Oiler Names

SOUTH CENTRAL
Navy Oilers derived their names from the rivers 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 History	Ship Number NavSource Link	Construction Data	River Name Data
USS Caliente ..........................	AO-53 ...................	Launched, 25 August, 1943 .............................................. .........................................	A stream in New Mexico: In the 1500’s the Spaniards, in their quest for gold and the Fountain of Youth, also discovered the Springs. These springs were named Ojo Caliente, means “warm eye” or hot spring. There a Caliente Creek in southern California and a city of Caliente NE of Las Vegus, Nevada. There is an Ojo Caliente Spring near Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. There is also the Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
USS Pecos USS Pecos USNS Pecos	AO-6 AO-65 TAO-197	Launched, 23 April 1921 Launched, 17 August 1942 Launched, 21 April 1990	The Pecos River or Rio Pecos, as it is known in New Mexico, arises near Santa Fe, New Mexico and flows for 926 miles through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it empties into the Rio Grande near Del Rio. Pecos City claims to be the site of the world's first rodeo on July 4, 1883. Pacos, in Portugal (comes from the word pacos which means “steps”) refers to nobility houses were normally there were a frontal square, were we could hear the steps of those who came for audition
USS Cimarron USS Cimarron	AO-22 AO-177	Launched, 7 January 1939 Launched, 28 April 1979	The Cimarron River extends 698 miles across New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. The river's name comes from the early Spanish name, Río de los Carneros Cimarrón, which is usually translated as River of the Wild Sheep. Early American explorers also called it the Red Fork of the Arkansas because of water's red color. In New Mexico the river is known as the Dry Cimarron River.
USS Caney		See Central Area
USS Chikaskia		See Central Area
USS Neosho USS Neosho USS Neosho	AO-23 AO-48 AO-143	Launched, 24 April 1939 (2nd) Launched, 23 December 1941 Launched, 24 April 1939 (4th)	A river flowing south from its source in Morris County in east central Kansas until emptying into the Arkansas River near Fort Gibson in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. There is also a town of Neosho in Missouri. The first Neosho was a ironclad river monitor.
USS Shawnee Trail	AO-142	Launched, 31 May 1944	The Shawnee Trail was the first major route used by the cattle trailing industry to deliver longhorns to the markets of the Midwest. Longhorns were collected around San Antonio, Texas, and taken northward through Austin, Waco, and Dallas, crossing the Red River near Preston, Texas, at Rock Bluff. North of the Red River the trail divided for a time, coming together near Boggy Depot in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory. Here some herds veered sharply eastward to pass through Fort Smith, Arkansas. The main trail led to the Canadian River directly below the confluence of the north and south branches and forded the Arkansas River between the mouths of the Verdigris and Neosho rivers, and followed the Neosho past Fort Gibson almost to the Kansas border. The trail then subdivided into various routes which, depending on the final destination. Read.
USS Brazos	AO-4	Launched, 1 May 1919	The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers, which can be translated as "The River of the Arms of God," is the 11th longest river in the United States at 1280 miles from its source of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico.
USS Navasota	AO-106	Launched, 30 August 1945	The Navasota River is a river in east Texas. It is about 125 miles long, and flows south into the Brazos River at a point where Brazos County, Grimes County, and Washington County meet.
USS Concho	AO-102	Cancled, 18 August 1945	Concho is Spanish for "shell"; the river was so named due to a discovery of freshwater mussels which produced pearls, though not in sufficient economic quantities. The pearls are unique in that they often have a distinct pink to purple hue. These are the only pearls in the world to display this distinct color change.
USS Guadalupe USNS Guadalupe	AO-32 TAO-200	Launched, 26 January 1940 Launched, 5 October 1991	The Guadalupe river was first called after Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe by Alonso de León in 1689. It was renamed the San Augustin by Domingo Terán de los Ríos who maintained a colony on the river, but the name Guadalupe persisted. Many explorers referred to the current Guadalupe as the San Ybón above its confluence with the Comal, and instead the Comal was called the Guadalupe. Evidence indicates that the river has been home to humans for several thousand years, including the Karankawa, Tonkawa, and Huaco (pronounced like Waco) Indians.
USS Atascosa	AO-66	Launched, 7 September 1942	A river in Texas that rises in Frio County some 25 miles southwest of San Antonio, runs eastward and southerly through Atascosa County, and joins the Frio River a few miles above its confluence with the Nueces River, which then flows southeast to empty into Corpus Christi Bay.
USS Naches USS Naches USNS Naches	AO-5 AO-47 TAO-183	Launched, 2 June 1920 Launched, 11 October 1941 Launched, 1971 (AOT-183)	The Naches River flows for 416 miles through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. There also is a Naches River, a tributary of the Yakima River in central Washington State.
USS Sabine		See South Area

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