Kawishiwi (AO 146) - Naval Cruise Book

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REPLENISHMENT

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As we backed down and took one lasi look af Pearl Harbor We eagerly thought ahead to our mission and purpose.... to the prime reason for our deployment to the Far East as a member of the powerful United States Seventh Fleet....

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THE KAWISHIWI STORY You are aboard the USS KAWISHIWI (AO-146), one of the mighty super-oilers servicing the United States Pacific Fleet, providing vital petroleum products to aircraft carrier and destroyer alike, and enabling Fleet units to remain at sea for weeks, or even months, at a time without having to return to port to refuel. KAWISHIWI is one of a group of six sister ships commonly known a Navy super-oilers, three of which serve in the Pacific as vital members of the logistical life-line that keeps the Fleet mobile and ready to meet any challenge. All Navy oilers are named for United States rivers that bear American Indian names; thus KAWISHIWI (pronounced Ka- Wee-She- Wee ) is derived from the river of that name which is located in the extreme northeast portion of the State of Minnesota. The word itself comes from the Ojibway Indians and in English means River full of Beavers ' Houses. Our ship is designed for high speed replenishment of the fuel needs of today ' s far flung naval forces. This highly specialized evolution of underway replenishment can be carried on during daylight hours or under cover of night, and is not necessarily limited to the transfer of fuel and petroleum products ; it can and does provide the capability of transferring cargo, mail, passengers, and provisions, in addition to the primary items : diesel fuel, black oil, aviation gasoline and jet fuel and it is not at all unusual to be pumping these last three products simultaneously by making use of the four completely independent fueling rigs on each side of the ship. KAWISHIWI ' s consistently outstanding performance record makes her a pace-setter of the modern Navy. Fast and sleek, with a can do spirit in the face of any situation, KAWISHIWI, as befits any beautiful lady, is proud of her vital statistics. She is 656 feet long, has a beam of 83 feet, displaces 38,000 tons at full load, and can steam at twenty knots and above. Her liquid cargo capacity is in excess of 7,000,000 gallons, enough fuel to keep a heavy cruiser continuously at sea for at least nine months.