USS Ashtabula ( AO - 51 ) USS Ashtabula ( AO - 51 ) was a " Cimarron " - class fleet oiler of the United States Navy in service from 1943 to 1991 . She survived three wars and was awarded eight battle stars for World War II service , four battle stars for Korean War service , and eight campaign stars for Vietnam War service . In the mid - 1960s " Ashtabula " became the lead ship of her class , when she and seven other " Cimarron " - class oilers were lengthened ( " jumbozied " ) . She has been the only U . S . Navy ship to bear the name " Ashtabula " , after the Ashtabula River in northeast Ohio . History . World War II . " Ashtabula " ( AO - 51 ) was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 717 ) on 1 October 1942 at Sparrows Point , Maryland , by the Bethlehem Steel Co . ; launched on 22 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Adolph Augustus Berle , Jr . , the wife of the Assistant Secretary of State ; and acquired by the Navy on 7 August 1943 ; and commissioned the same day , Comdr . Louis J . Modave in command . Following shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay , the oiler sailed for Aruba on 10 September to take on fuel oil and aviation gasoline and then continued on , via the Panama Canal , to the South Pacific . After arriving at Tutuila , Samoa , on 22 October , she operated as a member of Service Squadron ( ServRon ) 8 in the South Pacific until 17 November . " Ashtabula " next sailed for the United States and entered the Long Beach Navy Yard on 1 December for an availability period . The oiler sailed for Pearl Harbor on New Year ' s Day , 1944 , and remained there until 16 January when she sortied with Task Group ( TG ) 58 . 1 for operations supporting the occupation of the Marshall Islands . " Ashtabula " anchored at Majuro lagoon on 4 February and operated from that atoll in support of the fast carrier task forces through mid June . The ship then began participating in the effort to take the Marianas . During the Battle of the Philippine Sea and its aftermath , she fueled ships of Task Force 58 ( TF 58 ) from 20 through 27 June and then retired , via Eniwetok , to the California coast for yard work which began upon her arrival at Terminal Island on 15 July . The oiler got underway again on 28 August and arrived at Pearl Harbor on 4 September . She continued sailing westward and reached Eniwetok on the 17th . After a two - day respite , the vessel headed for the South Pacific and arrived at Purvis Bay on the 24th where she spent the remainder of the month in fueling duties . " Ashtabula ' s " next assignment was to support the first American forces to fight for the liberation of the Philippines . She sailed , via $ 3 and Kossol Roads , to Leyte Gulf and began fueling units of TG 77 . 2 on 23 October . Late the following afternoon , three Japanese torpedo plane s attacked the oiler . One of them dropped a torpedo which hit " Ashtabula ' s " port side . Although the explosion caused no fires or personnel casualties , " Ashtabula " soon developed a 16 - degree list to port . Skillful counter - flooding righted the ship and allowed her to resume operations . On 27 October , the vessel was detached from Task Unit ( TU ) 77 . 7 . 1 and headed for the west coast of the United States . Following stops at Kossol Roads , Humboldt Bay , and Pearl Harbor , she reached San Pedro , California , on 15 December and was drydocked at Terminal Island for repair of her torpedo damage . The oiler departed the California coast on 28 January 1945 , touched at Pearl Harbor on 3 February , and arrived at Eniwetok on 12 February . She reported to ServRon 10 for duty and remained there until 5 March , when the ship sailed for Ulithi . On the 10th , " Ashtabula " was reassigned to ServRon 6 ; and , three days later , she got underway for fueling operations at sea for the warships of the Fast Carrier Task Force , TF 58 . On 5 April , " Ashtabula " ’ s bow struck " Thornton " ( AVD - 11 ) amidships and caused considerable damage to the seaplane tender . " Ashtabula " returned to Ulithi on 9 April and underwent minor repair work from 10 to 17 April . There , the oiler once again returned to the control of ServRon 10 . For the duration of the war , " Ashtabula " operated in the Ulithi area . In mid - August , Japan capitulated ; and , on the last day of the month , the oiler headed for Okinawa , but soon moved on to Jinsen , Korea , where she arrived on 11 September . For the next six months , " Ashtabula " operated between ports in Korea , Japan , and China while supplying and fueling American warships . In March 1946 , the oiler made a cruise , via Singapore and Ceylon , to Bahrain . She returned to Japan in April . In June and July , she again visited a Mideastern port , Ras Tanura , Saudi Arabia , to replenish her oil bunkers . " Ashtabula " got underway for a voyage back to the United States . After pausing briefly at Pearl Harbor , the ship arrived at San Pedro , California , on 18 December . " Ashtabula " began 1947 with a cruise to Guam and returned to California on 27 January . For the next two years , she continued operations between the west coast , Hawaii , and