USS Monongahela (AO-178)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Monongahela.
Monongahela in Italy, 1986
Career (USA)
Name: USS Monongahela (AO-178)
Namesake: Monongahela River
Builder: Avondale Shipyards
Laid down: 15 August 1978
Launched: 4 August 1979
Commissioned: 5 September 1981
Decommissioned: 30 September 1999
Struck: 30 September 1999
Status: James River Reserve Fleet
General characteristics
Class and type:Cimarron class fleet oiler
Displacement:36,977 tons full load
Length:708 ft (216 m)
Beam:88 ft (27 m)
Draft:32 ft (9.8 m)
Propulsion:two boilers, one steam turbine, single shaft, 24,000shp
Speed:20 kn (37 km/h)
Capacity:150,000 barrels of fuel oil or aviation fuel and several tons of additional goods
Complement:12 officers, 148 enlisted
Armament:2 × 25 MM Cannons 2 × 20 MM Phalanx Cannons CIWIS
Aircraft carried:None, but fitted with stern helicopter landing platform

USS Monongahela (AO-178) was laid down on 15 August 1978, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, LA and launched, 4 August 1979. She was commissioned on 5 September 1981. Monongahela was the second ship of the Cimarron class oilers and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name. During her service life the ship has traveled to many parts of the world, including: The Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, the North Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean Sea. In December 1991, she completed an eleven-month "Jumboization" in the Avondale Shipyard, New Orleans, Louisiana, and returned to the Fleet as a greatly improved Fleet Oiler capable of delivering not only fuel, but also ammunition and supplies. The Monongahela was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list on 30 September 1999, and is now berthed at the James River Reserve Fleet, Fort Eustis, VA, awaiting final disposal. Her classification was changed on 24 May 2005 as a possible candidate for Foreign Military Sales to Chile. She has been sold to Southern Recycling and will be leaving Virginia on May 13, 2015, for dismantling.

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