Photo By Jessica McClanahan | Fuel Tank 127 is demolished after 118 years of service to the Fleet at Naval Station...... read more read more
By: Fred Wruck, NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville NSGB
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba --In March of 2021, one of the last icons of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station skyline, Tank 127 was decommissioned and dismantled. What stood for 118 years was laid to rest as a pile of twisted steel and broken cement blocks, having proudly completed its mission.
During the life cycle of Tank 127, many monumental events unfolded which were directly supported by her presence. Dating back to the fallout of the Spanish-American war in 1898, the United States was permitted to establish a coaling station along the southern coastline of the newly independent state of Cuba. In 1903 a treaty was signed by Theodore Roosevelt and Jose M. Garcia Montes permitting the United States to lease a 45 square mile track of land. The Guantanamo Bay Naval Reservation served as the framework for what is now Guantanamo Bay Naval Station—the oldest overseas U.S. Naval base in the world.
Also in 1903, before the Wright brothers first took flight, The Petroleum Iron Works Company of Sharon, PA completed construction and commissioned two fuel tanks in the Happy Valley tank farm, later numbered Tanks 126 and 127. Each of these tanks was capable of storing 750,000 gallons of fuel to support U.S. Navy operations at the newly established Naval Reservation.
Constructed of riveted steel plates, the thousands of hand hammered rivets were to become a lasting presence of the Naval Station. At some point, an outer skin of concrete blocks was added to assist in preserving the exposed steel shell from the environmental elements of the salty Caribbean air. Originally designed to store heavy diesel and later converted to store gasoline, it is unfathomable to comprehend the scope of activities these tanks supported during their lifetime.
In the shadows of these icons, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman visited the installation along with numerous other notable dignitaries including General John J. Pershing, Admiral and Mrs. Forrest P. Sherman, Vice Admiral R. V. Symonds-Tayler, aviator Charles Lindbergh, members of the United States Congress and multiple foreign dignitaries each of which have seen these solemn giants while visiting.
They have supported conflicts including both World Wars, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile crisis. More recent activities included the invasion of Grenada, the mass evacuation of over 30,000 Haitians temporarily housed in their shadows, and most recently supported the activities of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. As the oldest fuel tanks on the base, they have served Naval Operations at Guantanamo Bay for generations—years beyond their expected lifespan.
Inevitably, with time comes change. In 2016 Tank 126 was demolished to make way for two new fuel storage tanks. In January of 2021, having provided 118 years of service, Tank 127 was taken offline and emptied for the final time. Two months later, the last remnants of Tank 127 were removed and the footprint of where this century old landmark once stood was finished and graded—removing any trace of its existence.
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2021 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 397629 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 562 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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