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USS ''Caloosahatchee'' (AO-98) was a fleet oiler constructed for the U.S. Navy for use in World War II but commissioned too late for service in that conflict. However, she had a lengthy career during the Cold War that followed. She was the only U.S. Navy ship to bear the name ''Caloosahatchee'', after the Caloosahatchee River in southwest Florida. ''Caloosahatchee'' (AO-98) was launched 2 June 1945 by Bethlehem Steel-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland, under a Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. C. L. Andrews; acquired by the Navy 10 October 1945; commissioned the same day, Commander H. R. Livingston, USNR, in command; and reported to Commander, Service Force, Atlantic Fleet. == Cold War operations == ''Caloosahatchee'' cruised off the U.S. East Coast, transporting oil and fueling ships at sea, and made a voyage to Iceland from Norfolk, Virginia, during her first two years of operations. On 14 August 1947, she sailed for her first tour of duty with the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean, a deployment that marked almost every year of her operations from that time into 1960. In this era when the U.S. Navy had perfected at-sea replenishment to greatly increase mobility, flexibility and efficiency, ''Caloosahatchee'' played a key role in increasing the enormous power for peace represented by the mighty U.S. 6th Fleet. Among other widespread operations, ''Caloosahatchee'' participated in NATO Operation Mariner off Greenock, Scotland, from 16 September to 20 October 1953, and provided summer training for future naval officers in midshipman cruises to Le Havre, France, in 1954, and to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1956. In fall 1957 and again in summer 1958, the oiler sailed with forces calling at ports in England, Scotland, France, and Portugal. ''Caloosahatchee's'' constant readiness for emergency deployments or other challenges to her operational capability was developed and maintained through training operations along the east coast, and participation in such large-scale Atlantic Fleet exercises as Operation Springboard held in the Caribbean, which operations continued through 1960.〔(DANFS: Caloosahatchee )〕 Between 1966 and 1968 ''Caloosahatchee'', along with her sister ships ''Ashtabula'' and ''Canisteo'', underwent "jumboization". A 27 m (400-foot) midsection, built entirely new from the keel up, was inserted and welded between her original bow and stern. This replaced the old 310-foot midsection and increased the vessel's liquid cargo capacity by over one-third. Her new configuration closely resembled that of a more modern type of ship, the replenishment oiler. ''Caloosahatchee'' was recomissioned on 27 September 1969 and assigned to Service Squadron 2 (SERVRON 2), homeported in Newport, Rhode Island (USA). During September 1970, ''Caloosahatchee'' participated in the naval blockade off the coast of Lebanon during the Black September in Jordan. The conflict was fought between the two major components of the Jordanian population, the Palestinians represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) under the leadership of Yasser Arafat and the native Jordanians represented by the Jordanian Armed Forces under the leadership of King Hussein.〔"Jordan: A Country Study" published by the Library of Congress〕 In February 1975, ''Caloosahatchee'' changed homeport to Norfolk, Virginia and was transferred SERVRON 4. She deployed the Mediterranean Sea via the North Atlantic, North Sea, and Baltic Sea. She again deployed to the Mediterranean Sea in 1977-1978, visiting Marseille, France and Palermo, Sicily. In 1978, ''Caloosahatchee'' unerwent an eight-month major extended regular overhaul in Brooklyn, New York City. Following overhaul and after refresher training in August 1979, ''Caloosahatchee'' in departed a month later with Commander United States Second Fleet Northern Europe and NATO exercises to be conducted in the North Atlantic, North Sea, and the Baltic Sea where the oiler replenished 116 ships. In 1980, ''Caloosahatchee'' participated in various exercises, which involved two deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and a five-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. Over 170 replenishments were completed in 1980, a new record for the ship. In the following year, the olier deployed to the Caribbean and for six month to the Mediterranean Sea. During 1988, ''Caloosahatchee'' made her last deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, where she recorded the 191 unnderway replenishments. In 1989, she participtated in exercise UNITAS XXX and crossed the equator.〔(USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98), "SERVICE TO THE FLEET WITH PRIDE" OCTOBER 10, 1945 - FEBRUARY 28, 1990 ), retrieved 27 February 2015.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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