USS Caliente (AO-53) - Bay of Bengal Operations

Bay of Bengal Operations

Three days later Caliente was diverted to the Bay of Bengal in response to the India-Pakistan war that had begun on 3 December. The successful invasion of East Pakistan by India, with the accompanying fighting and unrest, led to U.S. naval forces being sent to assist, if need be, in the evacuation of American citizens. The oiler replenished Task Force 74 between 16–23 December, delivering badly needed fuel, before returning to Subic Bay on 30 December for another loadout.

In January the oiler conducted two line swings, with only a two-day turnaround at Subic Bay, before steaming into Singapore on 25 January 1972. She loaded fuel, a successful trial experiment to determine the feasibility of using the port on a regular basis, and made a line swing along the Vietnamese coast. After a port visit to Hong Kong Caliente returned to Subic and the dull but essential logistical support missions.

After twelve line swings the oiler put into Sasebo, Japan, on 30 July for upkeep. Six days later she departed for Long Beach and the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard for a major fuel conversion. The oilers engines were converted to diesel fuel by 29 November and she began preparations for yet another WestPac deployment.

After loadout at the San Pedro, California, fuel pier the twenty-nine-year-old oiler got underway for Subic Bay on 22 January 1973. Following an uneventful, but exercise intensive, crossing the oiler began her first line swing on 17 February. After a second line swing she visited Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Then she provided logistical support during "Operation Golden Dragon", a training exercise with the South Korean Navy, conducted her third line swing as she worked her way south, and put into the ANZUK Naval Basin, Singapore, for upkeep on 16 April.

Three more line swings lasted until 22 June when Caliente conducted a training exercise, "Sharkhunt II", with ships of the Taiwanese Navy. After loadout at Kaohsiung, and line swing number seven, the ship returned to Subic Bay for two weeks of repair and upkeep. On 22 July she departed for Yokosuka and, after another exercise with Taiwanese ships and training Japanese Naval Defense Force midshipmen, Caliente put into port on 2 August. The oiler, assigned as an escort to five MSO's, departed on 7 August for the long trip, via Guam, back to Pearl Harbor. The oiler, having completed her last tour, sailed into Long Beach on 1 September 1973. There she received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for her logistics support efforts for Seventh Fleet.