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
- 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Withdrawn from reserve October 14 1947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
- USNT CAHABA AO-82
Placed In Service March 1948
Absorbed into Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS)
- 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
- 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 scrapThis 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.
- 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
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Killer Bar TextDate From
to
Date ToThumbnail Link To
Postmark ImageThumbnail Link To
Cover Image
PCU LACKAWAPEN
USPO Slogan
Machine Cancel
"BUY /
WAR SAVINGS /
BONDS & STAMPS"
San Francisco CA1943-08-25
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 CA1943-10-10
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 CA1943-11-03
The writer got the name right this time.
PCU CAHABA
Locy Type
3z1943-11-19
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.
1st Commissioning January 14 1944 to May 15 1946
Locy Type
2z1944-02-07
Censored.
Locy Type
2z1944-06-02
Censored.
Locy Type
2z1944-07-22
Censored.
Locy Type
2z1944-09-18
Censored.
Locy Type
2z1944-10-20
Censored wartime (WWII) use
Locy Type
2z1945-01-06
Censored.
Locy Type
2z1945-05-13
Censored.
Locy Type
9efu1945-07-04
Registered
Locy Type
9efu1945-07-04
Registered
2nd Commissioning March 5 1948 to June 19 1956
USPO Slogan
Machine Cancel
Long Beach CA1951-09-20
N/A
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
If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.
Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum
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