USS Monongahela (AO-178)

Monongahela in Italy, 1986
History
United States
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
Stricken	30 September 1999
Identification	IMO number: 7638545
Fate	Scrapped 31 March 2016
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
Sensors and processing systems	A/N SPS-55 Surface Search Radar
Armament	4 x M2HB heavy machine guns
Aircraft carried	None, but fitted with stern helicopter landing platform

USS Monongahela (AO-178) was a Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oiler commissioned in the United States Navy from 1981 to 1999.

Monongahela was laid down on 15 August 1978, at Avondale Shipyards, New Orleans, Louisiana and launched, 4 August 1979. Ships of this class were built with a mast that folded at the AN/SPS-55 pedestal platform to allow the passage under the Huey P. Long Bridge. 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, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

In December 1991, she completed an eleven-month "jumboization" at Avondale Shipyards 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 berthed at the James River Reserve Fleet, Fort Eustis, Virginia, awaiting final disposal. Her classification was changed on 24 May 2005 as a possible candidate for Foreign Military Sales to Chile. She was sold to Southern Recycling and scrapped in Amelia, Louisiana on 31 March 2016.

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

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