USS Patoka

USS Shenandoah moored to the USS Patoka (AO-9)
Patoka with Shenandoah moored alongside
History
United States
NamePatoka
NamesakePatoka River
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia
Laid down17 December 1918
Launched26 July 1919
Acquired3 September 1919
Commissioned13 October 1919
Decommissioned31 August 1933
Recommissioned10 November 1939
Decommissioned1 July 1946
Stricken31 July 1946
FateScrapped, 15 March 1948
General characteristics
Class and typePatoka Replenishment oiler
Displacement16,800 long tons (17,070 t)
Length477 ft 10 in (145.64 m)
Beam60 ft (18 m)
Draft26 ft 2 in (7.98 m)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement168
Armament

USS Patoka (AO–9/AV–6/AG–125) was a replenishment oiler made famous as a tender for the airships Shenandoah (ZR-1), Los Angeles (ZR-3) and Akron (ZRS-4). It was also notable in that its height (177 feet (54 m)) figured prominently in the design of the Rainbow Bridge in Texas (the bridge design required that the Patoka, then the tallest ship in the U.S. Navy, could sail under it; however, it never did).