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Memorabilia

Cruise Books

Accidents aboard the Ship

Notes of interest

History of USS Camden

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USS Camden (AOE 2)

USS CAMDEN was the second SACRAMENTO - class fast combat support ship and the second ship in the Navy to bear the name of the New Jersey city situated at the Delaware River across from Philadelphia. Last homeported in Bremerton, Wash., the CAMDEN was the last ship in her class to be decommissioned. Stricken from the Navy list on October 14, 2005, the CAMDEN was towed to Brownsville, Texas in 2007 for scrapping at Esco Marine. Scrapping was completed on May 13, 2008.

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Crew List:

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

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• Click here to see which USS CAMDEN memorabilia are currently for sale on ebay.

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USS CAMDEN Cruise Books:

• WestPac Cruise Book 1970-71
• WestPac Cruise Book 1974-75
• WestPac Cruise Book 1976
• WestPac Cruise Book 1980-81
• WestPac Cruise Book 1989
• WestPac Cruise Book 1991
• WestPac Cruise Book 1998

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Accidents aboard USS CAMDEN:

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History of USS CAMDEN:

USS CAMDEN was ordered under contract on 25 April 1963 and laid down at New York Shipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey, on 17 February 1964. She was launched on 29 May 1965 and commissioned on 1 April 1967. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet in September 1967, she initially operated from Long Beach, California, working up into the fast combat support mission that combined fuel, ammunition, and general stores delivery for carrier and surface forces.

By 1968, CAMDEN was routinely supporting U.S. naval operations associated with the Vietnam War, conducting replenishments at sea and vertical replenishments for ships operating off South Vietnam and in the Gulf of Tonkin. On 26 November 1968, while conducting an underway replenishment off South Vietnam, CAMDEN collided with the aircraft carrier USS HANCOCK (CVA 19). Contemporary accounts of the incident describe the replenishment evolution being terminated by the collision and CAMDEN subsequently proceeding to Subic Bay to offload aircraft that had ended up on her deck, then onward for repairs at Yokosuka.

In February 1969, she is documented at Subic Bay, continuing the pattern of WestPac logistics support that linked Philippine ports and forward operating areas off Vietnam. CAMDEN's Vietnam-era service continued into the early 1970s. She is documented conducting UNREP/VERTREP operations with the aircraft carrier USS KITTY HAWK (CVA 63) in the Tonkin Gulf in 1972, and she is specifically documented supporting underway replenishment activity off Vietnam around 2 April 1972 (with USS JOHN R. CRAIG (DD 885) coming alongside during an underway replenishment). These kinds of operations - high-tempo, multi-commodity replenishment for a mix of carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and amphibious ships - were central to sustaining prolonged naval presence during the final years of large-scale U.S. combat operations in Southeast Asia.

In August 1974, CAMDEN shifted to a new homeport at Bremerton, Washington, reflecting broader post-Vietnam fleet realignments in the Pacific. Even as U.S. forces adjusted to the post-1973 security environment, CAMDEN's mission set remained globally relevant: on 9 February 1975, she began disaster relief operations at Mauritius following Cyclone Cervaise, an example of how combat logistics ships were often among the most immediately useful naval assets for rapid-response humanitarian support due to their cargo capacity, helicopters, and endurance.

By the late 1970s, CAMDEN's WestPac pattern included long transits and allied port visits; she is documented in the harbor at Wellington, New Zealand, on 14 August 1979. Entering the 1980s, she underwent a major overhaul cycle: CAMDEN moored at Pier 38 in San Francisco on 2 October 1981 to begin an extensive overhaul scheduled for completion by November 1982 under Todd Shipbuilding in Oakland - an industrial maintenance period typical for large steam-powered auxiliaries requiring deep work on propulsion, cargo systems, and habitability after years of hard operations.

In the mid-1980s and into the late Cold War, CAMDEN continued deploying in support of Pacific Fleet striking forces amid heightened U.S.-Soviet maritime competition and frequent regional contingencies. She is documented in the San Diego area in February 1987, and while deployed later that year she was redirected on 17 May 1987 to assist the damaged frigate USS STARK (FFG 31) after she was struck in the Persian Gulf - an episode connected to the wider "Tanker War" phase of the Iran-Iraq War and the escalating risk to U.S. naval forces operating in the Gulf. In that support role, CAMDEN's tasking included unloading weapons from STARK as a precaution against further attack while the damaged ship was stabilized and moved toward follow-on handling.

