USS Platte (AO-186)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Platte.

USS Platte (AO-186) was the fifth and last of the Cimarron-class ships built to carry cargo and bulk fuel to battle groups. She was homeported in Norfolk, Virginia and carried a crew of 180 -230 sailors as standard during her years of service.

USS Platte before the jumboization, 1984
History
United States
Name	USS Platte (AO-186)
Namesake	Platte River
Awarded	11 April 1978
Builder	Avondale Shipyards
Laid down	2 February 1981
Launched	30 January 1982
Acquired	27 January 1983
Commissioned	29 January 1983
Decommissioned	30 June 1999
Stricken	30 June 1999
Identification	IMO number: 7816575
Motto	Excellence Through Quality
Honors and awards	Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (3), National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, Coast Guard SOS Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Fate	Scrapped December 2014
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Cimarron Class Fleet Oiler
Displacement	36,814 tons full load after modification
Length	598 ft 6 in (182.42 m) as built, 708 ft 6 in (215.95 m) after modification
Beam	88 ft (27 m)
Draft	32 ft (9.8 m) max
Propulsion	two boilers, one steam turbine, single shaft, 24,000 shp
Speed	20 knots
Complement	135 (12 officers) plus 90 spare berths after modification
Armament	2 x 20mm Vulcan Phalanx Mk 15 (CIWS)
Aircraft carried	Helicopter platform only
Notes	These ships are sized to provide two complete refuelings of a fossil-fueled aircraft carrier and six to either accompanying destroyers. All five of the class were jumboized, increasing their capacities from 120,000 bbls to 180,000 bbls and improving underway replenishment capabilities. Platte was in New Orleans from February 1992-December 1992 for jumboization.

USS Platte launched at New Orleans on 30 January 1982.

Platte derived her name from the Platte River. Her contract was awarded 11 April 1978 and she was built at Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. Her keel was laid 2 February 1981, and launched 30 January 1982. Platte was commissioned on 16 April 1983.

Her most notable historical event was the collision with the USS Trippe approximately 500 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida on 19 April 1989. This event was reported in the media, however it was overshadowed by a major naval disaster that occurred the same day. That was the day the USS Iowa (BB-61) turret 2 exploded killing 47 sailors off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Between May 1989 – May 1994 she transited the Panama Canal four times (three times west to east and once east to west.)

She departed Norfolk, Virginia 28 December 1990 en route to Desert Shield support. Before she made the turn into the Straits of Hormuz, the shield became a storm and she fueled ships as the "Fifth and Finest Fleet Oiler" before becoming the "Preferred Oiler of the Persian Gulf.". She returned to Norfolk 28 June 1991 from Desert Storm.

USS Platte off Puerto Rico after her jumboization, 1994.

In February 1992 she departed Norfolk, Virginia and returned to Avondale Shipyard. Between February and December Platte was "jumboized", meaning that, after cutting the ship into two sections, a 35.7 m long section was added to increase the fuel load. The new "mid-body" section included an ammunition elevator, a second Fairbanks Morse emergency diesel generator, additional a/c capabilities as well as several cargo holds. She departed Avondale Shipyard December 1992 being the last of the five ships to undergo this process and completing it in 10 months.

At commissioning she was 88 feet wide at her beam, 216 m (700 ft) long, displaced approx 37,000 tons at a speed of 19 knots. Propulsion was two 600 psi (4,100 kPa) steam boilers (automated steam) to one propeller. Her draft was 32 feet.

In 1991 she circumnavigated South America escorting the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk to its west coast home port after leaving the shipyards in Norfolk, Va.

She was decommissioned 30 June 1999 and placed in the James River Reserve Fleet (Ghost Fleet) near Fort Eustis, Virginia. Platte was slated for disposal at the earliest opportunity as of 7 August 2008.

She was scrapped by Southern Recycling at Brownsville in December 2014.

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.

• Naval Vessel Registry
• Jane's Fighting Ships (1982–1999 published versions)
• USS Platte (AO-186) Deck Logs
• Virginia Pilot Archives – 28 December 1990 Front Page A1; 28 June 1991 Local Page D1
• USS Platte (AO-186) Website
• NavSource Online
• 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.