USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193)
![]() USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193) in 2019
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History | |
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Name | USNS Walter S. Diehl |
Namesake | Walter Stuart Diehl (1893–1976), a U.S. Navy officer and American pioneer of aerodynamics and aircraft design |
Ordered | 28 June 1985 |
Builder | Avondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana |
Laid down | 7 August 1986 |
Launched | 2 October 1987 |
Christened | 10 October 1987 |
In service | 13 September 1988-present |
Identification |
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Status | In active Military Sealift Command service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler |
Type | Fleet replenishment oiler |
Tonnage | 31,200 deadweight tons |
Displacement |
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Length | 677 ft (206 m) |
Beam | 97 ft 5 in (29.69 m) |
Draft | 35 ft (11 m) maximum |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | Two medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 diesel engines, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers |
Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
Capacity |
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Complement | 103 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy officer, 64 merchant seamen, 20 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel) |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | None |
Aviation facilities | Helicopter landing platform |
Notes |
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USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was named after Captain Walter Stuart Diehl, USN, a career naval officer and aeronautical engineer.
Design[]
The Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oilers were preceded by the shorter Cimarron class. Walter S. Diehl has an overall length of 206.5 metres (677 ft 6 in). It has a beam of 29.7 metres (97 ft) and a draft of 11 metres (36 ft). The oiler has a displacement of 41,353 tonnes (40,700 long tons; 45,584 short tons) at full load. It has a capacity of 180,000 imperial barrels (29,000,000 l; 6,500,000 imp gal; 7,800,000 US gal) of aviation fuel or fuel oil. It can carry a dry load of 690 square metres (7,400 sq ft) and can refrigerate 128 pallets of food. The ship is powered by two 10 PC4.2 V 570 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines that drive two shafts; this gives a power of 25.6 megawatts (34,800 PS; 34,300 shp).[1]
The Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers have maximum speeds of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). They were built without armaments but can be fitted with close-in weapon systems. The ship has a helicopter platform but not any maintenance facilities. It is fitted with five fuelling stations; these can fill two ships at the same time and the ship is capable of pumping 900,000 US gallons (3,400,000 l; 750,000 imp gal) of diesel or 540,000 US gallons (2,000,000 l; 450,000 imp gal) of jet fuel per hour. It has a complement of eighty-nine civilians (nineteen officers), twenty-nine spare crew, and six United States Navy crew.[1]
Construction and delivery[]
Walter S. Diehl, the seventh ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 7 August 1986 and launched on 2 October 1987. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the Military Sealift Command with a primarily civilian crew on 13 September 1988.
Service history[]
![]() | This section needs expansion with: History for 1988–2002 and 2002-present. You can help by . (January 2010) |
Walter S. Diehl serves in the United States Pacific Fleet, seeing service in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf regions.
On 23 April 2002, Walter S. Diehl was passing through the Strait of Hormuz when six small motorboats sped alongside in an aggressive and threatening manner. Walter S. Diehl fired flares to warn the boats off, but they did not move away. She then opened fire with a .50-caliber (12.7-mm) machine gun and the boats sped off.
References[]
- This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 8511495. |
- NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive: USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193)
- USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193)
- 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. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers
- Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
- Ships built in Bridge City, Louisiana
- 1987 ships
- United States Navy Tennessee-related ships