USS NEOSHO (AO-23)



Moored between California and the rest of Battleship Row, Neosho received little attention from the Japanese. She had just finished discharging most of her cargo of aviation fuel five minutes before the attack began, and managed to back clear of Battleship Row at 0842. Safely berthing at Merry Point, she escaped the oil fires of Arizona, saving Battleship Row from further conflagration had she succumbed to this inferno or Japanese damage, as she still carried some of her volatile cargo. Mistaken for an aircraft carrier during the Battle of Coral Sea, she suffered seven bomb impacts and eight near-misses. Discovered four days later by U.S. ships, her crew was rescued and she was sent to the bottom with torpedoes.


SHIP DATA

NAME: Neosho

HULL NUMBER: AO-23

DIMENSIONS:

Displacement: 23,235 tons
Waterline Length: 525'
Length Overall: 553'
Maximum Beam: 75'
Maximum Draft: 32'

CARGO CAPACITY:

6,000,000 gallons

MACHINERY:

Engines: Geared turbines
Boilers: 4 Foster-Wheeler
Shafts: 2
Horsepower: 13,500 SHP
Speed: 18 knots

ARMAMENT:

1x5" (single mounting)
4x3" (single mountings)

COMPLEMENT:

64



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