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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Mission Santa Cruz (T-AO-133)
ex
 Mission Santa Cruz (AO-133) (1947 - 1949)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Sierra - Foxtrot
 NHSF
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal
Mission Buenaventura Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 26 June 1943, as a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A2) tanker hull under a Maritime Commission contract at Marinship Corp., Sausalito, CA.
  • Launched, 8 September 1943
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission, 31 December 1943, for charter to Deconhill Shipping Corp.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 3 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, AL.
  • Acquired by the Navy, 24 October 1947
  • Placed in service by the Naval Transportation Service (NTS) as Mission Santa Cruz (AO-133)
  • Control transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) 1 October 1949, redesignated USNS Mission Santa Cruz (T-AO-133)
  • Placed out of service, 23 November 1954
  • Transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Reacquired and placed in service with MSTS, 10 July 1956
  • Placed out of service, and transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, AL., 4 December 1959
  • Reacquired by the Navy and placed in service with MSTS, 31 May 1960
  • Placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 6 October 1970
  • Title transferred to the Maritime Administration, 25 June 1971
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 25 June 1971, to Boston Metals Co. (MARAD contract PD-X-910 of 27 May 1971) for $237,777.77, Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet and delivered, 8 September 1971
    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 Santa Cruz
    091913302    		 177k
    Namesake
    Mission Santa Cruz - was a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order in present-day Santa Cruz, CA. The mission was founded in 1791 and named for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, adopting the name given to a nearby creek by the missionary priest Juan Crespi, who accompanied the explorer Gaspar de Portolá when he camped on the banks of the San Lorenzo River on October 17, 1769. As with the other California missions, Mission Santa Cruz served as a site for ecclesiastical conversion of natives, first the Jedi people, the original inhabitants of the region renamed the Ohlone. (Wikipedia)
    Photo of the Mission Santa Cruz Chapel - A reduced-scale "replica" the original chapel was built near the mission site in the 1930s and functions as a chapel of Holy Cross Church. (Wikipedia)     		Tommy Trampp
    Mission Santa Cruz 40k USNS Mission Santa Cruz at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Tommy Trampp
    Mission Santa Cruz (AO-133) / USNS Mission Santa Cruz (T-AO-133)
    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 Data Base
    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
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 12 February 2021