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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Ed Brynes

USS Savannah (AOR-4)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Foxtrot - Uniform - Foxtrot
 NFUF
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 Meritorious Unit Commendation - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - Navy Expeditionary Service Medal
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (2) - Vietnam Service Medal (1)
Fourth Row - Southwest Asia Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Wichita Class Replenishment Oiler:
  • Laid down, 22 January 1969, at General Dynamics Corp., Quincy, MA.
  • Launched, 23 April 1970
  • Commissioned USS Savannah (AOR-4), 5 December 1970, CAPT. Bernard P. Williams, Jr., in command
  • During the Vietnam War USS Savannah (AOR-4) participated in the following campaign:
    Vietnam War Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Vietnam Ceasefire
    27 May to 13 June 1972
    22 June to 7 July 1972
    16 July to 10 August 1972
    24 August to 4 September 1972
    13 to 30 September 1972
    16 October to 1 November 1972

  • Decommissioned, 28 July 1995, at Naval Station Norfolk, VA.
  • Laid up in the reserve at National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 October 1998
  • Title transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal
  • Final Disposition, 27 January, 2009, Department of Transportation signed a fee for service contract worth $515,726 with ESCO Marine of Brownsville TX., to scrap ex-Savannah
    Specifications:
    Displacement 14,048 t.(lt) 39,790 t.(fl)
    Length 659'
    Beam 96'
    Draft 37' (max.)
    Speed 20 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 34
    Enlisted 463
    Armament
    two Phalanx Close-In-Weapons System (CIWS)
    Sparrow Missile System (NSSMS)
    Aircraft
    two CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters
    Propulsion three boilers
    twin propellers, 32,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Savannah 194k Savannah (AOR-4) underway off the Massachusetts coast during preliminary acceptance trails, 24 November 1970.
    UPI Telephoto.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Savannah 35k USS Savannah (AOR-4) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		  
    Savannah 45k USS Savannah (AOR-4) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Courtesy Chuck Zendner Via
    Ed Brynes DCC(SW) USNR
    USS Savannah (AOR-4) web site
    Savannah 75k USS Savannah (AOR-4) moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from the collections of the US Navy Memorial.    		 Stan Svec
    Savannah 50k USS Savannah (AOR-4) underway in the Indian Ocean closing to top off RFA Plumleaf (A78), February 1983.
    Photo George Mortimore.    		 Robert Hurst
    Savannah 883k Stern view of USS Savannah (AOR-4) moored pierside at Marseille, France, date unknown. Photo by Philippe Gonzales
    Kalamazoo 1454k A starboard view of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and their escorts underway off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, 5 February 1987. The escorts are, from front to back: the frigate USS W.S. Sims (FF-1059) replenishment oilers USS Savannah (AOR-4) and USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) and the guided missile destroyer USS Richard E. Byrd (DDG-23).
    Defense Visual Information Center photo # DN-ST-87-04835, by PH1 Ron Beno.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Savannah 21k USS Savannah (AOR-4) underway in the Suez Canal, 22 February 1992.
    US Navy photo    		 Ed Brynes DCC(SW) USNR
    USS Savannah (AOR-4) web site
    Iwo Jima 1088k
    An aerial view of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard looking west/northwest, 30 October 1995. The shipyard closed, 30 September 1995, but the Navy Intermediate Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) continues to store decommissioned ships. Vessels visible , left to right: the battleships USS Iowa (BB-61), and USS Wisconsin (BB-64) at the DD wharf; USS Sylvania (AFS-2), USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) and USS Savannah (AOR-4) at pier 5; the aircraft carriers USS Forrestal (CV-59) and USS Saratoga (CV-60); at pier 4; the amphibious assault ships USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) and USS Guadalcanal (LPH-7) at pier 2. In the back pool is the heavy cruiser USS Des Moines (CA-134) and numerous destroyers and frigates.DOD photo # DN-SC-97-00422 PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (30 October 1995), a US Navy photo by Robert J. Sitar, now in the collections of Defense Imagery.mil.    		 Robert M. Cieri

    For more photos and information about USS Savannah, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • U.S.S. Savannah (AOR-4)
  • U.S. Navy Oilers
  • Commanding Officers
    • Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Replenishment Oiler (AOR) 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 April 2013