the Marshall Islands . This circuit was interrupted by a visit to Ras Tanura and Bahrain in June 1949 . The oiler returned to the Orient in October 1948 and once again operated between the west coast and Hawaii from July 1949 until June 1950 . During this time , she provided towing services from Pearl Harbor to southern California ports in addition to transporting fuel . On 28 June 1950 , " Ashtabula " headed north from Long Beach , California , bound for Alaska . Upon arriving at Dutch Harbor , the ship fueled two survey vessels operating in the area . After a brief stop in Point Barrow , Alaska , she returned to Long Beach on 19 August . Korean War operations . The vessel lay at anchor there until 27 September , when she sailed for Pearl Harbor with a load of aviation gasoline and fuel oil . Due to the growing Korean War , " Ashtabula " was ordered to proceed immediately to Sasebo , Japan . There , she loaded provisions for American troops stationed in Taiwan , and then delivered them to Keelung . Beginning in November , " Ashtabula " put to sea to supply fuel and provisions to ships of the U . S . 7th Fleet . She continued these activities until August 1951 , when she returned to Long Beach . The ship got back in action in the Far East in November , refueling bombardment forces around the 38th parallel and , later , assisted in the evacuation of Hungnam , Korea . In March 1952 , she sailed to Long Beach for an overhaul , but was back at Sasebo by early October . On 20 November 1952 , while in Sasebo for an availability , " Ashtabula " was damaged by twin explosions caused by acetylene torches which ignited gasoline fumes in her forward hold . Three sailors were killed , and the forward well deck was seriously damaged , the weather deck curling back towards the superstructure and the port hull blown open to the sea . After three months of work at Sasebo , the ship sailed to Long Beach for further alterations . In September 1953 , she returned to the western Pacific ( WestPac ) and resumed replenishment duties . For the next 10 years , the oiler continued alternating deployments to WestPac with periods of upkeep , overhaul , and training at her home port , Long Beach . Ports of call in WestPac included Subic Bay and Manila , Philippines ; Hong Kong ; Sasebo , Kobe , Nagasaki , Yokosuka , and Kagoshima , Japan ; Kaohsiung , Taiwan , and Buckner Bay , Okinawa . During the first half of 1964 , " Ashtabula " continued her peacetime routine . On 2 August , she was in the Gulf of Tonkin refueling destroyers " Maddox " ( DD - 731 ) and " Turner Joy " ( DD - 951 ) just a few hours after North Vietnam ese torpedo boats attacked " Maddox " . She spent most of August fueling ships of the 7th Fleet in the South China Sea . Upon completing her WestPac cruise , " Ashtabula " returned to Long Beach . Vietnam War operations . For the next eight years , the oiler continued to serve in waters surrounding Vietnam during her regular deployments to the Far East . She provided fuel and supplies to units of the 7th Fleet , while operating out of the ports of Subic Bay and Kaohsiung . Between tours in the Orient , she returned to Long Beach for leave and upkeep . In 1968 , " Ashtabula " underwent a major reconfiguration , or Jumboization . A 400 - foot midsection , built entirely new from the keel up , was inserted and welded between her original bow and stern . This replaced the old 310 - foot midsection and increased the vessel ' s liquid cargo capacity by over one - third . Her new configuration closely resembled that of a more modern type of ship , the replenishment oiler . She continued her Vietnam service through August 1972 , when she made her last line swing off Vietnam . The ship returned to Long Beach on 9 December . Following an availability period at Long Beach and training exercises off the southern California coast , " Ashtabula " once again sailed west on 4 October 1973 . While at Subic Bay , she received orders to proceed to the Indian Ocean operating area . In early December , " Ashtabula " provided services to " Hancock " ( CVA - 19 ) and " Oriskany " ( CVA - 34 ) as well as other members of their task groups . After 51 continuous days at sea , " Ashtabula " arrived at Subic Bay on 5 January 1974 . Following a brief availability there , the oiler got underway to replenish a group of amphibious ships in the Gulf of Siam . On 7 March , she began a three - week voyage to her home port . She spent one month in upkeep , then sailed to her new home port , Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , and spent the rest of the year in overhaul and refresher training . " Ashtabula " began another WestPac deployment on 8 February 1975 . She took part in Operation Seafox , a joint SEATO exercise with six other nations . Her next assignments were Operation Eagle Pull and Operation Frequent Wind , held off the coast of Vietnam . On 11 May , she was ordered to Cambodia to support the rescue of , an American merchant ship that had been captured by communist forces . In late July , the oiler returned to her home port , where she spent the next 10 months in upkeep and local operations . " Ashtabula " sailed