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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144)
ex
 USS Mississinewa (AO-144) (1955 - 1976)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Sierra - Zulu
 NBSZ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Second Row - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Medal (2 Iran/Indian Ocean) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (4-Lebanon, 1 July 58 to 1 November 58) - Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation - Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon
Neosho Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 4 May 1953, at New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.
  • Launched, 12 June 1954
  • Commissioned USS Mississinewa (AO-144), 18 January 1955, CAPT. M. J. Jensen in command
  • Decommissioned, 15 November 1976 and placed in service with MSC as USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144)
  • Placed out of service, circa 1991-1994
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 16 February 1994
  • Title transfer to MARAD, 1 May 1999, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Final Disposition, departed National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group under disposal contract 30 January 2007, for scrapping at International Shipbreaking LTD. (ESCO), Brownsville, TX.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 11,600 t.(lt), 38,000 t.(fl)
    Length 655'
    Beam 86'
    Draft 35'
    Speed 20 kts.
    Cargo Capacity 180,000 bbls
    Complement
    (USS) 324
    (USNS) 106 civilian mariners, 21 navy
    Armament
    two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts
    six twin 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    Propulsion two geared turbines, two boilers, two shafts, 28,000 shaft horsepower
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Mississinewa (AO-144)
    Mississinewa 59k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) underway in Narragansett Bay off Newport, R.I., in April 1955. Howard J Koch
    Cascade 1861k USS Cascade (AD-16) with USS Charles S. Sperry (DD-697), USS Moale (DD-693) and USS Pompon (SSR-267) along side. Ships in the background in include left to right: USS Randolph (CVA-15), USS Waccamaw (AO-109), USS Mississinewa (AO-144) and two unidentified auxiliaries, an AO and possibly an AKA. At anchor in the Mediterranean, 12 September 1956.
    US Navy photo # 699217 now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.    		 Darryl Baker
    Mississinewa 105k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) at anchor, date and location unknown. Larry Bohn
    Mississinewa 37k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) underway, January 1963, location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Mississinewa 146k USS Mississinewa (AO-144), Flagship 6th Fleet Service Force, underway Mediterranean Sea, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Mississinewa 149k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) underway in the Atlantic Ocean while refueling USS Luce (DLG 7) while enroute to NAVSTA Bermuda in February 1968. Ken Dupree YNCS USN Ret.
    Mississinewa 138k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) underway in the Atlantic Ocean while refueling USS Luce (DLG 7) while enroute to NAVSTA Bermuda in February 1968. Ken Dupree YNCS USN Ret.
    Mississinewa 47k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) alongside USS Saratoga (CV-60) while conducting a refueling at sea in late 1975. Saratoga was underway off the Florida coast during an Operational Readiness Exercise. The two ships collided about 20 minutes after this photo was taken. Photos by Robert Royes USS Saratoga
    Mississinewa 88k
    Mississinewa 210k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) underway, date and location unknown.
    Photos courtesy Destroyer Escort Historical Museum.    		 Tim Rizzuto/Ed Zajkowski
    Mississinewa 135k USS Mississinewa (AO-144) in the harbor at Valleta, Malta, date unknown.
    Photos courtesy Destroyer Escort Historical Museum.    		 Tim Rizzuto/Ed Zajkowski
    USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144)
    Mississinewa 54k USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144) during Replenishment at Sea (RAS) with the Canadian destroyer HMCS Ottawa (DDH 229), mid-Atlantic between Azores and Bermuda, August 1984 Matias C. Höhne
    Mississinewa 60k
    Mississinewa 41k USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144) during Replenishment at Sea (RAS) with the German destroyers FGS Lütjens (D-185) and FGS Mölders (D-186), mid-Atlantic between Azores and Bermuda, August 1984 Matias C. Höhne
    Mississinewa 110k USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144) underway, date and location unknown. William Zarkas, Retired MSC Boatswain
    President, MSC Retiree Association
    Mississinewa 168k USNS Mississinewa (T-AO-144) and USS Forrest Sherman (DD-931) conducting an underway replenishment, circa prior to February 1972. Photo - Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret., Caption - Michael Lester
    Mississinewa 126k Ex-Mississinewa (T-AO-144) moored at ESCO, Brownsville, TX., for scrapping. She arrived during the weekend of 17-18 February 2007. Photo by Michael Martin, Brownsville, TX.
    Mississinewa Additional Ships Patches
    Mississinewa
    Contributed by Mike Smolinski    		 Mississinewa
    Contributed by Mike Smolinski

    For more photos and information about USS / USNS Mississinewa, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • U.S. Navy Oilers
  • Commanding Officers
    • Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 7 March 2013