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52-518: As a result of a 2012 reorganization, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force was renamed Combat Logistics Force, with some of its ship categories being transferred to a new Service Support program. Fifteen fleet replenishment oilers , the largest subset of Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships, provide fuel to deployed Navy ships at sea, as well as to their assigned aircraft. Oilers and the ships they refuel sail side by side as fuel hoses are extended across guide wires. Underway replenishment of fuel dramatically extends

104-408: A male fitting attached to the terminal end of a seven-inch hose". The Neoshos were also markedly larger than any previous USN oilers at over 650 feet in length (T6 class) with a capacity of 180,000 barrels of fuel. The Maumee -class were four 7184/32,950 ton T5-S-12a transport oilers that were in service from the mid-1950s through the mid-1980s. These were the first tankers built specifically for

156-496: A small contingent of MSC civil service mariners and Navy hospital personnel aboard to ensure the ships are ready should they be needed. When called into action, they can get underway in five days with an expanded crew of more than 60 civil service mariners and an expanded medical staff of up to approximately 1,200 military medical personnel. The Auxiliary Fleet's hospital ships are the: [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of

208-696: A water tanker. One of these oilers sank in 1947, and a second in Military Sealift Command (MSC) service in 1972. Some of the Escambias were later transferred to the US Army and used as mobile electric power plants in Vietnam. The T2-SE-A3 ( Cohocton ) subclass were mostly canceled, but would have differed from the A2s only in being built from the start with UNREP gear rather than being converted by

260-444: Is called underway replenishment . Furthermore, such ships often are designed with helicopter decks and hangars. This allows the operation of rotary-wing aircraft, which allows the resupply of ships by helicopter. This process is called vertical replenishment . These ships, when operating in concert with surface groups, can act as an aviation maintenance platform where helicopters receive more extensive maintenance than can be provided by

312-702: Is no longer in use. All of these oilers provide the combined services of the AO, AE, AFS and AK. The style " USNS " and prefix " T " identify a ship as being operated by a civilian crew under the Military Sealift Command (known as the Military Sea Transportation Service until 1970). There are three classes of vessels currently in commissioned service: Both the Henry J. Kaiser-class and Supply class will be replaced by

364-576: The Patoka, -class, the Alameda -class also served principally as transport tankers. The Cimarron -class oilers was a T3 Tanker class of 35 large, fast twin-screw oilers that began entering service in 1939, the Navy for several years having campaigned for oilers adequate to its needs, as the Patoka and Alameda classes clearly were not. "The high [18-knot] speed intended for these ships (12 to 13 knots

416-576: The Phalanx CIWS close-in weapons systems), small arms, machine guns and/or light automatic cannons. They may also carry man-portable air-defense systems for additional air defense capability. In the United States Navy , an Oiler is a Combat Logistics ship that replenishes other ships with fuel and in some cases food, mail, ammunition and other necessities while at sea, in a process called Underway Replenishment or UNREP. Up through

468-517: The Second World War Navy oilers used commercial tanker hulls, with the addition of UNREP gear, defensive guns, and military electronic and damage-control equipment; since the 1950s however they have been built from the keel up as specialized naval auxiliaries. They were previously classified as Fleet Oilers in the 20th century; under the current MSC operation their full classification is listed as Fleet Replenishment Oilers . Since

520-495: The United States Navy . Replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The United States Navy's hull classification symbol for this type of ship was 'AOR' (Auxiliary Oil Replenishment). Replenishment oilers are slower and carry fewer dry stores than

572-462: The fast combat support ship include the large British Fort class, displacing 31,066 long tons (31,565 t) and measuring 669 feet (204 m) in length and the United States' Supply -class USNS  Arctic , which displaces 48,800 long tons (49,600 t) and has an overall length of 754 feet (230 m). For all but the largest navies, replenishment oilers are typically one of

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624-505: The 1960s the classification Transport Oiler (AOT) has applied to tankers which ship petroleum products to depots around the world, but do not engage in UNREP. The first fleet oilers were identified by the hull designation AO, which is still in use. Large, fast multifunction oilers which also provide ammunition and dry stores are identified as Fast Combat Support Ships (AOE), and mid-size ones Replenishment Oilers (AOR). The AOR designation

676-530: The Fleet Replenishment Oilers (AOR)s, which were similar to the AOEs but with less capabilities, city/river pairs with Native American names were used: USS Kalamazoo , Wichita , Savannah , Wabash , Roanoke , etc. The Transport Oilers (AOT)s were often reclassified AOs and so they retained their original names. Some latter ships were named using civil merchant ship conventions. Arethusa

