SOUTH EAST
Navy Oilers derived their names from the Streams shown in yellow.
OILERS ARE DETAILED BELOW    -    BORDER STATES ARE LINKED
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AO = Fleet Oiler Ship.       AOR = Replenishment Fleet Ship     AOT = Oil Transporter.
Ship Name
Crew Link
 Ship Number
NavSource Link
 Construction
Data
 River Name
Data
USS Tallulah AO-50 Launched,
25 June 1942

The Tallulah River is a short river in Georgia and North Carolina. It begins in Clay County, North Carolina near Standing Indian Mountain in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness and flows south into Georgia, crossing the state line into Towns County. The river then travels through Rabun County and ends in Habersham County. It cuts through the Tallulah Dome rock formation to form the Tallulah Gorge and its several waterfalls.

USS Enoree AO-69 Commissioned, 23 January 1943

The 85 mi long Enoree River, a tributary of the Broad River,rises in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Greenville County about 2 mi northwest of the town of Travelers Rest, and flows generally southeastwardly across the Piedmont region, through or along the boundaries of Spartanburg, Laurens, Union and Newberry Counties, past the communities of Taylors and Whitmire and through the Sumter National Forest. It flows into the Broad River from the west in Newberry County, 15 mi northeast of the town of Newberry.
USS Savannah AOR-4 Launched,
23 April 1970
 The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. The river is around 350 miles long. It is formed by the confluence of the Tugaloo River and the Seneca River. Today this confluence is submerged beneath Lake Hartwell. At the northwest branch of the river is located the Tallulah Gorge. Historical and variant names of the Savannah River include May River, Westobou River (for the Westo tribe), Kosalu River, Isundiga River, and Girande River, among others.
USS Santee AO-29 Launched,
4 March 1939

USS Santee was commissioned as an escort carrier with designation ACV-29 on 24 August 1942.
The Santee River is a river in South Carolina, 143 miles long. The  river was named by early settlers after the Santee tribe, which inhabited areas on the middle part of the river. The first European contact was by the Spanish, who sailed up the river in the 1660s. After suffering a defeat during the Yamasee War in 1715–1716, the Santee were relocated, many to the West Indies as slaves, opening up the river for British settlement as part of the Carolina Colony.
USS Sapelo AO-11 Launched,
24 Dec. 1920
 The Sapelo river is easy to get to by kayak, as long as one is one is willing to plan around tides.  Sapelo also conjures up the name Blackbeard, specifically the Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge. Note: Pine Harbor, Ga. --Former President Jimmy Carter and Mrs. Rosalyn Carter visited a small bird sanctuary on the Sapelo River to celebrate the July 4th, 1999 Independence Holiday. 
USS Chattahoochee AOT-82 Launched,
24 April 1943

The Chattahoochee River runs from the Appalachian Mountains of northeastern Georgia through Atlanta It eventually turns to the due south to form the southern half of the Georgia/Alabama state line. Flowing through a series of reservoirs, it flows by Columbus, Georgia and Ft. Benning. Farther south it merges with the Flint River. The name Chattahoochee is thought to come from a Creek Indian word for "painted rock". Formerly AOG-82 There was a CSS Chattahoochee, a twin-screw steam gunboat.
USS Escambia
 AO-80 Launched,
24 April 1943
 This river flows out of south Alabama into the Escambia Bay and ranks as the fourth largest river in Florida. The river's name changes from Escambia River to Conecuh upon entering Alabama.
The river rises near Union Springs in the state and flows in a general southwesterly direction into Florida near Century.  After this point, it flows south to Escambia Bay in Escambia County which is an arm of Pensacola Bay.
USS Chipola AO-63 Launched,
21 October 1944
 The Chipola River is a tributary of the Apalachicola River in Florida. The 89-mile long river crosses Jackson, Calhoun and Gulf counties. The river flows into the Dead Lakes State Recreation Area just before reaching the Apalachicola. The Dead Lakes were formed when the Apalachicola deposited sand bars blocking the mouth of the Chipola.
USS Taluga AO-62 Launched,
10 July 1944
 The Telogia (Taluga) Creek extends west and north of Hasford, Florida. Taluga means "cow peas" in Seminole. Another version of the word is "Telogia".
USS Aucilla AO-56 Launched,
20 Nov. 1943
 The Aucilla River arises close to Thomasville, Georgia and passes through the Big Bend region of Florida, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachee Bay. The river is 75 mi long.In Florida it forms the eastern border of Jefferson County, separating it from Madison County on the northern part, and from Taylor County to the south. The lower part of the river disappears underground and reappears several times, and is known as the Aucilla River Sinks. The Aucilla River is a rich source of late pleistocene and early holocene animal bones and human artifacts, and is the subject of the Aucilla River Prehistory Project, which includes the Page-Ladson prehistory site.
USS Suwannee AO-33 Launched,
4 March 1939
 After operating for six months as an oiler with the Atlantic Fleet, Suwannee was redesignated AVG-27 on 14 February 1942. The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) rising in the Okefenokee Swamp, is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida, . It is a wild black water river, about 266 miles long. The river then runs southwest into Florida, dropping in elevation through limestone layers resulting in Florida's only whitewater rapids. At the time of the Spanish exploration of the area in the 1530s, the river banks were inhabited by the Timucuan people, who named it, meaning "Echo River". In the 18th century, Seminoles lived by the river. The Suwannee is not to be confused with the mountaintop town of Sewanee, Tennessee, home of the University of the South. A popular bumper sticker there reads "Sewanee is not a river".
USS Oklawaha AO-84 Commissioned,
9 March 1944
 The 110 mile long Ocklawaha River flows north from Central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka, Florida. Its name is a corruption of ak-lowahe, Creek for "muddy". The river was used extensively for steamboat transportation in the 1800s and early 1900s. Narrow steamboats were used to navigate the constrictive and winding river. In the 1870s, the route between Paltka and Silver Springs became very popular, and was used by prominent figures such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas A. Edison, and Mary Todd Lincoln to visit Silver Springs.
USS Manatee AO-58 Launched,
21 October 1943
 The Manatee River is a 60-mile long river in Manatee County, Florida. The river arises in the northeastern corner of Manatee County and flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the southern edge of Tampa Bay. Lake Manatee, an artificial reservoir, is located about midway in the river's course. The lower part of the river is an estuary, with Bradenton and other cities located along its banks.
USS Caloosahatchee AO-98 Launched,
2 June 1945
 The Choctawhatchee River is Florida's third largest river system in terms of water volume discharged. Originating in the southern portion of Alabama, the river flows approximately 96 miles from the Alabama state line into Choctawhatchee Bay.

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