Navy Oilers derived their names from Cities and the Streams shown in yellow.
OILERS ARE DETAILED BELOW - BORDER STATES ARE LINKED
View ship details through link on ship number
AO = Fleet Oiler Ship. AOE = Fast Support Ship. AOT = Oil Transporter.
| Ship
Name Crew Link |
Ship
Number NavSource Link |
Construction Data |
River
Name Data |
| USS Cache | AO-67 | Launched, 7 September 1942 ................................................. |
The Cache River is a tributary of the White River, 213 mi long, in northeastern Arkansas. Its headwaters also drain a small portion of southeastern Missouri. Via the White River, the Cache is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The name of the river is probably a Picardie word meaning "hunt" as a reference to the abundant wildlife along the river. The first explorer into the area was Father Marquette, for whom Picard was the native tongue. |
| USNS Memphis There were 7 of them |
TAO-162 | Acquired, 28 November 1956 |
Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River. The Memphis area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe. European exploration came years later, with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and French explorers led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. The name of the city of Memphis, Egypt is derived from the Ancient Egyptian name called Min-Nefer, which the Greeks later called Memphis. |
| USS Cossatot | AO-77 | Launched, 28 February 1943 |
The Cossatot begins in the Ouachita Mountains southeast of Mena, Arkansas. The river flows through the Ouachita National Forest and then in a generally southerly direction until it empties into Gillham Lake. After exiting Gillham Lake the river becomes leisurely until it joins with the Little River at the sight where it empties into Millwood Lake. Cossatot is an Indian word for "skull crusher". |
| USS Sabine First Sabine |
AO-25 Sailing Frigate |
Launched, 27 April 1940 built in 1855 |
The Sabine River is 555 miles long, in the states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international boundary during the early 19th century. The name Sabine comes from the Spanish word for cypress, in reference to the extensive growth of such trees along the lower river. The river flows through an important petroleum-producing region, and the lower river near the Gulf is among the most industrialized areas of the southeastern United States. The lower river south of Orange, Texas to Sabine Lake forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway, carrying barge traffic. |
| USS Ponchatoula | AO-148 | Launched, 9 July 1955 |
The Ponchatoula river rises in Tangipahao Parish, LA., and flowes into the Natalbany river. Ponchatoula is a puzzling name signifying "falling hair'' "hanging hair", or "flowing hair" from the Choctaw Pashi "hair" and itula or itola "to fall, "to hang" or "flowing". The Indian name Ponchatoula means "flowing hair", arrived at by the Indians as a way of expressing the beauty of the location with much moss hanging from the trees. "Ponche" is an Indian word meaning location, an object, or a person. |
| USS Cahaba | AO-82 | Launched, 19 May 1943 |
The Cahaba River is 191 miles long, the longest free-flowing river in Alabama and is among the most scenic and biologically diverse rivers in the United States. The town of Cahawba was founded at the mouth of the Cahaba River in 1819 as the first provisional capital of Alabama and was a center of riverboat commerce on the Alabama River until sometime after the Civil War. |
| USS Sepulga | AO-20 | Launched, 21 April 1920 | Sepulga River is a river in the south-central region of the state of Alabama, United States. It terminates at its confluence with the Conecuh River near the northwest border of the Conecuh National Forest. |
| USS Conecuh | AO-103 AOR-110 |
Canceled, 18 August 1945 A German ship Acquired, 15 January 1946 |
The Conecuh River is a 231 mile long river in Alabama. The river rises near Union Springs in the state and flows in a general southwesterly direction into Florida near Century. The river's name changes from Conecuh to Escambia River upon entering Florida. After this point, it flows south to Escambia Bay in Escambia County which is an arm of Pensacola Bay. |
| USS Sequoia NOT an Oiler |
AG-23 | Commissioned, 25 March 1933 |
USS Sequoi (VIDEO) is a former United States presidential yacht currently in private ownership but as of November 2004 sought for repurchase by the U.S. government. The yacht is named for the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah. who was born in Tuskegee, Tennessee near Fort Loudoun. Tuskegee was put under water by the construction of Telico Lake. A former crew member of the USS Kawishiwi AO-146 was assigned aboard this yacht during the term of President. John F. Kennedy to maintain her. |