USS Willamette (AO-180)

The USS "Willamette" (AO-180) was the United States Navy's fourth ship in the "Cimarron"-class fleet replenishment oiler and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Originally, there was another ship named "Willamette" but the contract for the construction of that "Willamette", a projected screw sloop-of-war of the "Contoocook" class, was canceled in 1866 before its keel was laid. [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w8/willamette.htm] The contract for the "Willamette" was awarded on April 11, 1978 to Avondale Shipyards Inc in New Orleans. The ship’s mission was to transport and deliver bulk petroleum products, and limited fleet freight, mail, and personnel to combatant and support ships underway. "Willamette" was the First Ship of the class to be protected by two MK 15 Phalanx Weapon Systems. Extensive damage control equipment and systems ensure rapid response to control any type of emergency. [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ao-177.htm]

The ship is named after the Willamette River in Oregon. The name Willamette is of Indian origin, though there is no definitive source. The name is thought to mean long and beautiful river or rain waters along the river.

The ship's Shield explains the capability of AO-180 to supply both types of fuel, for surface ships and for aircraft and is symbolized by the dolphin and eagle’s wing. The arched, wavy bend is a reference to the historic Willamette River in Oregon for which the ship is named.

The ship's Crest represents the flaming torch behind our national bird symbol, the Bald Eagle, is a representation of the words of the ship’s motto: “Fuel for Freedom”.

On July 18, 1981, The ship is launched in a unique sideways fashion into the Mississippi River at Avondale Shipyards, Louisiana. Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., USN, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces, Europe, is the principal speaker at the ceremony and his wife, Shirley Grennell Crowe, is the ship's sponsor.

The USS "Willamette" (AO-180) was commissioned in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The "Willamette" is the first U.S. Navy ship to be commissioned in Pearl Harbor since 1917. The "Willamette" replaces the USS "Ashtabula" (AO-51).

Jumboization

Willamette becomes the second ship of the Cimarron class to complete "jumboization" on September 27, 1991.A 108-foot midbody section was added to the center of the ship. This midbody increased fuel capacity by 30,000 barrels and added an ordnance cargo capability of 625 tons. The midbody also features an additional emergency diesel generator and two "Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method" (STREAM) cargo stations. New length of the ship is 699 feet 6 inches.

*Beam: 88 feet (26.8 meters)
*Draft: 32 feet (9.7 meters)
*Displacement: approx. 37,000 tons
*Max Speed: 19 knots
*Capacity: 150,000 barrels of fuel, several tons of additional goods, and 625 tons of ordinance
*Crew: 15 officers and 215 enlisted

Incidents

tuck in the Mississippi Mud

October 24, 1982: The ship is scheduled to transit from Avondale Shipyards, Louisiana to San Francisco via the Panama Canal. The departure takes longer than expected as the initial fuel load at Avondale has caused the ship to sink into the bottom of the river. Several tugboats are required to pull the ship out of the mud and into the river channel.

Grounding

November 24, 1982: Port visit to Portland, Oregon and transit of the ship's namesake, the Willamette River.

While mooring, the ship hits an underwater cement pier containing a main telephone trunk. The phone cable is cut, the cement pier destroyed, and the western half of the city of Portland loses phone service for several days. In addition, the bottom of the ship sustains minor damage, visible from inside of both pump rooms.

The "Willamette"'s departure is also eventful. Upon exiting the Columbia River, the handrails on the forward deck are destroyed by rough seas at the Columbia River Bar. The handrails are later replaced with steel plating.

Kiss Your Sister

1983: While departing Pearl Harbor for refueling exercises, The "Willamette" runs into her sister ship, the USS|Cimarron|AO-177 in Pearl Harbor.

While being turned in the channel by a tug, the tug's line breaks and the "Willamette" begins to drift towards a Los Angeles class submarine. The captain orders emergency back full and the ship comes to a stop a few feet from the submarine. It seems as though all is well, but the captain does not give the STOP order and the ship begins to pick up speed in reverse. Seconds later, the Engineering Officer of the Watch contacts the bridge and informs them that the ship is still backing full. The captain orders emergency ahead full, but the ship backs into the USS "Cimarron" tied up at Bravo piers. The "Willamette" gets a few dents and loses her wake light, her respect, and is re-christened "Will-Ram-It" by the crew. The "Cimarron" loses a coat of paint and her boat davit. The "Willamette" continues out to sea for refueling duty.

