CAHABA AO 82

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Escambia Class Fleet Oiler
Keel Laid (Date unknown)
Launched May 19 1943 as LACKAWAPEN
Acquired by U.S. Navy August 15 1943
Renamed LACKAWAXEN September 23 1943
Renamed November 4 1943


1. USS CAHABA AO-82
   Commissioned January 14 1944 - Decommissioned May 15 1946
   Transferred to Maritime Commission May 8 1947
   Withdrawn from reserve October 14 1947
   Leased to American Petroleum Transport Corp.
   Reacquired by U.S. Navy March 5 1948
   Assigned to Naval Transportation Service (NTS) March 5 1948
   
   
2. USNT CAHABA AO-82
   Placed In Service March 1948
   Absorbed into Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS)
   
   
3. USNS CAHABA T-AO-82
   Out of Service January 20 1958
   Custody transferred to Maritime Administration January 20 1958
   
   Struck from Naval Register January 1958
   Acquired by U.S. Army May 11 1966
   
   
4. USAT CAHABA
   Converted to floating power station for Vietnam Service
   Custody returned to Maritime Administration August 30 1971
   
   Sold August 30 1971 to China Tai Steel, Ltd. for scrap

    

   Naval Covers

   This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

   Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

   1. Cahaba Covers Page 1     (1943-51)

    

   
   

   Postmarks

   This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

   A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
    
   >>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

   
    
   

   Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

   
   
   

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   PCU LACKAWAPEN

   
    
   

   USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "BUY / WAR SAVINGS / BONDS & STAMPS" San Francisco CA

   1943-08-25

   LACKAWAPEN until September 23 1943
   
   Type 9efu device prepared for LACKAWAPEN but never used. Cancel manufactured under original name and sent to the crew September 21, 1943 (USCS Postmark Catalog)
   
   

   PCU LACKAWAXEN

   
    
   

   USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "BUY / WAR SAVINGS / BONDS & STAMPS" San Francisco CA

   1943-10-10

   No Image

   LACKAWAXEN September 23 1943 - November 4 1943. Ships name incorrect in return address.

   
    
   

   USPO Slogan Machine Cancel "BUY / WAR SAVINGS / BONDS & STAMPS" San Francisco CA

   1943-11-03

   The writer got the name right this time.

   PCU CAHABA

   
    
   

   Locy Type 3z

   1943-11-19

   No Image

   Censored. Renamed CAHABA November 4 1943. Postmark did not originated from ship, Post Office Established on January 14 1944.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z*

   1943-11-29

   No Image

   Censored. Postmark did not originated from ship, Post Office Established on January 14 1944.

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   1st Commissioning January 14 1944 to May 15 1946

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1944-02-07

   Censored.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1944-06-02

   Censored.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1944-07-22

   Censored.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1944-09-18

   Censored.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1944-10-20

   Censored wartime (WWII) use

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1945-01-06

   Censored.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 2z

   1945-05-13

   Censored.

   
    
   

   Locy Type 9efu

   1945-07-04

   Registered

   
    
   

   Locy Type 9efu

   1945-07-04

   Registered

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   2nd Commissioning March 5 1948 to June 19 1956

   
    
   

   USPO Slogan Machine Cancel Long Beach CA

   1951-09-20

   No Image

   Naval Transportation Service

    

   Other Information

   CAHABA earned the China Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/ 8 Battle stars), the World War II Victory Medal and the Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) during her Naval career.
   
   NAMESAKE (LACKAWAXEN) - Named for The Lackawaxen River a tributary of the Delaware River, in northeastern Pennsylvania
   
   NAMESAKE (CAHABA) - Named for The Cahaba River the longest free-flowing river in Alabama

    

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