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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Lost to enemy action, 1 March 1942

USS Pecos (AO-6)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Foxtrot - Quebec
 NIFQ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - China Service Medal (extended)
Bottom Row - American Defense Service Medal (with bronze star in lieu of Fleet clasp) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Kanawha/Cuyama Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 2 June 1920, as Pecos (Fuel Ship #18) at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.
  • Launched, 23 April 1921
  • Commissioned USS Pecos, (AO-6), 25 August 1921
  • USS Pecos was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet when World War II broke out
  • Lost to enemy action, 1 March 1942, air attack from Japanese aircraft carrier IJN Soryu aircraft
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Pecos earned one battle star for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,723 t.(lt) 14,800 t.(fl)
    Length 475' 7"
    Beam 56' 3"
    Draft 26' 8"
    Speed 14 kts.
    Complement 317
    Armament
    four single 5"/50 gun mounts
    two single 3" mounts
    Propulsion
    two Boston Navy Yard vertical triple-expansion engines with a 42" stroke
    twin propellers
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Pecos
    091900621    		 49k
    Namesake
    Pecos - A river originating in north-central New Mexico which flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, NM, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet The river flows for 926 miles before reaching the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Its drainage basin encompasses about 44,300 square miles. The name "Pecos" derives from the Keresan (Native American language) term for the Pecos Pueblo. The river was also historically referred to as the Río Natagés for the Mescalero people. (Wikipedia)
    Photo - Pecos River between Terrerro and Pecos, New Mexico, 24 June 2009. ©Fladfif
    Map - Map of the watershed of Pecos River, a tributary of the Rio Grande, in New Mexico and Texas, using USGS National Map data, 30 March 2016. ©Shannon1    		 Tommy Trampp
    Pecos 150k Pecos(AO-6) keel laying took place on the Shipway of Boston Navy Yard, 2 June 1920.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13927 (photo # 13927-46b).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 157k By 6 July 1920 the bottom of the hull of Pecos (AO-6) was beginning to take shape.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13924 (photo # 13924-2).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 216k 4 November 1920 construction progress view of Pecos (AO-6) looking forward.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13924 (photo # 13924-8a).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 123k 7 January 1921 construction progress view of Pecos (AO-6) looking forward.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13924 (photo # 13924-9a).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 229k 7 January 1921 construction progress starboard bow view of Pecos (AO-6).
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13924 (photo # 13924-9c).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos
    13925-5936    		 261k Pecos (AO-6) main engines under construction in the Boston Navy Yard's Machine Shop No. 1 (Building 42).
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13925 (photo # 13925-5936 and 13925-5934).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos
    13925-5934    		 265k
    Pecos
    13925-5936    		 77k 22 April 1921 stern view of Pecos (AO-6) ready for launching at Boston Navy Yard.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13928 (photo # 13928-16h and 13928-13928-16g).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos
    13925-5934    		 210k
    Pecos 126k A variety of flags were used to decorate the platform for the 23 April 1921 launching of Pecos (AO-6) at Boston Navy Yard.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13928 (photo # 13928-16a).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 92k Following her christening by Miss Anna S. Hubbard, Pecos (AO-6) slid down the ways into the waters of Boston Harbor, 23 April 1921.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13928 (photo # 13928-16j).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 292k Following Pecos (AO-6) launching much work remained to be done as this 13 July 1921 photo depicts the many workers swarming over the ship while berthed at the Boston Navy Yard's Pier 7 West. Note Whitney (AD-4) begins to rise on the Shipways in the background.
    US Navy photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-13928 (photo # 13928-16).    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA 02129
    Pecos 99k USS Pecos (AO-6) moored pierside, circa 1921, location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "Popular Mechanics" magazine via Google    		 Robert Hurst
    Pecos 185k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-21482, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 David Merrill
    USS Canisteo web site
    Pecos 231k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor in Chefoo Harbor, China, 14 September 1928.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 65021 Original negative donated by Mr. Franklin Moran in 1967.    		 USNH&HC
    Pecos 60k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    Imperial War Museum photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Pecos 84k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Jim Kurrasch
    Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
    Pecos 79k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor, date and location unknown. Don Kehn, Jr.
    Pecos 139k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor, in the 1920s or 1930s. Note some of the ship’s boats stowed forward of the bridge.
    US Navy photo courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Pecos
    091900622    		 06k USS Pecos (AO-6) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    U.S. Navy photo    		 Darryl Baker
    USS Pecos (AO-6)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Glassford Jr., William Alexander, USN (USNA 1906) :VADM1 May 1922 - 26 December 1922
    02CDR. Vernou, Walter Newhall, USN (USNA 1901) :RADM26 December 1922 - 15 September 1923
    03CDR. Dawes, Robert Alden, USN (USNA 1904)15 September 1923 - 25 March 1924
    04CDR. Sahm, Leo, USN (USNA 1903)25 March 1924 - 20 June 1925
    05CDR. Clarke, Wilford Everett, USN (USNA 1906)20 June 1925 - 25 June 1926
    06CDR. Needham, Ralph, Cutler, USN (USNA 1909)25 25 June 1926 - 21 June 1927
    07CDR. Reordan, Charles Edwin, USN (USNA 1909) 21 June 1927 - 29 June 1929
    08CDR. James, Charles Milford, USN (USNA 1908)29 June 1929 - 6 December 1929
    09CDR. Stevens, James Garfield, USN (USNA 1908) 6 December 1929 - 24 June 1932
    10CDR. Northcroft, Percy Wilfred, USN (USNA 1909)24 June 1932 - 21 December 1934
    11CDR. LeBounty, Selah Montrose, USN (USNA 1908)21 December 1934 - 24 February 1938
    12LCDR. Bannerman, Graeme, USN (USNA 1918)24 February 1938 - 23 September 1938
    13CDR. Fielding, Charles Frederick, USN (USNA 1921-b)23 September 1938 - 19 June 1940
    14LCDR. Abernethy, Elmer, Paul, USN (USNA 1921-b)19 June 1940 - 1 March 1942
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Fleet Tankers Association
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Newspaper Account of the Sinking of Aircraft Tender AV-3 Langley Fleet Oiler AO-6 Pecos and Destroyer DD-226 Peary
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 30 June 2023