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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patches contributed by Mike Smolinski

AO-98 Caloosahatchee


Flag Hoist/International Radio Call Sign:
November - Kilo - Juliet - Uniform
Voice Call Sign "Admiral Mike", "Imperial Love" (53)
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


SecNav Letter of Commendation (1)
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal 1-Cuba, 1-Dominican Republic, 1-Grenada)
Cimmeron Class Fleet Oiler / Jumboized:
  • Laid down, 30 November 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (T3-S2-A3) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract, (MC hull 2560), at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrows Point, MD.
  • Launched, 2 June 1945
  • Commissioned USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98), 10 October 1945, CDR. H. R. Livingston, USNR, in command
  • Decommissioned, 28 February 1990
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 18 July 1994
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration, 18 December 1998, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping to Able UK, Hartlepool, Teeside, England, and removed from the Reserve Fleet, October 2003 under tow to the United Kingdom
    Specifications:
    Displacement 7,236 t.(lt) 25,440 t.(fl)
    Length 553'
    Beam 75'
    Draft 32'
    Speed 18 kts.
    Complement 22 officers, 362 enlisted
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo Capacity 146,000 barrels
    Propulsion steam turbines, four boilers, two shafts, 13,500 shaft horsepower , twin screws, 30,400hp.
     Jumboized Specifications:
    Displacement 10,847 t.(lt) 34,750 t.(fl)
    Length 644"
    Draft 34' 9"
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Caloosahatchee 1137k Caloosahatchee (AO-98), Leyte (CV-32), and Samuel B. Roberts (DD-823) conducting an underway replenishment during "Operation Frigid," 20 November 1948.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Caloosahatchee 94k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) riding high after refueling ships of the Sixth Fleet. Nested alongside are Spikefish (SS-404) and Piper (SS-409).
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, October 1955    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Caloosahatchee 103k Caloosahatchee (AP-98) refuels Lake Champlain (CVA-39) and a destroyer while a Piasecki HUP-2 "Retriever" Helicopter (Bureau # 128533), of Helicopter Utility Squadron Two (HU-2) lowers guard mail to the foredeck of Salem (CA-139), during operations in the Mediterranean Sea, 29 April 1957.
    US Navy photo # NH 97609 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Caloosahatchee 91k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) underway while refueling destroyers off both her port and starboard sides. Allen M. Sumner (DD-692) is visible to starboard of Caloosahatchee, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, May 1958    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Caloosahatchee 74k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) underway in 1959.
    US Navy photo    		 David Merrill
    USS Canisteo (AO-99) Web Site
    Caloosahatchee 112k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) refueling Forrestal (CVA-59) to port while Salem (CA-139) moves into position to refuel from Caloosahatchee's starboard side, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, May 1960    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    CVA-42 F.D.Roosevelt 125k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) refueling Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42) and Charles H. Roan (DD-853) in the Mediterranean, 1960. Image courtesy of Larry Blumenthal, "US Navy Photos"
    Caloosahatchee 56k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 David Merrill
    USS Canisteo (AO-99) Web Site
    Caloosahatchee 92k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) underway, circa 1998, location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Federation of American Scientists Web Site
    Caloosahatchee 3528k Caloosahatchee (AO-98) underway, circa 1998, Hampton Roads, VA..
    Photo @copyAtlantic Fleet Sales and can be purchased from Atlantic Fleet Sales .    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Caloosahatchee 45k "The Hartlepool Four" left to right;
    ex-Caloosahatchee (AO-98)
    ex-Canisteo (AO-99),
    ex-Canopus (AS-34), and
    ex-Compass Island (E-AG-153) awaiting the beginning of the end at Able UK, Hartlepool, Teeside, England, 4 March 2006. Scrapping is on hold due to environmental concerns.    		 Photo by David Nixon
    Additional Ships Patches
    Caloosahatchee
    Contributed by Mike Smolinski    		 Caloosahatchee
    Contributed by Mike Smolinski
    View the Caloosahatchee (AO-98)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98)
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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 3 August 2007