Sacramento-class fast combat support ship

The Sacramento-class fast combat support ships were a class of four United States Navy supply ships used to refuel, rearm, and restock ships in the United States Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

USS Camden (AOE-2)
Class overview
NameSacramento
Builders
Operators United States Navy
Preceded byN/A
Succeeded bySupply-class fast combat support ship
In commission1964–2005
Completed4
Retired4
General characteristics
Typefast combat support ship
Displacement53,000 tons
Length795 feet (242.3 m) (overall)
Beam107 feet (32.6 m) (extreme)
Draft39 feet (11.9 m)
Propulsion4 boilers producing 600 psi (4,100 kPa) at 856 degrees Fahrenheit; super-heated steam driving 2 × turbines, producing 100,000 horsepower (75 MW) at 4,829 rpm
Speed26 knots
Complement24 officers, 576 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Mark 56 fire-control system
Armament
Aircraft carriedCH-46E Sea Knight

History

The idea of combining the capabilities of a fleet oiler (AO), ammunition ship (AE), and refrigerated stores ship (AF) had been conceived during the Second World War by Admiral Arleigh Burke, later Chief of Naval Operations, who sought to create a single ship that would perform the functions of three vessels while simultaneously integrating into a carrier battle group. This was deemed necessary because World War II replenishments had to be scheduled well in advance due to communications problems and were subject to change due to weather or combat related reasons. On top of that the Underway Replenishment Groups of that time were slow and unwieldy. After experimenting with this "replenishment oiler" concept with the German war prize Dithmarschen (placed in service as USS Conecuh (AOR-110)), the US Navy's solution to these problems was to create a multi-product station ship, which resulted in the construction of the Sacramento class. The Sacramentos had been designed to carry more fuel and ammunition than the largest ammunition ships then in service with the US Navy. The AOEs were also designed to be much faster than previous auxiliaries at 26 knots, giving them the ability to operate in company with a carrier battle group rather than in a separate, slower replenishment group. The first two ships each received one-half of the powerplants removed from the unfinished Iowa-class battleship Kentucky, while the remaining two received new construction machinery. All four had General Electric turbines.

To fulfill the same role in the less demanding Anti-Submarine Support Aircraft Carrier (CVS) groups, the navy built the similar, but smaller and slower, Wichita-class AORs.

Construction of the unnamed AOE-5 was cancelled in 1968.[1] There are no Sacramento-class ships in service with the Navy, the last one being retired in 2005.

The ships that now fulfill this role for the U.S. Navy are the Supply-class fast combat support ships. Those ships are not commissioned ships of the Navy; rather they are operated by the Military Sealift Command.

Ships

Ship name Hull no. Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate NVR Page
USS Sacramento AOE-1 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 30 June 1961 14 September 1963 14 March 1964 1 October 2004 Struck 1 October 2004, Sold for scrap AOE1
USS Camden AOE-2 New York Shipbuilding 17 February 1964 29 May 1965 1 April 1967 14 October 2005 Struck 14 October 2005, Sold for scrap AOE2
USS Seattle AOE-3 Puget Sound Naval Shipyard 1 October 1965 1 March 1968 5 April 1969 15 March 2005 Struck 15 March 2005, Sold for scrap AOE3
USS Detroit AOE-4 29 November 1966 21 June 1969 28 March 1970 17 February 2005 Struck 2 February 2005, Sold for scrap AOE4

Notes

  1. "AOE-1 Sacramento Fast Combat Support Ship". Federation of American Scientists. March 5, 1999. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
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