728-591: The John Lewis-class ships. List of United States Navy oilers#Light Replenishment Oilers (T-AOL) The following is a list of United States Navy oilers ( hull designations AO, AOE, AOL, AOR and AOT). It does not include gasoline tankers (AOG) or submarine oilers (AOSS). Oilers are considered to be auxiliaries by the US Navy, and this article's lists are thus a subset of this type of ship. All other auxiliaries can be found at List of auxiliaries of

780-553: The MARAD Type T2-SE, differing from the Kennebec -class ships principally in having turbo-electric drive, a consequence of a chronic shortage of reduction gearing. The T2-SE-A2 Escambias subclass had more powerful engines and were markedly faster than the -A1s. 30 of these oilers were ordered, but three of them were canceled before their completion; two others were converted into water distillation ships (AW) and one into

832-554: The MSTS (later the Military Sealift Command). The ships were not designed for underway replenishment (refueling ships at sea), but rather, they were made to carry bulk quantities of petroleum products, such as fuel oil , diesel fuel , and aviation fuel , to American and allied military forces overseas. At some time after the loss of USNS Potomac, the three survivors were reclassified as Transport Oilers (AOT). At

884-400: The Navy fleet with towing service and can tow Navy vessels as large as battleships. When augmented by Navy divers, fleet ocean tugs assist in the recovery of downed ships and aircraft. In addition, when carrying specialized equipment, the fleet ocean tugs can also perform submarine rescue operations. The Auxiliary fleet's tugs are: The MSC's four rescue and salvage ships recover objects from

936-557: The Navy moved to acquire two tankers then building for Standard Oil of New Jersey, the 5800/21,800 ton Esso Trenton and Esso Albany. These ships although not a Maritime Commission design were in fact very similar to the T2-A type commissioned as the Mattaponi -class, having been ordered by Standard Oil as replacements for the previously-requisitioned T3s Esso Albany (USS Sabine ) and Esso Trenton (USS Sangamon ), and at 17+ knots were

988-510: The Navy's carrier strike groups and other naval forces worldwide. Designed to operate for extended periods at sea, the Lewis and Clark -class ships have improved cargo handling equipment that increases efficiency and makes the ships more cost effective to operate and maintain. All of the Lewis and Clark -class ships are named after great American pioneers. These ships are listed as follows: The Military Sealift Command's fleet ocean tugs provide

1040-631: The Navy. Type T2-SE-A1: Type T2-SE-A2 ( Escambia subclass): The Navy requisitioned Standard Oil's 6000/24,100-ton Esso Columbia shortly after her launch in September 1942. At 18,500 dwt / 24,660 flt Atascosa was the largest oiler by capacity operated by the Navy during World War II. The elderly tanker J. C. Donnell was acquired in January 1943 with the intent of using her as a floating storage tank at New Caledonia. When it turned out that concrete barges could fulfill that role, USS  Pasig

1092-768: The Philippines in December 1941 and be available to the Allied fleet in Australia, she was recommissioned under an emergency bare-boat charter at Melbourne the following April and named for the Australian state . Her civilian master, a Naval Reserve officer, was placed on active duty and continued in command. The third large oiler class built during World War II was the Suamico -class. These 5730/21,880-ton oilers were of

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1144-400: The US Navy's modern fast combat support ships , which carry the classification 'AOE'. In 2020 the US Navy began to develop a new type of ship, the 'AOL' or light replenishment oiler ; construction of the first is planned for 2026. The development of the "oiler" paralleled the change from coal- to oil-fired boilers in warships. Prior to the adoption of oil fired machinery, navies could extend

1196-739: The USNS prefix rather than USS; ships with SS prefixes are under long-term charter with the Navy rather than under Navy ownership). Another design goal has been to reduce environmental risk of fuel spillage via the introduction of double-hulls. In 2020 the Navy began to develop a new type of ship, the Light Replenishment Oiler (AOL). U.S. Navy Fleet Oilers (AO)s were traditionally named for rivers and streams with Native American names: USS Neosho , Monongahela , Neches , etc. The largest World War II ships were named after California Missions : USS Mission Buenaventura , etc. The ships of

1248-499: The United States Navy , including the gasoline tankers . Tankers commissioned into the Navy for bulk storage at mobile bases by Service Squadrons during World War II were not classed as auxiliaries but as unclassified miscellaneous vessels (IX) . Ship status is indicated as either currently active [A] (including ready reserve), inactive [I], or precommissioning [P]. Ships in the inactive category include only ships in

