Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Pecos (T-AO-65)
ex
 USS Pecos (AO-65) (1942 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Zulu - Golf - Oscar
 NZGO
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, 2 Jan 45, 4 Jan 45, 7 Jan 45) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (7) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (1)
Anacostia Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 20 April 1942, as SS Corsicana, a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A1) tanker hull under Maritime Commission contract, (MC hull 325) at Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, PA.
  • Launched, 17 August 1942
  • Acquired by the Navy, 29 August 1942
  • Commissioned USS Pecos (AO-65), 5 October 1942, CDR. Palmer MacKenzie Gunnell, in command
  • During World War II USS Pecos was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Gilbert Islands operation, 24 to 27 November 1943 Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 15 October 1944
    Assault on the Philippine Islands, 9 to 24 September 1944
    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 3d Fleet raids in support of Okinawa Gunto operation, 8 April to 25 May 1945
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 11 June to 10 August 1944
    Capture and occupation of Guam, 12 July to 15 August 1944     		Luzon operation
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 January 1945
    Tinian capture and occupation, 20 July to 10 August 1944  

  • Following World War II USS Pecos was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 16 September to 7 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 14 March 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register and transferred to the Maritime Commission, 1 April 1947, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group
  • Leased to Pacific Tankers under a GAA agreement, 20 October 1947
  • Title transferred to the US Navy, 29 January 1948
  • Reacquired by the Navy and reinstated on the Naval Register, 20 March 1950
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS)
  • Placed in service as USNS Pecos (T-AO-65), 18 July 1950
  • Placed out of service, 6 August 1975 and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 October 1974
  • USS Pecos earned seven battle stars for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping (nontransportation use), (PD-X-997) 17 July 1975 to Boston Metals Co. Baltimore, MD. for $242, 777.77. Delivered 6 August 1975
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,730 t.(lt) 21,880 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 10" (limiting)
    Speed 15.1 kts. (trial)
    Complement 200
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    six twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity
    NSFO 120,400 Bbls
    Gasoline 575,000 Gals
    Fuel Capacity 9,235 Bbls
    Ships's Service Generators
    two turbo-drive 450Kw, 450V A.C.
    two turbo-drive 25Kw, 120V D.C.
    two turbo-drive 110Kw 120V D.C.
    one turbo-drive 50Kw 450V A.C.
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse turbo-electric engines
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 450psi, 750°
    single propeller. 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Pecos (AO-65)
    Pecos
    091900621    		 49k
    Namesake
    Pecos - A river originating in north-central New Mexico which flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, NM, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet The river flows for 926 miles before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Its drainage basin encompasses about 44,300 square miles. The name "Pecos" derives from the Keresan (Native American language) term for the Pecos Pueblo. The river was also historically referred to as the Río Natagés for the Mescalero people. (Wikipedia)
    Photo - Pecos River between Terrerro and Pecos, New Mexico, 24 June 2009. ©Fladfif
    Map - Map of the watershed of Pecos River, a tributary of the Rio Grande, in New Mexico and Texas, using USGS National Map data, 30 March 2016. ©Shannon1    		 Tommy Trampp
    Pecos 38k USS Pecos (AO-65) at anchor, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    Pecos
    091906507    		 203k USS Pecos (AOL-65) alongside USS Russell (DD-414)
    At sunrise, 7 January 1945, USS Russell (DD-414) was in the screen of the large amphibious force of TF78.1. They were passing through a forward area west of Luzon and heading north to begin the assault on Lingayen two days later. USS Pecos (AO-65) was one of four oilers brought out from Mindoro to top off the escort screen.
    Photos by Ltjg. Edwin Klump.    		 John Chiquoine
    Pecos
    091906508    		 127k
    USNS Pecos (T-AO-65)
    Pecos 112k USNS Pecos (T-AO-65) under way, circa 1950.
    US Navy photo courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    Pecos 79k USNS Pecos (T-AO-65) under way, probably in San Francisco Bay, circa 1950s.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # 19-N-47642, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Pecos 49k USNS Pecos (T-AO-65) moored pierside at Bremen, Germany, while discharging a cargo of fuel for the US forces in Germany, 25 September 1968. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus, Frankfurt, A.M., Germany
    Pecos 40k USNS Pecos (T-AO-65) moored pierside at Bremen, Germany, while discharging a cargo of fuel for the US forces in Germany, 25 September 1968. Photo by Gerhard L. Mueller-Debus, Frankfurt, A.M., Germany
    Pecos 42k Ex-USNS Pecos (T-AO-65) laid up in reserve in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, June 1975.
    Photo ©L. van Ginderen, courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Pecos (AO-65) / USNS Pecos (T-AO-65)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Gunnell, Palmer MacKenzie5 October 1942 - 1 February 1944
    02LCDR. Renegar, George Washington1 February 1944 - July 1945
    03CDR. Johnson, Hans Gerhard ReinhardJuly 1945 - 6 October 1945
    04LCDR. Hayward Jr. Griswold Stewart6 October 1945 - 14 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Fleet Tankers Association
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 2 April 2021