USNS ''Walter S. Diehl'' (T-AO-193) is a of the
United States Navy. She was named after Captain
Walter Stuart Diehl
Walter Stuart Diehl (3 December 1893 – 21 November 1976) was an American naval officer and aeronautical engineer.
Early life
Diehl was born in Jonesborough, Tennessee, on 3 December 1893, as the oldest child of Wiliam P. and Lydia Showalte ...
, USN, a career naval officer and aeronautical engineer.
Design
The ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class replenishment oilers were preceded by the shorter s. ''Walter S. Diehl'' has an overall length of and a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , with a
draft of . The oiler has a displacement of at full load. It has a capacity of of aviation fuel or fuel oil. She can carry a dry load of and can refrigerate 128 pallets of food. The ship is powered by two 10 PC4.2 V 570 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines that drive two shafts; this gives a power of .
The ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class oilers have maximum speeds of . They were initially built without armaments, but are equipped with small arms and can be fitted with
close-in weapon systems if required. The ship has a helicopter platform but not any maintenance facilities. ''Walter S. Diehl'' is fitted with five fuelling stations; these can fill two ships at the same time and the ship is capable of pumping of diesel or of jet fuel per hour. She has a complement of 89 civilians (nineteen officers), 29 spare crew, and 6 United States Navy crew.
Construction and delivery
''Walter S. Diehl'', the seventh ship of the ''Henry J. Kaiser''-class, was laid down at
Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at
New Orleans,
Louisiana, on 7 August 1986 and launched on 2 October 1987. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the
Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
with a primarily civilian crew on 13 September 1988.
Service history
''Walter S. Diehl'' was assigned to the
United States Pacific Fleet, serving in the
Pacific Ocean,
Indian Ocean, and
Persian Gulf regions.
On 23 April 2002, ''Walter S. Diehl'' was passing through the
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...
when six small
motorboats sped alongside in an aggressive and threatening manner. ''Walter S. Diehl'' fired flares to warn the boats off, but they did not move away. She then opened fire with a
.50-caliber (12.7-mm)
machine gun and the boats sped off.
On 20 November 2014, ''Walter S. Diehl'' collided with the during an underway replenishment operation. No injuries were reported.
She was taken out of service and placed in reserve on 1 October 2022.
References
*
External links
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive: USNS ''Walter S. Diehl'' (T-AO-193)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193)
Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers
Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
Ships built in Bridge City, Louisiana
1987 ships