1300-526: The bows and sterns. After many other cutting and welding modifications a new long ship was created; the three Cimarron -class jumbos were known as the Ashtabula -class. USS  Kaskaskia  (AO-27) pioneered the superior span-wire or "Elwood" refueling rig in December 1944. The first ram-tensioned rig was installed on USS  Pawcatuck  (AO-108) in 1954. Type T3-S2-A1: Type T3-S2-A3 ( Mispillion subclass, all jumboized): In January 1942

1352-531: The essentials to replenish Navy ships at sea. MSC's fast combat support ships, formerly sailor-operated, transferred to MSC for civil service crewing beginning in 2001. The fourteen Military Sealift Command Lewis and Clark -class dry cargo/ammunition ships are a new class of ships dedicated to the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. These ships are able to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to

1404-485: The fastest single-screw oilers in the Navy. The second large oiler class built during World War II was the Kennebec -class . These 16 ships were of the single-screw Maritime Commission type T2 (5580/21,000t, 16.5kt), larger T2-A (5880/21,750t, 16.5kt) and similar but somewhat slower T3-S-A1 (5630/21,000t, 15.3kt). Type T2: Type T2-A ( Mattaponi class): Type T3-S-A1 ( Chiwawa class ): Gulf Oil's 1936 Gulf Dawn

1456-425: The first oilers built for the US Navy after World War II, the first built expressly as naval oilers rather than conversions of civilian tanker designs, and the first designed from the outset to support jet operations. Six of these oilers were completed during 1954 and 55. "They were the first oilers designed specifically for underway replenishment. The final PROBE fueling device design was approved in 1965, consisting of

1508-712: The fleet about this time. Experiments beginning in 1917 showed that underway replenishment of fuel was possible. The US Navy made extensive use of the technique in World War II , and continued to refine the technology after the war. During the naval build-up for World War II US Maritime Commission (MarCom) standard T2 and T3 tankers were converted to US Navy oilers (AO)s. Following World War II larger ships were needed to replenish supercarriers . New oiler types (AORs) were developed to replenish carriers with ordnance and stores in addition to oil so as to minimize replenishment steaming time. Another step in this direction

1560-493: The inactive reserve, ships which have been disposed from US service have no listed status. Ships in the precommissioning category include ships under construction or on order. Note: tonnages are given in naval light/full load displacement Coaling was the principal means of fueling steam-powered warships and auxiliaries until about 1914, when fuel oil began to be introduced due to improved ease of refueling, range, and crew morale. The earliest ships on these lists were added to

1612-438: The largest ships in the fleet. Such ships are designed to carry large amounts of fuel and dry stores for the support of naval operations far away from port. Replenishment oilers are also equipped with more extensive medical and dental facilities than smaller ships can provide. Such ships are equipped with multiple refueling gantries to refuel and resupply multiple ships at a time. The process of refueling and supplying ships at sea

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1664-633: The midships position, which entered service during World War I. Cuyama was the first oiler to refuel a large ship underway by the broadside method, the cruiser Omaha in 1924. Unlike the succeeding Patoka/Alameda group, the Kanawha and Cuyama -classes moderate 14-knot speed made them useful in the early days of World War II . Two of these oilers were lost to Japanese action. In 1917 the US Navy ordered twelve tankers, eight of them Patoka -class oilers of 5,422/16,800 tons displacement designed and built by Newport News Shipbuilding . Completed just after

1716-466: The navy's wishes, demonstrating once again the mutual interests shared between the navy and the maritime commission." The original 12 and the 18 wartime repeats of these ships were of the U.S. Maritime Commission 's Type T3-S2-A1 (7,256/24,830 tons displacement); the last five were of the very similar but slightly larger T3-S2-A3 type (7,423/25,480 tons), sometimes called the Mispillion class. Four of

1768-548: The nearly identical T2-SE-A3 type. After operating under civilian charter during the late war and immediate postwar period, transporting fuel to the many US forces overseas, they were transferred to the Naval Transportation Service in 1947-48 and the new Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in 1949. Three Mission -class ships were later converted to Missile Range Instrumentation Ships (T-AGMs). T2-SE-A2: Mission Santa Ynez , scrapped in 2010,

1820-402: The range of their ships either by maintaining coaling stations or for warships to raft together with colliers and for coal to be manhandled aboard. Though arguments related to fuel security were made against such a change, the ease with which liquid fuel could be transferred led in part to its adoption by navies worldwide. One of the first generation of "blue-water" navy oiler support vessels

