USS Neosho (AO-23)
USS Neosho (AO-23)
The Cimarron-class fleet oiler, USS Neosho (AO-23), was commissioned on August 7, 1939, at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey. After conversion at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington, in July 1941, she began ferrying aviation fuel from west-coast ports to Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, and was on such a mission when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7. Surviving the attack, Neosho performed her duties in the South Pacific and was assigned to Task Force 17. On May 7, 1942, during the Battle of the Coral Sea, she came under attack by Japanese carrier aircraft and her escort USS Sims (DD-409) was sunk. Despite attempts to keep her float, Neosho was beyond saving and was sunk by USS Henley (DD-391) on May 11.
Image: Lot-4691-14: USS Neosho (AO-23), port view while at New York City Harbor, New York. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
