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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Shawnee Trail (T-AO-142)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Hotel - Quebec - Xray
 NHQX
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal
Suamico Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 18 April 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (T2-SE-A1) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract, (MC hull 1928), at Kaiser Co., Inc., Portland, OR.
  • Launched, 31 May 1944
  • Delivered to the War Shipping Administration, 28 June 1944, for Lend-lease to the Soviet Union, named Emba (This is the second tanker leased to the Soviet Union during World War II to carry this name. The first tanker was W.C. Fairbanks later USS Bansee (IX-178))
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission in 1948
  • Acquired by the Navy, 25 May 1948
  • Designated SS Shawnee Trail (AO-142), operated for the Navy Transportation Service by a civilian contractor
  • Transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 1 October 1949, and placed in service as USNS Shawnee Trail (T-AO-142)
  • Placed out of service, struck from the Naval Register, and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 1 November 1957 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Reacquired by the Military Sealift Command (MSC), 20 January 1965, and placed in service as USNS Shawnee Trail (T-AO-142)
  • Placed out of service, struck from the Naval Register, and transferred to MARAD for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Fort Eustis, VA., 24 February 1972
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 10 August 1973, to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., New York
    Specifications (As Built):
    Displacement 10,200 t.(lt) 22,380 t.(fl)
    Length 523' 6"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 10"
    Speed 15.1 kts.
    Complement unknown
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament none
    Cargo Capacity 15,300 DWT
    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 header-type boiler, 450psi 730°
    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, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Shawnee Trail
    091914303    		 67k The Soviet tanker Emba (SS Shawnee Trail) was lend-lease to the Soviet Union during World War II. From 1942 to 1945 the United States shipped vast quantities of equipment and supplies to the Soviet Union, transported by Soviet ships. Emba transported fuel between ports on the west coast of the United States and Vladivostok in the USSR, a route considered to be relatively safe. On August 27, 1944, an American Lockheed PV-1 Ventura patrol bomber on patrol seeking Japanese transports near the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka mistakenly attacked Emba thinking she was Japanese. The Ventura attacked Emba using her 50 caliber machine guns and dropping a bomb which hit the tanker amidships, piercing the deck and tearing a hole in the side of the ship just above her waterline. Emba was able to reached Vladivostok without further incident.
    Published December 4, 2015 Piotr Mierzejewski -- Facta Nautica Dr. Piotr Mierzejewski    		 Tommy Trampp
    Shawnee Trail
    091914302    		 409k
    Shawnee Trail
    091914304    		 238k
    Shawnee Trail
    091914305    		 170k
    Shawnee Trail 48k Ex-USNS Shawnee Trail (T-AO-142) tied up, at Kearny, New Jersey, 29 February 1976.
    Photo John Kelly, courtesy Auke Visser's Famous T - Tankers Pages    		 Robert Hurst and
    Tommy Trampp
    USNS Shawnee Trail (T-AO-142)
     Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Fleet Tankers Association
    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
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    Last Updated 5 April 2024