Collision At Sea

February 10, 1986: 75 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii:

USS "Willamette" collides with the USS|Jason|AR-8 during a formation steaming exercise, killing one and injuring eight. The collision smashes "Willamette"'s bow from the rail to below the waterline. A large vertical rupture from the deck to waterline on the port side of the Jason forces that ship to be towed back to port. One Jason crew member is killed (Chief Petty Officer Susano R. Valdez.) A few "Willamette" sailors suffer from smoke inhalation and one sailor breaks his ankle while fighting the fire, but there are no serious injuries aboard "Willamette".

The resultant fires in "Willamette"’s boatswain’s locker take several hours to extinguish. The smoke is so thick that the crew cannot enter the space via the hatch. Holes are cut in the deck above so that nozzles may be inserted to extinguish the blaze.

Both ships are emptied of fuel and then moved to drydock for repairs that will take several months. The "Willamette" receives a new bow section and while in drydock and hull damage sustained during the grounding in the Willamette river is also repaired.

As a result of the collision both captains are relieved of command.

Boiler Explosion

June 29, 1995 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii: Seven crewmen are slightly injured from smoke inhalation during a boiler explosion and the resulting self-extinguished fire-ball in the boiler room while being moored at Bravo Pier. The ship's crew, led by CHENG LT Brian Tansey, quickly responds to the explosion with help from base firefighters, the Honolulu Fire Department, and members from a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship moored nearby. The ship had just returned to Pearl Harbor from a five-day training mission and port visit to Hilo, Hawaii.

Decommissioning

On April 30, 1999 the ship is decommissioned in Pearl Harbor. Only one plankowner in attendance. "Willamette" was the last U.S. Navy manned auxiliary oiler assigned to U.S. Pacific Fleet and was the last steam-propelled warship home ported in Pearl Harbor. Captain Howard L. Stone III, USN commanding (Executive officer: CDR Nap S. Ferraris).

Her distinguished, 17-year career took her around the world where she performed underway replenishment (UNREP) and operations under all four (Second, Third, Sixth and Seventh) fleet commanders. During her time in service, she performed more than 1,300 underway replenishments, transferred more than 300 million gallons of fuel and has operated with the navies of Australia, Canada, France, England, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand and Venezuela. Awarded the Navy "E" Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

Timeline

*April 11, 1978 - Contract awarded.
*July 1981 - Pre-commissioning units established in Pearl Harbor, Avondale, and Charleston.
*July 18, 1981 - Christening - Avondale, Louisiana.
*August 27, 1982 - Ship's delivery to U.S. Navy. Commissioning crew moves on board.
*October 24, 1982 - Transit to San Francisco via Panama Canal.
*November 1982 - USS|Trippe|FF-1075 is the first ship to come alongside for a dry hookup.
*November 24-30, 1982 - Port visit to Portland, Oregon and transit of the ship's namesake, the Willamette River.
*December 18, 1982 - USS "Willamette" (AO 180) commissioned in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
*May 19, 1983 - First dual underway replenishment with USS|Rathburne|FF-1057 and USS|Cochrane|DDG-21 alongside simultaneously.
*August 27, 1983 - First aircraft carrier underway replenishment with USS|Ranger|CV-61.
*April 1984 - The "Willamette" softball team plays 95 consecutive hours of softball to break the previous world record of 94 hours and gets into the Guinness Book of World Records.
*January 15, 1985 - Deployed on first WESTPAC (western pacific) cruise. Visited Guam, Subic Bay, Hong Kong, Pusan, Korea, Sasebo, Kagoshima, Yokosuka, and Shimoda, Japan.
*January 12, 1987 - Underway for global circumnavigation and operations under all four numbered fleet commanders.
*April 6, 1987 - First Crossing-the-Line ceremony.
*April 17, 1989 - First women embarked.
*June 4, 1998 - Final port visit to Portland and transit of namesake river.
*January 12, 1999 - The replacement ship for the USS "Willamette" arrives in Pearl Harbor, Fleet oiler USS|John Ericsson|AO-194.
*February 12, 1999 - Conducted final underway replenishment with USS|Chosin|CG-65 and USS|Lake Erie|CG-70.
*April 30, 1999 - Ship decommissioned in Pearl Harbor.
*June 10, 1999 - Ship is towed out of Pearl Harbor en route to the mothball fleet at Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
*September 1999 - The ship is formally removed from the Naval Vessel Register.
*July 28, 2001 - Ship is disposed of by Navy title transfer to the Maritime Administration to be part of the Naval Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF).

References

NVR [http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/AO180.htm]

External links

* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/19180.htm navsource.org: AO-180 "Willamette"]