USS Roanoke (AOR-7)

USS Roanoke (AOR-7) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was named after the city of Roanoke, Virginia and the Roanoke River, in keeping with the naming convention of her class.

USS Roanoke (AOR-7)

History
United States
Name	USS Roanoke
Namesake	Roanoke River and Roanoke, Virginia
Builder	National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego
Laid down	19 January 1974
Launched	7 December 1974
Commissioned	30 October 1976
Decommissioned	6 October 1995
Stricken	6 October 1995
Identification	IMO number: 8644163
Motto	Dedicated to Service
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 1 October 2012 for $1,926,726
General characteristics
Class and type	Wichita-class replenishment oiler
Displacement	14,048 long tons (14,273 t) light 39,790 long tons (40,429 t) full
Length	659 ft (201 m)
Beam	96 ft (29 m)
Draft	37 ft (11 m)
Propulsion	3 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines, 2 × shafts, 32,000 shp (23,862 kW)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	34 officers, 463 enlisted
Armament	2 × Phalanx CIWS 1 × Sea Sparrow missile system (NSSMS)
Aircraft carried	2 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters

Built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, of San Diego, California, she was launched on 7 December 1974, and commissioned on 30 October 1976.

Roanoke sailed for her first deployment to the western Pacific in January 1978, where she supported various USN units, including the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS Long Beach (CGN-9) and USS Truxtun (CGN-35) during the Australian leg of their deployment, docking in Fremantle, Western Australia from 7–10 August 1978. After 10 months away USS Roanoke finally returned to her homeport of San Francisco, California, in October. This set the pattern for the next twelve years, as she was deployed on a voyage to the western Pacific and Indian Ocean, each lasting six to eight months, every year.[1]

Between January 1991 and August 1993 she sailed on two deployments to the Persian Gulf supporting Operation Desert Storm. She made one last deployment to the western Pacific in June to December 1994, before being decommissioned.[1]

Roanoke was decommissioned on 6 October 1995, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day.

Title to the ship was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration on 18 December 1998, and she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, at Suisun Bay, California.