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USS Kalamazoo (AOR 6)

- decommissioned -



USS KALAMAZOO was the sixth WICHITA - class replenishment oiler and was named in honor of a city and county in southwest Michigan. KALAMAZOO ended more than 23 years of service to the fleet when it was decommissioned at Norfolk Naval Base on August 16, 1996. Stricken from the Navy list on October 29, 1998, the ship spent the following years laid up at the James River Reserve Fleet, Fort Eustis, Va. In July 2008, the KALAMAZOO was sold to Esco Marine, Brownsville, Tx., for scrapping.

General Characteristics:Awarded: July 1, 1967
Keel laid: October 1, 1970
Launched: November 1, 1972
Commissioned: August 11, 1973
Decommissioned: August 16, 1996
Builder: General Dynamics, Quincy, Massachusetts
Propulsion system: Three boilers, steam turbines, two shafts, 32,000 shaft horsepower
Propellers: two
Length: 659 feet (200.86 meters)
Beam: 96 feet (29.3 meters)
Draft: 35 feet (10.7 meters)
Displacement: approx. 40,100 tons full load
Speed: 20 knots
Aircraft: 2 CH-46 Sea Knight Helicopters
Armament: two Phalanx CIWS, one Mk-29 Sea Sparrow Missile Launcher
Crew: 22 officers, 398 enlisted


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Crew List:

This section contains the names of sailors who served aboard USS KALAMAZOO. It is no official listing but contains the names of sailors who submitted their information.


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USS KALAMAZOO Cruise Books:


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Accidents aboard USS KALAMAZOO:

DateWhereEvents
January 28, 1981Virginia Capes
USS KALAMAZOO and USS SYLVANIA (AFS 2) collide during an underway replenishment in the Virginia Capes area. Damage to both ships is minor.
September 12, 1989Atlantic Ocean
Two sailors working on the maindeck of KALAMAZOO are washed overboard. Both sailors are lost.


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The photo below was taken by Michael Martin and shows the KALAMAZOO at Esco Marine, Brownsville, Tx., ready to be scrapped. The photo was taken on December 26, 2008



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