1872-537: The sea, tow or debeach stranded vessels and provide firefighting assistance. These ships, like fleet ocean tugs, are able to lift objects as heavy as downed ships and aircraft. The key advantage of these ships is their ability to rapidly deploy divers to conduct rescue and salvage operations. They are identified as follows: MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force operates the Navy's two hospital ships each containing 12 operating rooms and up to 1,000 beds. The ships are normally kept pierside in reduced operating status, each with

1924-519: The ships were converted into escort carriers (CVEs) in 1942, and two others were lost in combat. From 1964 through 1967, eight of the T3 type oilers were "jumboized" , including all five of the Mispillion -class and three of the Cimarron -class ships. This jumboization was done by cutting the ships in two with cutting torches, pulling the aft sections away, and moving in new mid-bodies and welding them to

1976-546: The smaller hangars of the escorting ships. Their size, additional facilities, and ability to support the operation of other vessels, means that replenishment oilers have been used as command ships , with some ships, such as the French Durance class , this capability being built into the vessels from the start. Because the replenishment oiler is not a combat unit, but rather a support vessel, such ships are often lightly armed, usually with self-defense systems (such as

2028-600: The time a Navy battle group can remain at sea. The fifteen ships of the oiler fleet are as follows: Ammunition ships supply ordnance to Navy combatants at sea, providing service through a combination of alongside transfers and vertical replenishment lifts via helicopter. The ammunition ships of the Auxiliary Fleet are: MSC's four fast combat support ships provide one-stop shopping to the fleet for fuel, ammunition, food and other cargo. These ships are especially valuable because of their speed and ability to carry all

2080-403: The time of the 1956 Suez Crisis the MSTS purchased twelve additional T2-SE-A1 merchant tankers, making them belated members of the vast Suamico class. Their naval service was temporary; with the strain on US tanker capacity easing in late 1957 the twelve were transferred to Maritime Administration custody and struck. A T5-S-RM2a tanker, American Explorer was laid down in 1957, intended to be

2132-531: The two most recent classes were named for noted ship designers and builders and civil rights leaders: USS Henry J. Kaiser , John Lewis , etc., with a handful of traditional river names included. For the Fast Combat Support Ships (AOE)s, the names of cities (traditionally cruiser names) were used for the first ships: USS Detroit , Camden , etc. Later ships received the names of supply ships of years gone by: Supply , Arctic , etc. For

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2184-482: The war, the Patoka -class ships, at 10.5 knots, were too slow to be effective fleet oilers, and for the most part served as transport tankers (although Tippecanoe was pressed into service as a fleet oiler during the desperate days of early 1942). These were the remaining four 1917 program oilers, 5450/14,500-ton tankers built to United States Shipping Board (USSB) Design 1128 between 1919 and 1921 by William Cramp & Sons , Philadelphia. Similar in size and speed to

2236-519: Was acquired as a war prize in 1946. She was reclassified as the first fleet replenishment tanker (AOR). The Missions were Type T2-SE-A2 ships like the Navy's Escambia -class ordered by the Maritime Commission in 1943 as civilian-operated transport tankers. The original order was for thirty, but six were taken over by the Navy and commissioned as AO-91 to 96; on the other hand the Maritime Commission took over three canceled Navy oilers of

2288-460: Was also British-built, in 1888 as the SS Gut Heil , and was purchased in 1917. Robert L. Barnes , a 1630/3850-ton Great Lakes tanker, was built in 1914 and purchased in 1918. With the advent of the Navy's new hull-numbering system in 1920 they were designated AO-8 and AO-14. The Cuyama -class ships were improved Kanawha -class ships, displacing 5,723/14,500 tons and with the bridge moved to

2340-571: Was briefly returned to her owners in September. Her name was given to one of the Escambia -class, with hull number AO-91. Sinclair Oil's Daniel Pierce was requisitioned in March 1943 and renamed USS Shikellamy (AO-90); in July however she was converted to a gasoline tanker and redesignated AOG-47. Type T2-SE-A3 ( Cohocton subclass ): The USS Conecuh was the former German tanker Dithmarschen and

2392-794: Was built in Britain 1893 as the SS Luciline and was purchased in 1898, serving originally as a water carrier. In 1910 she was converted to carry fuel oil, mostly in support of destroyers: she thus became the US Navy 's first oiler. With the new hull designation system of 1920 she was redesignated AO-7. The Navy's first fuel ships designed and built as oilers, rather than colliers, the Kanawha -class comprised two ships commissioned just before World War I , which displaced 5,950/14,800 tons . