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U.S.S. AUCILLA
(AO-56)ANYTIME ANYWHERE
Click to view crew list
USS AUCILLA (AO-56) - a Cimarron-class fleet oiler
In Commission 1944 to 1970AO-56 Deployments - Major Events
Add a AO-56 Shellback Initiation | Add a AO-56 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MAY | 1943 | - | Keel Date: 25 MAY 1943 | ||
NOV | 1943 | - | Launch Date: 20 NOV 1943 | ||
OCT | 1950 | - | FEB | 1951 | Korean war service |
JUN | 1953 | - | Shellback Initiation - 19 JUN 1953 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
OCT | 1955 | - | FEB | 1956 | Mediterranean |
APR | 1960 | - | APR | 1960 | Mediterranean |
APR | 1960 | - | APR | 1960 | Ran aground in Livorno (Leghorn) Italy 27 April 1960. |
JUN | 1965 | - | Shellback Initiation - 26 JUN 1965 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
JUN | 1965 | - | Shellback Initiation - 26 JUN 1965 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
JUN | 1965 | - | Shellback Initiation - 26 JUN 1965 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
JUN | 1965 | - | Shellback Initiation - 26 JUN 1965 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
MAY | 1966 | - | Shellback Initiation - 20 MAY 1966 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
MAY | 1966 | - | Shellback Initiation - 20 MAY 1966 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
MAY | 1966 | - | Shellback Initiation - 20 MAY 1966 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
OCT | 1966 | - | Shellback Initiation - 29 OCT 1966 - Pacific Ocean | ||
OCT | 1966 | - | Shellback Initiation - 29 OCT 1966 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
JUN | 1968 | - | Shellback Initiation - 15 JUN 1968 - Atlantic Ocean | ||
SEP | 1968 | - | MAY | 1969 | Mediterranean |
DEC | 1970 | - | Decommissioned: 18 DEC 1970 |
AO-56 General Specifications
Complement: 314 Officers and Enlisted
Displacement: 7236 tons
Length: 553 feet
Beam: 75 feet
Draft: 32 feet
Flank Speed: 18 kts
USS AUCILLA (AO-56)
Aucilla (AO-56) was laid down on 25 May
1943 at Sparrows Point, Md., by the Bethlehem Steel Co. under a Maritime Commission
contract (MC hull 722); launched on 20 November 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Hope
Ridings Miller; and commissioned on 22 December 1943, Comdr. Cornelius
M. Sullivan in command.
The
oiler remained at Sparrows Point until 28 December at which time she got
underway for Portsmouth, Va. She arrived at
the Norfolk Navy Yard on the 29th and began training the crew at battle
stations and loading ammunition. Aucilla continued her training both in
port and underway in the lower Chesapeake
Bay. On 2 February 1944, she departed Norfolk in company with Goldsborough (DD-188) on her way to the British West Indies. The oiler arrived at the Naval
Operating Base (NOB), Trinidad, on 7 February and began dispensing fuel
to warships operating in the vicinity. She remained there until 14 March at which time she put to sea, in convoy, for
Aruba. Aucilla arrived at her
destination on the 16th, took on a cargo of aviation gasoline, and departed Aruba on the 17th. After a
stop at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the
oiler arrived in Norfolk on 24 March.
For about a month, she operated out of Norfolk in the
lower Chesapeake Bay testing fueling at sea gear and techniques. On 26 April,
Aucilla departed Norfolk in company with Belknap (DD-251)
and, five days later, arrived in Baytown, Tex. After taking on a cargo of fuel,
the ship stood out of Baytown on 4 May and
arrived at Staten Island, N.Y., on the 8th. On 14 May, she was underway, in convoy, for the British Isles. The
oiler parted company with the convoy
on 25 May and entered port at Liverpool,
England, that same day. She discharged her cargo on the 27th and got underway for Ireland on the 28th.
She visited Belfast Lough from 29 May to 5 June and then headed back to the United States. Aucilla arrived at
Norfolk on 16 June.
