:en:USS Camden (AOE-2)
{{short description|Sacramento-class fast combat support ship}}
{{other ships|USS Camden}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2007}}
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{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = File:USS Camden AOE-2 050217-N-6074Y-108 crop.jpg | Ship caption = USS Camden (AOE-2) }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{USN flag|2005}} | Ship name = USS Camden | Ship namesake = Camden, New Jersey | Ship owner = | Ship operator = | Ship registry = | Ship route = | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = 25 April 1963 | Ship builder = New York Shipbuilding | Ship original cost = Approx. $458 million | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = 17 February 1964 | Ship launched = 29 May 1965 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = 11 March 1967 | Ship commissioned = 1 April 1967 | Ship recommissioned = | Ship decommissioned = 14 October 2005 | Ship maiden voyage = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | Ship reclassified = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = 14 October 2005 | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = Bremerton, Washington | Ship identification = 05833 | Ship motto = Flexibility, Readiness, Endurance | Ship nickname = The Powerful Pachyderm of the Pacific | Ship honours = | Ship honors = * Navy Unit Commendation x 4
| Ship captured = | Ship fate = Scrapped 2008 | Ship notes = | Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = {{sclass|Sacramento|fast combat support ship}} | Ship tonnage = | Ship displacement = * {{convert|20717|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
| Ship length = {{convert|796|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|107|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = {{convert|38|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship decks = | Ship deck clearance = | Ship ramps = | Ship ice class = | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = * 4 × {{convert|600|psi|kPa|lk=on|abbr=on}} at {{convert|856|°F|°C|abbr=on}} V2M boilers
| Ship speed = {{convert|30|kn|lk=in}} | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship boats = * 2 × {{convert|26|ft|m|abbr=on}} Motor Whale Boats
| Ship capacity = * Fuel oil:
| Ship troops = | Ship complement = 27 officers, 587 enlisted | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = * 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS Mark 15 guns
| Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = 2 × CH-46 Sea Knight later switched to 2 x SH-60 Seahawk helicopters in 2004 | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
USS Camden (AOE-2) was a {{sclass|Sacramento|fast combat support ship}}, the second ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Camden, New Jersey.{{Cite web |title=USS CAMDEN (AOE-2) Deployments & History |url=https://www.hullnumber.com/AOE-2 |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=www.hullnumber.com}} It combined the functions of three logistic support ships in one hull - fleet oiler (AO), ammunition ship (AE), and refrigerated stores ship (AF).
History
File:UNREP_Refuel_probe.png.]]
Camden was keeled on 17 February 1964, launched on 29 May 1965, and commissioned on 1 April 1967 as the second of four vessels in its class. It was the 542nd and final contract in the 68-year history of New York Shipbuilding, and the last vessel completed and launched at the shipyard.{{Cite web |date=2016-05-04 |title=End of an Era |url=https://newyorkship.org/history/end-of-an-era/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=New York Shipbuilding Corporation |language=en}} It was assigned to the Pacific Fleet in September 1967 and was initially homeported in Long Beach, California.{{Cite web |title=USS Camden (AOE-2) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/us-navy-ships/alphabetical-listing/c/uss-camden--aoe-2-0.html |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=public1.nhhcaws.local |language=en-US}} On 26 November 1968 Camden suffered minor damages from a collision with the aircraft carrier {{USS|Hancock|CV-19|6}}.{{Cite web |title=USS Camden (AOE 2) |url=https://www.navysite.de/ships/aoe2.htm |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=www.navysite.de}} For their accomplishments during her first deployment to WestPac in 1968–1969, her crew was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In August 1974, Camden moved to its new homeport at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. The ship operated extensively up and down the West Coast of the United States and deployed frequently to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans to support units of the Seventh Fleet. In 1980, Camden moved again to Bremerton for an overhaul.
On 20 July 1983 The New York Times reported that Camden, along with seven other vessels in the {{USS|Ranger|CV-61|2}} Carrier Battle Group, left San Diego on 15 July 1983 and were headed for the western Pacific when they were rerouted and ordered to steam for Central America to conduct training and flight operations in areas off the coasts of Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras as part of major military exercises planned for that summer. The battle group comprised the carrier Ranger, the cruiser {{USS|Horne||2}}, the guided missile destroyer {{USS|Lynde McCormick||2}}, the destroyers {{USS|Fletcher|DD-992|2}} and {{USS|Fife||2}}, the frigate {{USS|Marvin Shields||2}}, the oiler {{USS|Wichita|AOR-1|2}} and Camden.
On 17 May 1987 Camden was redirected to assist the damaged {{USS|Stark}} after it was attacked by unfriendly fire. Camden{{'}}s job was to unload all of the weapons on board Stark in case of further attack.
In 1991, Camden was deployed to resupply the aircraft carrier {{USS|Nimitz}} and support ships, which were returning to the U.S. from duty in the Persian Gulf after taking part in Operation Desert Storm. On 15 August 1991, four airmen from the Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 11 based on Camden were reported missing and presumed dead after their Sea Knight helicopter crashed while resupplying ships in the around {{convert|100|mi|km}} east Wake Island. Two ships were close by when the aircraft dropped into the water, and two helicopters were immediately launched for an air search. The ships in the area also launched whaleboats to assist in the search, which was ultimately unsuccessful. In 1992, CURV-III recovered the wreckage of the helicopter from a depth of {{convert|17,251|ft}}, setting the world record for deepest salvage at the time.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-17-me-402-story.html |title=4 Crewmen Lost as Navy Copter Crashes at Sea |work=Los Angeles Times |date=17 August 1991 |access-date=3 January 2019}}
Following the repeal of the Combat Exclusion Law in 1993, Camden was one of the first US Navy ships to host female servicemembers, specifically two helicopter pilots including Captain Tracy Barkheimer.{{Cite web |last=Affairs |first=Donna Cipolloni NAS Patuxent River Public |date=2021-12-02 |title=Ribbon cutting event officially opens Women in Aviation exhibit |url=https://www.dcmilitary.com/tester/news/local/ribbon-cutting-event-officially-opens-women-in-aviation-exhibit/article_b5ce8f9e-075e-5bf3-acb6-1f6029a8c1be.html |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=DC Military |language=en}}
In March 1996, Camden was awarded its third consecutive Battle "E" for demonstrating excellence in all warfare and mission categories.
In October 2000, Camden participated in Operation Determined Response, providing rescue assistance and hospitality services in support of {{USS|Cole}} in the Yemeni port of Aden after the Cole was damaged in a terrorist attack.
In 2004, Camden won the Battle "E" again. This was the final year of Battle "E" eligibility for the Sacramento-class fast combat support ship.
In January 2005, Camden left on its final deployment, an eight-month world tour with {{USS|Carl Vinson}} escorting that carrier to its new homeport in Norfolk, Virginia. Camden was decommissioned 14 October 2005 on Pier Delta at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington, and was disposed of by scrapping at Esco Marine, in Brownsville, Texas by 13 May 2008.{{Cite web |title=Fast Combat Support Ship (AOE) Photo Index |url=https://www.navsource.org/archives/09/59/5902.htm |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=www.navsource.org}}
Power plant
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|USS Camden (AOE-2)}}
- {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOE2|title=Naval Vessel Register entry for USS Camden}}
- [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/aoe-1.htm Federation of American Scientists: AOE-1 Sacramento Fast Combat Support Ship]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/aoe-2.htm GlobalSecurity.org: AOE 2 Camden]
{{Sacramento class fast combat support ship}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camden}}
Category:Sacramento-class fast combat support ships