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

AO-88 Tomahawk

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal
Escambia Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 1 June 1943, as a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A2) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1267) at Marinship Corp., Sausalito, CA.
  • Launched, 10 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS Tomahawk (AO-88), 16 April 1944, at Portland, OR., CDR. Benjamin Watkins Cloud in command
  • Decommissioned, 6 January 1946, at Norfolk, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 21 January 1946
  • Placed in service by the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Tomahawk (T-AO-88)
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission in September 1961, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold to Hudson Waterways Corp. in 1966 and converted to a containership, renamed Maine, fate unknown
  • Tomahawk received six battle stars for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,782 t.(lt) 21,880 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 10"
    Speed 15 kts.
    Complement 267
    Armament one 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, four 3"/50 guns, four twin 40mm gun mounts, four twin 20mm gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 140,000 barrels
    Propulsion turbo-electric, single screw, 8,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Tomahawk 77k Tomahawk (AO-88) at anchor, date and place unknown. Chris Albright
    McKee 129k Tomahawk (AO-88) refueling McKee (DD-575) at sea in the western Pacific, 4 March 1945. Photographed from on board McKee, whose starboard waist 40mm twin gun mount is visible on the right. Tomahawk's camouflage is Measure 32, Design 3AO.
    US National Archives photos # 80-G-K-3507, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Tony Cowart
    View the Tomahawk (AO-88)
    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
    No Information Available
    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
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 15 December 2006