|
Home > Family History > U.S.S. Neosho > The Four U.S.S. Neoshos
The Four U.S.S. Neoshos
The U.S. Navy used a specific naming regimen for its ships throughout the 1900s. For example, the Navy:
-
Named its battleships after U.S. states (e.g., U.S.S. Arizona),
-
Named its cruisers after U.S. cities (e.g., U.S.S. Indianapolis),
-
Named its destroyers after notable Americans (e.g., U.S.S. Sims).
Likewise, the Navy named its tankers (also known as "oilers") after rivers. The Neosho River is a tributary of the Arkansas River and
lies in northeastern Oklahoma. There have been four Navy ships named U.S.S. Neosho, including the AO-23, which this section of my website is
devoted to. The four Neoshos are shown below.
|
|
|
|
|
-
The second U.S.S. Neosho, the AO-23, was an oiler that was launched in 1939. As described in
this website, the AO-23 served at Pearl Harbor during the 1941 Japanese attack and was sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.
|
|
|
|
-
The third U.S.S. Neosho, the AO-48, was an oiler that was launched on
December 23, 1941, two weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. The AO-48 was named the U.S.S. Neosho in July 1942, two months
after the AO-23 was sunk at Coral Sea. Ironically, after being sunk on the Neosho (AO-23), my uncle, Bill Leu,
then served on the Neosho (AO-48). The AO-48 served in the Pacific throughout World War II, then it was turned over
to the Maritime Commission in 1946 for disposal. It was scrapped in Hamburg, Germany in 1964.
|
|
|
|
-
The fourth U.S.S. Neosho, the AO-143, was a Navy oiler that was launched
in 1953. This ship served in the Middle East during the 1956 Suez War and during the tense 1962 naval
quarantine of Cuba. It was decommissioned in 1978.
|
|
|
|
Above: Summarized stories of the U.S.S. Neosho (AO-23: top photo) and U.S.S. Neosho (AO-48: bottom photo). Click to enlarge.
|
|
Table of Contents:
U.S.S. Neosho (AO-23)
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Battle of the Coral Sea (continued)
|
|
|
The current page is shown with a >
|
