USS Roanoke (AOR-7)

Last updated
USS Roanoke (AOR-7)
USS ROANOKE (AOR-7) underway off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.JPEG
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Roanoke
Namesake Roanoke River and Roanoke, Virginia
Builder National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego
Laid down19 January 1974
Launched7 December 1974
Commissioned30 October 1976
Decommissioned6 October 1995
Stricken6 October 1995
Identification IMO number:  8644163
MottoDedicated to Service
FateSold for scrapping, 1 October 2012 for $1,926,726
General characteristics
Class and type Wichita-class replenishment oiler
Displacement
  • 14,048 long tons (14,273 t) light
  • 39,790 long tons (40,429 t) full
Length659 ft (201 m)
Beam96 ft (29 m)
Draft37 ft (11 m)
Propulsion3 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 32,000 shp (23,862 kW)
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement34 officers, 463 enlisted
Armament
Aircraft carried2 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters

USS Roanoke (AOR-7) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was named after the city of Roanoke, Virginia and the Roanoke River, in keeping with the naming convention of her class.

Contents

Built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, of San Diego, California, she was launched on 7 December 1974, and commissioned on 30 October 1976.

Roanoke sailed for her first deployment to the western Pacific in January 1978, where she supported various USN units, including the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Long Beach (CGN-9) and USS Truxtun (CGN-35) during the Australian leg of their deployment, docking in Fremantle, Western Australia from 7–10 August 1978. After 10 months away USS Roanoke finally returned to her homeport of San Francisco, California, in October. This set the pattern for the next twelve years, as she was deployed on a voyage to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean, each lasting six to eight months, every year. [1]

Between January 1991 and August 1993 she sailed on two deployments to the Persian Gulf supporting Operation Desert Storm. She made one last deployment to the western Pacific in June to December 1994, before being decommissioned. [1]

Roanoke was decommissioned on 6 October 1995, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day.

Title to the ship was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration on 18 December 1998, and she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, at Suisun Bay, California.

Awards

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Long Beach</i> (CGN-9) Long Beach-class missile cruiser

USS Long Beach (CLGN-160/CGN-160/CGN-9) was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy and the world's first nuclear-powered surface combatant. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Long Beach, California.

USS <i>Cleveland</i> (LPD-7) Former US Navy amphibious transport dock

USS Cleveland (LPD-7), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city in Ohio. Her keel was laid down at Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 7 May 1966, and was commissioned on 21 April 1967 at Norfolk, Virginia. At the time of decommissioning, she was the third-oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy, behind USS Constitution and USS Enterprise.

USS <i>Henry B. Wilson</i> Charles F. Adams-class destroyer

USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7), named for Admiral Henry Braid Wilson, was a Charles F. Adams-class guided missile armed destroyer laid down by Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan on 28 February 1958, launched on 22 April 1959 sponsored by Mrs. Patrick J. Hurley, daughter of Admiral Wilson, and commissioned on 17 December 1960.

USS <i>Bainbridge</i> (CGN-25)

USS Bainbridge (DLGN-25/CGN-25) was a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy, the only ship of her class. Named in honor of Commodore William Bainbridge, she was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name. With her original hull classification symbol of DLGN, she was the first nuclear-powered destroyer-type ship in the US Navy, and shared her name with the lead ship of the first US Navy destroyer class, the Bainbridge-class destroyers.

USS <i>Paul F. Foster</i> Spruance-class destroyer

USS Paul F. Foster (DD-964), named for Vice Admiral Paul F. Foster USN (1889–1972), is a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was commissioned on 21 February 1976 and decommissioned on 27 March 2003. She is now ex-Paul F. Foster, serving as a Self Defense Test Ship for experimental U.S. Navy weapons and sensors.

USS <i>Hewitt</i> Spruance-class destroyer

USS Hewitt (DD-966), named for Admiral H. Kent Hewitt USN (1887–1972), was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi and launched on 14 September 1974 by Mrs. Leroy Hewitt Taylor and Mrs. Gerald Hewitt Norton, daughters of Admiral Hewitt.

