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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

USS Detroit (AOE-4)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Delta - Whiskey - Quebec
 NDWQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Secretary of the Navy Letter of Commendation
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Unit Commendation (2)
Second Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendations (2) - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (4) - Navy Expeditionary Medal (1-Iran/Indian Ocean, 1-Libya)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (6) - Southwest Asia Service Medal
Fourth Row - Armed Forces Service Medal (2) - Coast Guard SOS Ribbon - Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Sacramento Class Fast Combat Support Ship:
  • Laid down, 29 November 1966, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Launched, 21 June 1969
  • Commissioned USS Detroit (AOE-4), 28 March 1970
  • Detroit was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and was home ported at Weapons Station Earle N.J.
  • Decommissioned, 17 February 2005
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 February 2005
  • Laid up at the NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Philadelphia, PA. awaiting disposal
  • Final Disposition, contract awarded for scrapping in September 2005 to ESCO Marine, Inc., Brownsville, TX. officially transferred to ESCO Marine, 17 October 2005, scrapping completed, 3 November 2006
    Specifications:
    Displacement 18,884 t.(lt) 49,956 t.(fl)
    Length 793'
    Beam 107'
    Draft 38' (max.)
    Speed 26 kts.
    Complement 24 Officers, 576 Enlisted
    Aircraft two CH46E Sea Knight helicopters
    Armament NATO Sparrow missiles, two Phalanx CIWS
    Propulsion four boilers, two geared steam turbines, two shafts, 100,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Detroit 90k USS Detroit (AOE 4) anchored at San Remo, Italy 1986 Photo submitted by Tom Kermen, courtesy of Michael Hughes, USS Detroit
    Detroit 109k USS Detroit (AOE-4) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "NAVSEA Journal"    		 Bob Bush
    CV-62 Independence 41k Aerial view of the Independence (CV-62) battle group in the Atlantic Ocean, 12 December 1979, as it heads home from deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. The ships are, clockwise from top, USS Farragut (DDG-37), USS McCandless (FF-1084), USS Independence (CV-62), USS Detroit (AOE-4), USS Garcia (FF-1040), USS Mahan (DDG-42), USS Caron (DD-970) and USS Peterson (DD-969).
    US Navy photo by PHC C. Pedrick (DVIC id: DNSC8200297).    		 Defense Visual Information Center
    Detroit 19k USS Detroit (AOE-4) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 USS Detroit (AOE-4) web site
    Detroit 1746k USS Detroit (AOE-4) conducts an underway replenishment (UNREP) with the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56) during Operation Desert Storm..
    Department of Defense photo # DN-SC-91-05321 PERSIAN GULF Feb. 9, 1991, a US Navy photo by PH3 Chester O. Falkenhainer III, now in the collections of Defense Imagery.com.    		 USS Detroit (AOE-4) web site
    Detroit 37k USS Detroit (AOE-4) replenishing two destroyers, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 -
    Detroit 77k USS Detroit (AOE-4) in port, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Detroit 49k USS Ford (FFG 54) moves off after replenishing from USS Detroit (AOE 4) while conducting operations in the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, 6 January 1998. Photo by PH3 Joseph Hendricks
    US Navy photo 980106-N-2302H-001    		 Chinfo
    Detroit 66k USS Detroit (AOE-4) and USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) during underway replenishment operations, 23 February 1999. The ships are in the Adriatic Sea supporting NATO air strikes in Kosovo.
    US Navy photo    		 .
    Detroit 62k USS Detroit (AOE 4) during an underway replenishment of USS Peterson (DD-969), date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Detroit 107k USS Detroit (AOE-4) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) conduct a replenishment at sea (RAS) while underway in the Arabian Sea supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, 6 December 2001.
    US Navy photo # 011206-N-2003S-503 by PH2(AW) Jason Scarborough.    		 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) web site
    Detroit 1753k A CH-46 “Sea Knight” helicopter assigned to the “Dragon Whales” of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Eight (HC-8) attached to USS Detroit (AOE-4) assists in the turn over between USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) in the Red Sea. The two ships are conducting weapons transfer operations while turning over deployment responsibilities. Theodore Roosevelt is returning to her homeport of Norfolk.
    by PHC Eric A. Clement.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    CVN-65 Enterprise 107k The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64), top, and the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), bottom, underway alongside USS Detroit (AOE-4) during a replenishment at sea, 11 November 2003, in the Arabian Sea. The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) was on a scheduled deployment conducting missions in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
    US Navy photo # 031111-N-6259P    		 US Navy NewsStand
    Detroit 95k USS Detroit (AOE-4) steams alongside USS Enterprise (CVN-65) while conducting an early morning Replenishment at Sea (RAS) in the Arabian Sea, 10 January 2004. Both ships were conducting missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
    US Navy photo #040110-N-5405H-001 by PHAN Joshua E. Helgeson.     		US Navy NewsStand
    CVN-65 Enterprise 116k The nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Detroit (AOE-4), and the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) perform a replenishment at sea, 27 January 2004, in the Persian Gulf. The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) was nearing the end of a scheduled deployment in the region. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Joshua E. Helgeson (# 040127-N-5405H-002).

    		 US Navy NewsStand
    Detroit 116k Ex-USS Detroit (AOE-4) starts her final trip from the NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office, Philadelphia, PA, 21 October 2005. She is being pulled away from the pier, under the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard drawbridge, heading to the Delaware River and Brownsville, Texas for scrapping at ESCO Marine, Inc., Brownsville, TX. Photos by Ed Zajkowski
    Detroit 99k
    Detroit 101k
    Detroit 98k
    Detroit 82k
    There is no DANFS history currently available for Detroit (AOE-4) at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    "AE" Sailors Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 1 April 2009