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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

AO-68 Chiwawa

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Yankee - Juliet - Lima
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1)
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Chiwawa Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, as SS Samoset, a Maritime Commission type (T3-S-A1) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 516) at Bethlehem Steel Shipbuilding, Sparrows Point, MD.
  • Launched, 25 June 1942
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission, acquired by the US Navy and commissioned USS Chiwawa (AO-68), 24 December 1942, CDR H. Fultz in command
  • Decommissioned, 6 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 23 August 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
  • Sold by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) in 1961, rebuilt as a straight decked bulk freighter for Great Lakes service, at American Shipbuilding, Lorain, OH., renamed SS Walter A. Sterling
  • Launched, 15 July 1961
  • Sold in 1985, to Ford Motor Company, renamed SS William Clay Ford (II)
  • Sold in 1989, to Lakes Shipping Co., renamed SS Lee A. Tregurtha, still in service on the Great Lakes
  • Chiwawa received two battle stars for World War II service
    AO Specifications:
    Displacement 5,650 t.(lt) 21,077 t.(fl)
    Length 502' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 31'
    Speed 17 kts.
    Complement 13 officers 200 enlisted
    Armament one 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, four 3"/50 guns, four twin 40mm gun mounts, four twin 20mm gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 134,000 barrels
    Propulsion geared turbine, single screw. 12,000shp
    Bulk Freighter Specifications:
    Length 826'
    Draft 39'
    Cargo Capacity 29,300 tons
    Self-unloading boom 250'
    Propulsion steam turbine, single propeller, 7,700shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS Chiwawa (AO-68)
    Chiwawa 65k Chiwawa (AO-68) underway, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    Chiwawa 299k Chiwawa (AO-68) underway, October 1944, place unknown.
    Photo by LTjg, Joseph A. Fernandez, Jr. USS Schmitt (APD-76)    		 Peter Fernandez
    Chiwawa 299k Chiwawa (AO-68) at anchor, off Okinawa, 7 September 1945.
    US Navy photo.    		 Contributed on behalf of James M. Jupena
    MM1/c USS Chiwawa 1943-1946
    LCI(L)-787 77k Chiwawa (AO-68) refueling LCI(L)-787, 24 October 1945. Photo by Donald Kronish Jon Strupp
    Commercial Service
    Chiwawa 54k ex Chiwawa (AO-68) in commercial service for the Lakes Shipping Co. as the Great Lakes bulk freighter SS Lee A. Tregurtha Great Lakes Fleet Photo Gallery
    View the Chiwawa (AO-68)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Chiwawa (AO-68)
    Great Lakes Fleet Photo Gallery
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index
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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 13 May 2005