Six days after her arrival, the oiler sailed from Norfolk
for New York. She arrived on 23 June and operated in that locale until the
end of the month. On 2 July, Aucilla put to sea bound for Europe once
again. She returned to Belfast on 12 July but stopped only briefly, returning
to sea that same day. The oiler visited Swansea, Wales, between the 13th and
the 16th before heading home via Belfast. She reentered Hampton Roads on
27 July. There, she stayed for almost a month. On 22 August, Aucilla put to
sea in company with J. Fred Talbott (DD-156) bound
for Baytown, Tex. She took on a cargo of fuel oil at Bay-town
before returning to sea. The ship arrived at Bermuda on 3 September and
unloaded her cargo. She then headed back to Hampton Roads, Va., where she
dropped anchor on the 8th. Operations in Chesapeake Bay followed.
However,
on 4 October,she put to sea bound for the Caribbean. Aucilla arrived at Aruba
on 9 October and loaded fuel oil until the
llth when she set sail for Panama. The oiler transited the Panama Canal on 13 October and, the following day,
departed Balboa for the Hawaiian Islands. She stopped over at Pearl Harbor from
26 to 29 October and then continued her voyage west. The ship anchored in Eniwetok Lagoon on 5 November.
She spent the next two days unloading
her cargo of fuel before continuing on
to Ulithi on the 7th. There, she reported for duty to the Commander, Service Squadron (ServRon) 10.
For the remainder of the war, Aucilla supported
3d/5th Fleet operations in the western Pacific by refueling its units
at sea. She provided fuel to the 3d Fleet during its air attacks
on Luzon in mid-December 1944 and again at the end of the first
week in January 1945. When the 3d Fleet entered the South China
Sea in midJanuary, Aucilla continued her fueling
rendezvous with its warships. Between 15 and 26 February, she steamed
in an area off I wo Jima providing logistics support for the 5th Fleet. She fueled
that same fleet from 16 March to 4 May during the invasion of Okinawa. The
oiler rounded out her wartime service supporting the 3d Fleet on its
final series of raids on the Japanese home islands between 11 July
and 15 August.
Following the cessation of hostilities, Aucilla continued
steaming with the 3d Fleet off Japan. After a brief stop at Ulithi, she set
sail for Japan on 27 September. The oiler entered Tokyo Bay on 2
October-one month to the day after Japan formally surrendered. The oiler
performed extensive occupation duty at various locations in the Far East
between the end of the war and the summer of 1947. That service also included some
logisticssupport
work for the ships of Joint Task Force 1, the task organization
engaged in the atomic bomb tests conducted at Bikini Atoll during the
summer of 1946. The western Pacific cruise in the summer and fall of 1948
ended with Aucilla steaming through the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal,
and the Mediterranean before she crossed the Atlantic to join the fleet
stationed on the eastern seaboard of the United States. For about four
years, the oiler
operated along the east coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Caribbean taking on oil at various oil ports
and carrying it to the fleet. She also conducted independent ship's exercises
and amphibious exercises both at
Vieques Island near Puerto Rico and at Onslow Beach in North Carolina.
In June of 1952, Aucilla embarked upon the first of
a long series of deployments to the Mediterranean Sea. Four months later,
she resumed operations along the eastern seaboard and in the West
Indies. The first part of 1953 saw the oiler engaged in another series of
training evolutions in the Puerto Rico-Vieques Island area. June and July of
1953 brought a midshipman cruise which took her to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and
Barbados in the British West Indies. In September, Aucilla deployed
to the Mediterranean Sea once more. She completed that assignment late in
January 1954 and returned to Norfolk on 3 February 1954. Following
post-deployment standdown and participation in the annual fleet exercise, Operation "Springboard," the oiler resumed fuel services for the 2d Fleet from her
base at Norfolk. May brought rough
weather fueling tests in the North Atlantic followed by a two-month overhaul at
a civilian shipyard in Baltimore, Md.
In August, Aucilla departed Baltimore and steamed
down Chesapeake Bay to rejoin the active units of the Atlantic Fleet. She
performed normal logistics services and training operations out of
Norfolk until November. Late that month, the oiler put to sea for Gonaives,
Haiti, to provide support for some unspecified tests conducted by the
Operational Development Force for the Bureau of Ordnance. In the
course of those operations, the oiler visited Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Port-au-Prince,
Haiti. When the ship returned to the United
States early in December, she entered
the Bethlehem Shipyard at Hoboken, N.J., for a three-month modification and repair period. Between
mid-April and early May of 1955, Aucilla
completed refresher training out of
Newport, R.I. She then returned to Norfolk where she began preparations for an extended tour of duty
with the 6th Fleet.
