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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Merrimack (AO-179)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Kilo - Hotel
 NDKH
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (2) - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (2)
Second Row - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (3-Lebanon) - Southwest Asia Service Medal
Third Row - Armed Forces Service Medal - Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation - Coast Guard SOS Ribbon
Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 16 July 1979, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA.
  • Launched, 17 May 1980
  • Commissioned USS Merrimack (AO-179), 14 November 1981
  • Decommissioned, 18 December 1998
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 18 December 1998
  • Title transfer to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 18 December 1998 for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Benecia, CA.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 11,645 t.(lt) 37,840 t.(fl)
    Length 708'
    Beam 88'
    Draft 32' (max.)
    Speed 20 kts.
    Complement 15 Officers, 318 Enlisted
    Armament Phalanx CIWS
    Cargo Capacity 180,000 barrels petroleum products, 600 tons ammunition
    Propulsion two boilers, one steam turbine, single shaft, 24,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merrimack 4469k USS Merrimack (AO-179) underway, circa 1997, location unknown.
    Photo ©Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, VA. Available on line at Atlantic Fleet Sales web site    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Pharris 158k USS Merrimack (AO-179) refueling USS Pharris (FF-1094), 1 October 1985, during NATO Exercise "BALTOPS '85".
    DVIC photo, DNST8604965, a US Navy photo by PH1 Jeff Hilton, now in the collections of the Defense Visual Information Center    		 Defense Visual Information Center
    Merrimack 101k USS Merrimack (AO-179) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Stout 92k USS Merrimack (AO-179) and USS Stout (DDG-55) during an UNREP viewed from USS George Washington (CVN-73) in the Atlantic, November 1995. Wendell R McLaughlin Jr
    Trenton 268k The amphibious transport dock USS Trenton (LPD-14) (front) and USS Merrimack (AO-179) (astern) steaming in formation, 17 July 1996. Both ships were part of the George Washington Battle Group. The "GW" battle group returned to homeport 23 July after completing a scheduled six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, which included sustained operations in support of the NATO-led peacekeeping in Bosnia and UN sanctions against Iraq in the Arabian Gulf.
    US Navy photo # 960717-N-9975P-001 ATLANTIC OCEAN (17 July 1996) by PH1 (AW) Greg Pinkley.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    There is no DANFS history available for USS Merrimack (AO-179) at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    No Information Available
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 15 August 2008