USS <i>Merrill</i> (DD-976) Spruance-class destroyer

USS Merrill (DD-976), named for Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill USN (1890–1961), was a Spruance-class destroyer that entered service with the United States Navy in 1978. Merrill served as the US Navy's test platform for the Tomahawk cruise missile. In the 1980s, the destroyer took part in Operation Earnest Will in the Persian Gulf during heightened tensions with Iran. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1998. The vessel was used as a target ship in 2003 and sunk off Hawaii in 2003.

USS <i>Leftwich</i> Spruance-class destroyer (1979–2003)

USS Leftwich (DD-984) was a Spruance-class destroyer built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was named for Lieutenant Colonel William G. Leftwich, Jr., USMC (1931–1970), commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion who was killed in action during Operation Imperial Lake in Quảng Nam Province South Vietnam on 18 November 1970 in a helicopter crash during the extraction of one of his reconnaissance teams. For this action, Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich received the Silver Star. Lieutenant Colonel Leftwich's medals and awards include: the Navy Cross, the Silver Star (posthumous), the Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and two gold stars, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with one gold star, the Purple Heart with two gold stars, and various personal awards from the Republic of Vietnam.

USS <i>Okinawa</i> (LPH-3) Iwo Jima–class amphibious assault ship

USS Okinawa (LPH–3) was the second Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship assigned the name "Okinawa", in honor of the World War II Battle of Okinawa.

USS <i>New Orleans</i> (LPH-11)

USS New Orleans (LPH-11) was an Iwo Jima-class amphibious assault ship in the United States Navy. She was the third Navy ship to be so named, and is the first named for the Battle of New Orleans, which was the last major battle of the War of 1812.

USS <i>California</i> (CGN-36) Lead ship of the California-class nuclear cruisers

USS California (CGN-36), the lead ship of the California-class of nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers, was the sixth warship of the United States Navy to be named for the State of California.

USS <i>Guadalupe</i> (AO-32) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Guadalupe (AO-32), a Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler that served in the United States Navy, it was named for the Guadalupe River in Texas.

USS <i>Wichita</i> (AOR-1) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Wichita (AOR-1) was the lead ship of the Wichita-class replenishment oilers. She was the second ship to be named for the city of Wichita, Kansas.

USS <i>Shasta</i> (AE-33) Ammunition ship of the United States Navy

USS Shasta (AE-33) was a Kilauea-class replenishment ammunition ship of the United States Navy. She was named after Mount Shasta, a volcano in the Cascade Range in northern California. Shasta's mission was to support forward deployed aircraft carrier battle groups, which she accomplished through underway replenishment and vertical replenishment. Over three decades, Shasta and her crew took part in the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Iran–Iraq War, Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm, and numerous other actions.

USS <i>Kalamazoo</i> (AOR-6) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler commissioned by the United States Navy in 1973. She continued to support Navy requirements until 1996 when she was placed in the reserve fleet and later struck.

USS <i>Wabash</i> (AOR-5) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Wabash (AOR-5) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler in the United States Navy from 1970 to 1994.

USS <i>Ashtabula</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Ashtabula (AO-51) was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler of the United States Navy in service from 1943 to 1991. She survived three wars and was awarded eight battle stars for World War II service, four battle stars for Korean War service, and eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service. In the mid-1960s Ashtabula became the lead ship of her class, when she and seven other Cimarron-class oilers were lengthened ("jumboized"). She has been the only U.S. Navy ship to bear the name Ashtabula, after the City of Ashtabula which was named after the Ashtabula River in northeast Ohio.

USS <i>Bellatrix</i> (AF-62) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Bellatrix (AF-62) was an Alstede-class stores ship in service with the United States Navy from 1961 to 1968, following commercial service from 1945 to 1961. She was scrapped in 1969.

USS <i>Mount Vernon</i> (LSD-39)

USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39) was an Anchorage-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship of the U.S. Navy to bear the name. She was built in Massachusetts in 1972 and homeported in Southern California for 31 years until being decommissioned on 25 July 2003. Mount Vernon acted as the control ship for the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In 2005, she was intentionally destroyed off the coast of Hawaii as part of a training exercise.

USS <i>Kansas City</i> (AOR-3) Oiler of the United States Navy

USS Kansas City (AOR-3) was the third of the Wichita-class replenishment oilers. She was the second ship to be named for the city of Kansas City, Missouri.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 "USS ROANOKE (AOR-7) Deployments & History". hullnumber.com. 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
Bibliography