USS Niobrara (AO-72)
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| History | |
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| Name: | USS Niobrara |
| Namesake: | Niobrara River |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard |
| Laid down: | 29 June 1942 |
| Launched: | 28 November 1942 |
| Acquired: | 13 March 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 13 March 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 24 September 1946 |
| Recommissioned: | 5 February 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 November 1954 |
| Recommissioned: | 14 December 1956 |
| Decommissioned: | 12 November 1957 |
| Struck: | 1 February 1959 |
| Honors and awards: |
4 battle stars (World War II) |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 22 March 1982 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Chiwawa class oiler |
| Type: | MARAD T3-S-A1 |
| Tonnage: | 16,543 DWT |
| Displacement: | 21,077 tons |
| Length: | 501 ft 7.75 in (152.9017 m) |
| Beam: | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 10.5 in (9.106 m) |
| Depth: | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Installed power: | 7,000 shp (5,200 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 15.3 knots (28.3 km/h) |
| Range: | 14,500 nmi (26,900 km; 16,700 mi) |
| Capacity: | 133,800 bbl (~18,250 t) |
| Complement: | 247 |
| Armament: |
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USS Niobrara (AO-72) was a T3 Kennebec-class oiler constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was the only U.S. Navy ship named for the Niobrara River in Nebraska.
The ship was laid down on 29 June 1942 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Maryland, as a type T3-S-A1 tanker named SS Citadel, under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 520). Launched on 28 November 1942, sponsored by Mrs. Mark O'Dea, she was acquired by the Navy and commissioned as USS Niobrara on 13 March 1943, Comdr. Theodore G. Haff in command.
Shakedown and fueling-at-sea training completed, Niobrara sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on 17 April 1943 to carry oil to Argentia, Newfoundland, then ferried oil from ports in Texas and Aruba, Netherlands West Indies, to Mediterranean ports to support operations in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily. In March 1944 she was altered at Norfolk for Pacific service, and sailed for the Panama Canal, Pearl Harbor, and Kwajalein where she fueled transports bound for the Marianas invasions begun in June 1944.
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