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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127)
ex
 Mission San Luis Obispo (AO-127) (1947 - 1949)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Papa - Whiskey
 NHPW
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
National Defense Service Medal
Mission Buenaventura Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 18 April 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A2) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC 1823) at Marinship, Sausalito, CA.
  • Launched, 18 June 1944
  • Delivered to the WSA, 15 July 1944, for charter to Pacific Tankers, Inc.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 27 March 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Acquired by the Navy, 24 October 1947, and assigned to the Naval Transportation Service (NTS) as Mission San Luis Obispo (AO-127)
  • Absorbed into the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 1 October 1949 and placed in service as USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127)
  • Placed out of service, 22 June 1955
  • Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 27 June 1956, and again placed in service with MSTS as USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127)
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration, 24 June 1957, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 24 September 1957
  • Sold, 25 March 1966, to Hudson Waterways Corp., for conversion to a combination containership and train ferry, renamed SS Seatrain Puerto Rico, 1 April 1966
  • Final Disposition, scrapped, date unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,532 t.(lt) 21,880 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 10"
    Speed 15.1 kts (trial)
    Complement
    52 CivMar
    17 US Navy Armed Guard
    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 15,300DWT
    Oil 120,400 Bbls
    Gasoline 575,000 Gals
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 9,235 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric turbo-electric engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox D-type boilers, 600psi 825°

    Ship's Service Generators
     two turbo-drive 400Kw 450V A.C.
     two turbo-drive 85Kw 120V D.C.
     two turbo-drive 55Kw 120V D.C.
     one turbo-drive 50Kw 450V A.C.
    single propeller, 10,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Mission San Luis Obispo (War Shipping Administration)
    Mission San Luis Obispo
    091912706    		 308k
    Namesake
    Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is a Spanish mission founded in 1772 by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, CA. Named after Saint Louis of Anjou, the bishop of Toulouse, the mission is the namesake of San Luis Obispo. Today, it offers tours of the beautiful church, gardens, school and small museum that holds a collection of its artifacts. Unlike other California missions, the San Luis Obispo Mission is open to the public every day of the year and is still a very popular parish for the town's Catholic community. (Wikipedia)
    Photo of Mission San Luis Obispo, 10 April 2011, by ©Harrison Lai     		Tommy Trampp
    Mission San Luis Obispo 85k Mission San Luis Obispo underway off the Marinship yard at Sausalito, CA., circa June-July 1944.
    US Maritime Commission photo courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mission San Luis Obispo 142k Mission San Luis Obispo moored the Marinship yard at Sausalito, CA., circa June-July 1944.
    US Maritime Commission photo courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mission San Luis Obispo (AO-127)
    Mission San Luis Obispo 33k Mission San Luis Obispo (AO-127) moored pierside, circa 1947-49, location unknown. Matthew D. Herrera
    USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127)
    Mission San Luis Obispo 1041k USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127) underway in San Pedro harbor, date unknown. David Buell
    Merchant Service Seatrain Corp.
    Mission San Luis Obispo 116k Ex USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127) in merchant service as SS Seatrain Puerto Rico underway, date and location unknown.
    Courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages. Photo ©L.A. Sawyer and W.H. Mitchell,    		 Robert Hurst
    USNS Mission San Luis Obispo (T-AO-127)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 12 February 2021