USS Camden (AOE-2) | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Sacramento |
Builders | |
Operators | United States Navy |
Preceded by | N/A |
Succeeded by | Supply-class fast combat support ship |
In commission | 1964–2005 |
Completed | 4 |
Retired | 4 |
General characteristics | |
Type | fast combat support ship |
Displacement | 53,000 tons |
Length | 795 feet (242.3 m) (overall) |
Beam | 107 feet (32.6 m) (extreme) |
Draft | 39 feet (11.9 m) |
Propulsion | 4 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 |
Speed | 26 knots |
Complement | 24 officers, 576 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems | Mark 56 fire-control system |
Armament | |
Aircraft carried | CH-46E Sea Knight |
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.
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.
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 |
The fast combat support ship is a type of replenishment auxiliary ship. Different from traditional logistic ships, the fast combat support ship is designed with high speed to keep up with the carrier battle group/carrier strike group, while the multi-product station is capable of supplying all types of necessities for the fleet.
A naval ship is a military ship used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resilient and armed with weapon systems, though armament on troop transports is light or non-existent.
The Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo ship is a class of 14 underway replenishment vessels operated by the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command. The ships in the class are named after famous American explorers and pioneers.
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.
USS Sacramento (AOE-1) was the third ship in the United States Navy to bear the name, for both the river, and the capital city of California. She was the lead ship of her class of fast combat support ship.
USS Camden (AOE-2) was the second ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Camden, New Jersey that lies on the Delaware River across from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a Sacramento-class fast combat support ship, combining the functions of three logistic support ships in one hull - fleet oiler (AO), ammunition ship (AE), and refrigerated stores ship (AF).
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The second USS Seattle (AOE-3), a Sacramento-class fast combat support ship, was laid down on 1 October 1965, at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington; launched on 2 March 1968; sponsored by Mrs. William M. Allen, chairman of the board of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital Association, Seattle; and commissioned on 5 April 1969.
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USS Conecuh (AOR-110) was a fleet replenishment tanker, originally built by F. Schichau, Danzig, in 1938 as a combination oiler and supply vessel or "Troßschiff" for the Kriegsmarine and christened as Dithmarschen. Taken over by British authorities at Bremerhaven when World War II ended, Dithmarschen was allocated to the United States Navy on 15 January 1946 by the Inter-Allied Reparations Commission.
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