On 31 May 1955 the ship stood out of Norfolk en route to
her new home port, Barcelona in Spain. She reached her destination on 20
June. For the next 22 months, Aucilla served with Task Force (TF) 63 in
a logistics support role. She participated in a number of exercises and
visited ports all along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. On 2 April 1957, the oiler headed
back to the United States. She spent the
entire summer of 1957 engaged in repairs,
first a four-month regular overhaul at the New York Naval Shipyard and then boiler repairs at an
unspecified civilian yard in
Baltimore, Md. Between 16 September and 27 October, Aucilla completed refresher training-out of Guantanamo Bay-and post-refresher availability.
On 28 October 1957, she set sail from Norfolk on her way
back to the Mediterranean Sea. Once again, she spent her time ranging the
length and breadth of the Mediterranean supporting the operations
of TF 63. During the summer of 1958, Aucilla provided
logistics support for the ships, sailors, and marines involved in the landings in Lebanon
earned out in order to help restore order after severe factional fighting.
Following that interlude, the oiler resumed
normal 6th Fleet operations. On 30 May 1959, Aucilla headed back to
the United States for a regular overhaul at the Boston Naval Shipyard. The
overhaul lasted about six months. During that time, the oiler received a new
home port assignment, Norfolk. The
ship completed overhaul and set sail from
Boston on 18 November, bound for refresher training in the Guantanamo Bay operating area. She shaped a
course from the West Indies back to
Norfolk on 16 December and arrived at her
destination in time to spend the holidays there.
Underway again on 4 January 1960, Aucilla operated
in the vicinity of Norfolk until late in the month. On the 28th,
she put to sea bound for the Mediterranean Sea. That seven-month deployment followed the pattern
of previous ones, mixing port visits with
logistics missions in support of 6th Fleet combat units. The oiler returned to Norfolk on 31 August and,
after the usual leave and upkeep
period, resumed normal east coast-West Indies operations. That routine lasted
into 1961. In February and March of
1961, she participated in the annual fleet exercise Operation "Springboard. She returned to Norfolk
on 17 March and began preparations for another tour of duty with the 6th Fleet.
On 15 May 1961, she stood out of
Norfolk and shaped a course for the
Mediterranean Sea. Aucilla served a 14-week deployment that
followed patterns established earlier.
The oiler reentered Norfolk on 11 September 1961 and
began post-deployment standdown. Following the leave and upkeep period, she
started preparations for overhaul. On 20 November, she
entered the yard at the Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Aucilla
completed her overhaul on 20 February 1962 and then set sail on 1 March
for five weeks of refresher training in the West Indies. Upon completion of
refresher training, the oiler joined an underway replenishment group to support
the amphibious Exercise "Phiblex 1-62," also conducted in
the West Indies. Later, she returned to United States' waters to
participate in Fleet Exercise "Quick Kick." That summer, she
conducted a midshipman training cruise and took part in convoy
exercises off the eastern seaboard.
The oiler continued operations out of Norfolk through
the end of 1962 and into 1963. On 7 March 1963, Aucilla left
Chesapeake Bay on her way back to the Mediterranean. The deployment
lasted just
under four months. She was back in Norfolk by 1 July. Following post-deployment standdown, the oiler got underway on 6 August to participate in NATO Exercise
"Riptide. IV" conducted in the eastern Atlantic. As an adjunct to
that mission, she visited
Bremerhaven, Germany, and Rota, Spain, before returning to Norfolk on 11 September. For the remainder of1963, Aucilla
conducted local operations out of her home port.