for WestPac on 21 June 1976 . Ports visited included Subic Bay ; Sasebo and Yokosuka , Japan ; Hong Kong ; and Keelung , Taiwan . The cruise was highlighted by a joint training exercise with ships of the Japanese Maritime Self - Defense Force . The oiler arrived at Pearl Harbor on 15 December and spent the first two months of 1977 providing services to ships in the Pearl Harbor area . In March , she headed west to rendezvous with and refuel a task group built around " Coral Sea " ( CV - 43 ) . On 2 April , the ship returned to Pearl Harbor and commenced an overhaul period which was completed on 28 February 1978 . " Ashtabula " sailed to Alameda , California , on 10 March to hold a series of qualification trials , returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 April , and began refresher training . She got underway on 30 June for the Far East and called at Song Kla and Pattaya , Thailand ; Subic Bay ; Sasebo ; and Fremantle , Australia . While in Australia , " Ashtabula " participated in Exercise " Sandgroper , " which was held in conjunction with the Australian and New Zealand navies . The oiler then proceeded to Singapore and Hong Kong for liberty calls and closed the year in upkeep at Guam . Back at Pearl Harbor on 18 January 1979 , " Ashtabula " began eight months of underway training , local operations , and inspections . At the end of August , she embarked upon a six - week cruise to the west coast to conduct underway replenishment qualification trials and then participate in Exercise " Kernel Potlatch II , " a joint United States - Canadian operation to test and evaluate plans for the common defense of North America . At the conclusion of the exercise , the oiler called at Esquimalt , British Columbia , on 6 October . After a three - day visit , she headed back to Hawaii on the 9th and arrived in Pearl Harbor on the 16th . Local operations in the Hawaiian Islands occupied " Ashtabula ' s " time for nearly the entire first nine months of 1980 . On 28 September , the oiler embarked upon another tour of duty in the western Pacific . Steaming by way of Guam in the Mariana Islands , she entered Subic Bay in the Philippines on 15 October . Her deployment was marred at its outset by engineering casualties that required a two - month repair period at Subic Bay . On 12 December , she completed repairs and , the following day , put to sea to begin underway refueling service to the ships of the 7th Fleet . For the next four months , Ashtabula operated in the South China Sea , the East China Sea , and the Sea of Japan , refueling American warships assigned to the Far East . The oiler made visits to several Japanese ports — Sasebo , Yokosuka , and Iwakuni — as well as to Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands and Chinhae in Korea . She also returned periodically to the base at Subic Bay . On 15 April 1981 , " Ashtabula " departed the Philippines to return to Hawaii . She arrived in Pearl Harbor on the 30th . Final operations . Following a two - month , post - deployment standdown , the ship resumed local operations in the Hawaiian Islands at the end of June . She remained so employed until the end of October when she stood into Pearl Harbor to conclude her last underway period for 1981 . The oiler spent the first four months of 1982 carrying out missions in the Hawaiian operating area . On 30 April 1982 , she embarked upon her final deployment to the Far East . That tour of duty lasted a little more than three months ; she returned to Pearl Harbor on 5 August . Soon thereafter , " Ashtabula " began preparations for inactivation . Decommissioning and Disposal . " Ashtabula " decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 30 September 1982 . She was subsequently towed to Suisun Bay , California , where she joined the Maritime Administration ' s National Defense Reserve Fleet . " Ashtabula " was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 6 September 1991 and sold for scrapping in 1995 . The shipbreaker , however , entered into default and " Ashtabula " , approximately 20 % scrapped and missing her forward bow , part of the main deck forward , most of her forward superstructure and all masts and kingposts , was returned to the Navy on 27 September 1999 . " Ashtabula " remained berthed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard until she was selected as a target ship in a SINKEX exercise on 14 October 2000 . " Ashtabula " was subjected to eight RGM - 84 Harpoon missiles , two RIM - 66 Standard SAMs fired in the surface - to - surface mode , three helicopter - launched Sea Skua missiles , four Mk82 500 pound bombs , and nearly one hundred rounds of 3 ” , 100mm , and 5 ” gunfire from an armada consisting of one French , three British and three United States warships . Two Harpoon missiles and one Sea Skua missile found their marks , but " Ashtabula " remained afloat the next day . She was ultimately sent to the bottom after being fitted with demolition charges . " Ashtabula " was awarded eight battle stars for World War II service , four battle stars for the Korean War , and eight battle stars for duty in the Vietnam War . She was awarded the :