>From the "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships," 

(1976) Vol. 6, p.471.





SHASTA





	An extinct volcano in northern California.





AE-33

Displacement:  18,088 t. (fully loaded)

Length:  564’

Beam:  81’

Draft:  25’8”

Speed:  20 k.

Complement:  401

Armament:  8 3”

Class:  KILAUEA





	The second SHASTA's keel was laid on 10 November 1969 

by the Ingalls Ship Building Division, Litton Systems, Inc., 

of Pascagoula, Miss.  Sponsored by Mrs. Ralph W. Cousins, 

wife of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, she was launched 

at Pasagoula on 3 April 1971.  The Navy took possession of 

SHASTA on 4 February 1972 at Charleston, S.C., where she was 

commissioned on 26 February, Capt. Warren C. Graham, Jr., in 

command.



	SHASTA departed Charleston on 22 May 1972 for shakedown 

training in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  After completing the 

training and making a brief visit to Kingston, Jamaica, she 

steamed out of Guantanamo Bay on 10 June 1972, bound for her 

home port, Concord, Calif.  Along the way, SHASTA called at 

Cartagena, Colombia; Panama City, Canal Zone; and Acapulco, 

Mexico.  She arrived at Concord on 3 July.



	SHASTA then underwent ship's qualification trials, 

final contract trials, and other preparations for her 

deployment to the western Pacific which began on 3 January 

1973.  As of 17 September 1974, SHASTA was operating in Far 

Eastern waters.



	[Decommissioned on 1 October 1997, SHASTA was 

transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), Naval 

Fleet Auxiliary Force the same day and her hull number was 

changed to T-AE-33.  As of October 1999, she was undergoing 

overhaul which was expected to last throughout the year.]



Internet Web Sites:

	Naval Vessel Register

		www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/AE33.htm	United States Naval & Shipbuilding Museum

		www.uss-salem.org/worldnav/usa/aux_flt.htm

“Jane’s Fighting Ships, 1999-2000,” p.839.





Transcribed by Michael Hansen

mhansen2@home.com