Similar duty occupied her time during the first two
months of1964. On 3 March 1964, however,
the oiler entered the yard at the Norfolk
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. for a regular overhaul. She completed repairs and modifications late in
June and put to sea on the 29th for a
month of refresher training in the Guantanamo
Bay operating area. At the conclusion of refresher training, Aucilla voyaged north to New York
where her crew members visited the
World's Fair. The ship returned to Norfolk on 8 August and resumed local operations. That resumption lasted just one month. On 8 September, Aucilla got
underway from Norfolk once more to
participate in a series of NATO exercisesin the eastern Atlantic. She visited Bremerhaven, Germany, again at the end of the exercises early in
October. She returned to Norfolk on
23 October 1964.
Upon her return to her home port, she began preparations
for another
assignment with the 6th Fleet. Aucilla left Norfolk on 27 November and arrived in Rota, Spain, on 8
December. Another standard 6th Fleet
tour of duty ensued with Aucilla fueling units of the fleet, participating in exercises, and visiting Mediterranean ports. She concluded the deployment
with her arrival back in Norfolk on
11 May 1965. From late June to late July,
Aucilla cruised the waters of the West Indies in support of 2d
Fleet units keeping an eye on the latest crisis to trouble the Dominican Republic. She returned to Norfolk on 23
July and resumed local operations out of her home port. Those operations
included support roles in the Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 space shots during October, November, and December. Aucilla
reenteredNorfolk on 23 December to begin her holiday leave and
upkeep period.
Further upkeep and a tender availability period occupied
her time during January and February of 1966. Early in March, the oiler
put to sea for another cruise with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean
Sea. She arrived in Cartagena, Spam, on 15 March and, for the next five months, provided
logistics support for United States naval forces in the Mediterranean. Aucilla
departed Rota, Spain, on 12 August and
set a course for home. The oiler arrived in Norfolk on the 22d and remained
there in a leave and upkeep status until the middle of October. She put
to sea again on 18 October to serve as a
recovery ship for an Air Force Titan IIIC heat shield qualification test. She
returned to Norfolk from that
mission on 21 November and remained in port for the rest of the year.
On 6 February 1967, Aucilla stood out of Norfolk
once again on her way to the Mediterranean. She arrived in Rota, Spain, on the
17th and soon began making the rounds to ports in the "middle sea." The most notable
event of that deployment was the Six-Day
Arab-Israeli War to which units of the 6th Fleet-Aucilla included-responded with alacrity. She and her
colleagues moved quickly to the eastern Mediterranean early in June, out
the rapidity with which the Arab forces
collapsed allowed them to return to a more normal routine at mid-month.
Thus, the oiler resumed port visits,
exercise, and fueling operations. She completed turnover proceedings at Rota on 19 and 20 August and headed back to the United States on the latter day.
Aucilla arrived back in
Norfolk on 30 August. After post-deployment standdown, the oiler entered the yard
at the Norfolk Shipbuilding &
Drydock Co. for regular overhaul on 13 November.
Aucilla completed her overhaul by 5
April 1968. On that day, she stood out of Norfolk on her way to refresher
training in the West Indies. The oiler completed that mission in May and returned to Norfolk on the
19th. Soon thereafter, she embarked upon a two-month voyage that took her to
the Cape of Good Hope where she refueled
the Vietnam-bound aircraft carrier Intrepid
(CVS-11). In addition, Aucilla
made port calls at Rio de Janeiro
in Brazil, St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, Nassau in the Bahamas, and
at Philadelphia before returning to Norfolk
on 10 August.
At that time, the oiler began a tender availability as
well as a leave and upkeep period preparatory to overseas movement. Aucilla
stood out of Norfolk on 23 September; and, on 3 October she
relieved Kaskaskia (AO-27) at Rota. After almost five months
fueling the ships of the 6th Fleet and making port visits throughout
the Mediterranean Sea, Aucilla departed Rota late in March
1969. She arrived back in Norfolk on 5 April. After the usual post-deployment
standdown, the oiler began normal operations out of Norfolk. For the next 14 months, the
ship cruised the waters along the eastern
seaboard and the West Indies in support of the snips of the Atlantic Fleet. Aucilla
returned to Norfolk from her
last voyage early in July of 1970.
In the middle of September 1970, she began preparations
for inactivation. Aucilla was placed out of commission at Norfolk on 18
December 1970. On 7 October 1971, she was transferred to the Maritime
Administration for berthing with its James River, Va., facility. Her name was
struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1976. As of the
beginning of 1987, she remained berthed with the National Defense Reserve
Fleet at James River, Va.
Aucilla earned five battle stars for
her World War II service.
[Note: The above USS AUCILLA (AO-56) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS AUCILLA (AO-56), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]