USS Milwaukee (AOR-2)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Milwaukee.

USS Milwaukee USS Milwaukee in March 1982
Career (USA)
Name:	USS Milwaukee
Namesake:	The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Builder:	General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down:	29 November 1966
Launched:	1 January 1969
Commissioned:	1 November 1969
Decommissioned:	27 January 1994
Struck:	8 April 1997
Fate:	Transferred to Maritime Administration, 24 February 2001
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
Length:	659 ft (201 m)
Beam:	96 ft (29 m)
Draft:	37 ft (11 m)
Propulsion:	3 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 32,000 shp (23,862 kW)
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	34 Officers, 463 Enlisted
Armament:	• 2 × Phalanx CIWS • 1 × Sea Sparrow missile system (NSSMS)
Aircraft carried:	2 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters
Aviation facilities:	Helo Deck and berthing for 8 Airdet Personnel

USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1969 She continued to support Navy requirements until 1994 when she was placed in the reserve fleet and later struck.

History

Milwaukee was laid down on 29 November 1966 and launched on 1 January 1969 at the shipyard of the General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts. On 1 November 1969 she was commissioned USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) and placed into service for the fleet.

File:USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) Craney Island 1990.jpeg

USS Milwaukee taking on fuel at Craney Island, Virginia (USA), on 25 September 1990.

Operational service

During the Vietnam War USS Milwaukee participated in operation Vietnam Ceasefire from 12 November 1972 through 20 February 1973. The USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) earned one campaign star for Vietnam War service. [1]

In September 1976, returning from a routine deployment, the USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) along with the USS Sylvania (AFS-2) had the honor of transporting the world famous King Tutankhamun Exhibition to America for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

On 1 March 1980 the Malaysian oil tanker Santo Prestige lost power and collided with the USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) which was moored in Norfolk, Virginia. The collision results in a 40- by 15-foot gash in the hull of the Milwaukee.[2]

In 1985 the USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) participated in the anti-submarine exercise Arctic SHAREM.[3]

Decommissioning

On 27 January 1994 the USS Milwaukee (AOR-2) was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 April 1997. On 15 January 2009, the Milwaukee was sold for $56,410 for scrapping to Bay Bridge Enterprises, Chesapeake, VA.[4]

References

This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

• Wildenberg, Thomas (1996). Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/GSBO/index.html. Retrieved 2009-04-28.