USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)

USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)

USS Kalamazoo in underway replenishment with USS Saratoga.
History
United States
Name	USS Kalamazoo
Namesake	Kalamazoo, Michigan and the Kalamazoo River
Builder	General Dynamics Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts
Laid down	1 October 1970
Launched	1 November 1972
Commissioned	11 August 1973, as USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6)
Decommissioned	16 August 1996
Stricken	29 October 1998
Identification	IMO number: 8644084
Motto	KZOO Can Do
Nickname(s)	The Zoo
Honors and awards	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Fate	Sold for scrap, 15 July 2008, for $1,465,726
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
Aviation facilities	Helo Deck and berthing for 8 Airdet Personnel

USS Kalamazoo (AOR-6) was a Wichita-class replenishment oiler commissioned by the United States Navy in 1973. She continued to support Navy requirements until 1996 when she was placed in the reserve fleet and later struck.