to April 1950 Courtesy Patrick F McCann
60k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** at San Diego, CA, circa 1949-1950	James C McCann EM1 USN crew member December 1949 to April 1950 Courtesy Patrick F McCann
82k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** refueling HMAS Warramunga in Korean waters, 27 June 1951. US Navy photo NH 96261 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.	Robert Hurst
32k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** refueling a destroyer, circa 1956 - 1957, probably off the Philippines.	Everett M. Ellestad USNR
62k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58) refueling USS Midway (CV-41) and USS Jarvis (DD-799)** off Okinawa, 1960	Bob Herrick MR2, USS Manatee 1959-61
89k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** at anchor at San Diego, September 1960	Lee Noland STGC USN Ret.
87k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58) refueling USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14)**, 15 July 1965 US Navy photo	Courtesy John Shriver Rick Davis USS Manatee (AO-58) web site
110k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58) and USS Bausell (DD-845)** conducting an underway replenishment while in Gulf of Tonkin, July 1967.	Photo by Larry Backus USS Bausell
73k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58) and USS Bausell (DD-845)** conducting an underway replenishment while in Gulf of Tonkin, July 1967.	Photo by Larry Backus USS Bausell
68k	View form *USS Bausell* (DD-845) of USS Manatee (AO-58)** after the destroyer has broken away from the oiler following an underway replenishment while in Gulf of Tonkin, July 1967.	Photo by Larry Backus USS Bausell
119k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** at Subic Bay, P.I., 1969	Rick Davis USS Manatee (AO-58) web site
58k	*USS Manatee* (AO-58)** at Long Beach at the end of her final Wespac deployment, 26 March 1973	Rick Davis USS Manatee (AO-58) web site

For more photos and information about USS Manatee, see;
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
U.S. Navy Oilers
USS Manatee (AO-58) Homepage
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 12 April 2013