1945-1990
A river in Florida.
(AO-98: displacement 7,295; length 553'; beam 75'; draft 32'4"; speed 18 knots; complement 304; armament one 5-inch, four 3-inch; class Cimarron)
Caloosahatchee (AO-98) was launched 2 June 1945 by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Md., under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. C. L. Andrews; acquired by the Navy 10 October 1945; commissioned the same day, Commander H. R. Livingston, USNR, in command; and reported to Commander, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet.
Caloosahatchee cruised off the east coast, transporting oil and fueling ships at sea, and made a voyage to Iceland from Norfolk during her first two years of operations. On 14 August 1947, she sailed for her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, a deployment that marked almost every year of her operations from that time into 1960. In this era when the U.S. Navy had perfected at-sea replenishment to greatly in crease mobility, flexibility and efficiency, Caloosahatchee played a key role in increasing the enormous power for peace represented by the mighty 6th Fleet. Among other widespread operations, Caloosahatchee participated in NATO Operation "Mariner" off Greenock, Scotland, from 16 September to 20 October 1953, and provided summer training for future naval officers in midshipman cruises to LeHavre, France, in 1954, and to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1956. In fall 1957 and again in summer 1958, the oiler sailed with forces calling at ports in England, Scotland, France, and Portugal.
Caloosahatchee's constant readiness for emergency deployments or other challenges to her operational capability was developed and maintained through training operations along the east coast, and participation in such large-scale Atlantic Fleet exercises as Operation "Springboard" held in the Caribbean, which operations continued through 1960.
Caloosahatchee was decommissioned on 28 February 1990 and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 July 1994. She remained moored with the James River Reserve Fleet until 18 October 2003 when she was taken under tow to be scrapped at the Able UK Facility in Teeside, England.