CAMDEN is also documented underway off the coast of California on 24 February 1989, reflecting ongoing training and readiness operations between deployments. On 1 June 1990, CAMDEN is documented at Diego Garcia with USS COOK (FF 1083) alongside - an anchorage that, only weeks later, would become even more strategically central as the Gulf crisis emerged in August 1990 and the United States began building the large-scale logistics architecture that underpinned Operation Desert Shield and, in early 1991, Operation Desert Storm. In the immediate post-Desert Storm period, CAMDEN continued the Pacific logistics role that often connected Indian Ocean infrastructure (including Diego Garcia) with carrier and surface combatants shifting between theaters. During this broader 1991 operational tempo, CAMDEN suffered a major aviation tragedy: on 15 August 1991, a CH-46 Sea Knight assigned to her embarked helicopter detachment crashed during a resupply mission in the Pacific roughly 100 miles east of Wake Island, and four aircrew were reported missing and presumed lost - an event that underscored the inherent risk in the vertical replenishment mission that fast combat support ships relied on for rapid transfer of cargo and personnel.

In the mid and later 1990s, CAMDEN remained a high-demand logistics platform as U.S. naval forces adapted to a post-Cold War environment defined by recurring sanctions enforcement, no-fly-zone operations, and crisis response. Leadership milestones from this era are documented as well: on 4 May 1999, Captain Deborah Loewer took command of CAMDEN, a noteworthy moment in the Navy's evolving command landscape during the decade following the repeal of restrictions that had limited women's roles on certain combatant platforms and operational billets.

After the terrorist attack on the destroyer USS COLE (DDG 67) in Aden on 12 October 2000, CAMDEN participated in the U.S. Navy's follow-on effort known as Operation Determined Response, which included providing support functions for the response and recovery work in Yemen's port environment - an early, widely noted indicator of the maritime security challenges that would increasingly shape U.S. operational planning in the coming years.

Entering the 2000s, CAMDEN continued to support major exercises and deployed operations tied to the post-9/11 strategic environment. She is documented arriving at the Port of Valdez, Alaska, on 24 April 2002 in support of the Alaskan Command exercise Northern Edge 2002, demonstrating her utility not only in forward deployed logistics but also in large-scale joint training events in demanding geographic conditions.

During the long cycle of operations associated with enforcement of Iraqi no-fly zones and pressure on Saddam Hussein's regime, CAMDEN is also documented at sea aboard USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) on 13 February 2003 observing a vertical replenishment evolution during combat operations in support of Operation Southern Watch, with USS SHILOH (CG 67) visible in the background - placing CAMDEN directly in the logistics architecture supporting sustained carrier operations in the run-up to and early phase of the 2003 Iraq War period.

By July 2004, CAMDEN is documented moored at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, reflecting continued West Coast basing and operational tasking. In early 2005, she is repeatedly documented conducting replenishment operations with multiple strike-group elements. On 24 January 2005, she conducted a replenishment at sea with USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70). During the week of 13 February 2005, she is documented conducting replenishment operations with USS MUSTIN (DDG 89), and on 17 February 2005, she is documented separating from USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN in the Philippine Sea after an alongside evolution - illustrating how a fast combat support ship could be tasked across a rotating set of units to keep high-value assets fueled and supplied during sustained forward operations.

On 24 March 2005, she is documented in a replenishment context alongside USS DULUTH (LPD 6) with USS THACH (FFG 43) approaching for line-handling, and on 17 April 2005, she is documented conducting a nighttime replenishment evolution while alongside DULUTH - an operational routine that demanded strict seamanship discipline because of the hazards associated with connected replenishment and night operations. Later in that deployment cycle, CAMDEN is documented transiting the Suez Canal on 8 July 2005 while operating with the CARL VINSON carrier strike group and deployed to the 6th Fleet area of responsibility, tying her movements to the Mediterranean-to-Middle East operational corridor that remained central to U.S. naval operations during the Global War on Terror era.

CAMDEN's service concluded in 2005 at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington, when she was decommissioned on 14 October 2005. After leaving naval service, she began her final transit toward disposal. She is documented in the Panama Canal on 14 August 2007 en route to ESCO Marine in Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping, and by 2008 she had been dismantled there.

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Notes of Interest:

• USS CAMDEN has got a half propulsion system of the battleship KENTUCKY (BB 66)
• In the beginning USS CAMDEN was equipped with four 3-inch guns
• USS CAMDEN’s cargo capacities:
  • LIQUID CARGO CAPACITY 8,219,387 Gallons
  • ORDNANCE CAPACITY 3,000 Tons
  • PROVISIONS CAPACITY 675 Tons

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USS CAMDEN Image Gallery:

The photo below was taken and contributed by Michael Martin and shows the CAMDEN at Esco Marine, Brownsville, Texas, being scrapped. The photo was taken on October 10, 2007.

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