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 Type T2-SE-A1 tanker in 1943
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Paoli (1944–1966) |
| Namesake | Paoli, Pennsylvania |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania |
| Yard number | 401 |
| Laid down | 18 July 1944 |
| Launched | 31 October 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Lina Martin |
| In service | 15 October 1956 |
| Out of service | 2 October 1957 |
| Stricken | 2 October 1957 |
| Fate | Sold, 1966 |
| Name | Marine Floridian (1966–c.1997) |
| Acquired | 1966 |
| Name | Belofin Floridian (c.1997) |
| Identification | IMO number: 5270208 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1997 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | T2–SE–A1 tanker |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 523 ft 6 in (159.56 m) |
| Beam | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draft | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Propulsion | Turbo-electric, single screw, 8,000 hp (5,966 kW) |
| Speed | 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) |
| Capacity | 140,000 barrels (22,000 m) |
| Complement | 251 |
| Armament | None |
USNS Paoli (T-AO-157) was a Gettysburg-class fuel tanker, built at Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania. A Type T2–SE–A1 tanker, it was hull number 401 and Maritime Commission number 1734. The ship was laid down on 18 July 1944, launched on 31 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Lina Martin, and delivered to the Maritime Commission on 11 November 1944 for operation by War Emergency Tankers, New York City.
Service history
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Paoli made oil runs to the United Kingdom, between the Caribbean and the east coast; and to the Persian Gulf during World War II.
On 5 January 1946, the ship was transferred to Sieling & Jarvis of Newport News, Virginia, and then sold to Cities Service Oil Co., on 14 January 1947, for $1,797,871.78. The ship was returned to the Maritime Commission on 23 March 1955, at Beaumont, Texas, for lay up.
Paoli was acquired by the United States Navy from the Maritime Administration as political tensions in the Middle East heightened. The ship was assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), as USNS Paoli (T-AO-157) on 15 October 1956, and was operated by Marine Transport Lines Inc. Paoli served until returned to MARAD custody and struck from the Navy List on 2 October 1957.
SS Marine Floridian
On 2 February 1966, the ship was transferred to Marine Navigation Sulphur Carriers Inc., and rebuilt into a liquid sulfur carrier at Baltimore and renamed SS Marine Floridian. She was a 5,700 ton, 523-foot-long (159 m) ocean-going tanker. On 24 February 1977, Marine Floridian collided with the Benjamin Harrison Bridge, a drawbridge over the James River near Hopewell, Virginia. The collision closed the bridge to traffic for 20 months and resulted in damages totaling $9.7 million. The ship was later renamed SS Belofin Floridian shortly before being scrapped in 1997.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- Photo gallery of Paoli (T-AO-157) at NavSource Naval History
- "T2 Tanker".
| Suamico-class oilers | |
|---|---|
| List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy |
| Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1977 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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1976   1978 | |
- Type T2-SE-A1 tankers
- 1944 ships
- World War II tankers of the United States
- Suamico-class oilers
- Type T2-SE-A1 tankers of the United States Navy
- Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
- Ships built by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company
- Shipwrecks of the James River
- Merchant ships of the United States
- Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast
- Maritime incidents in 1977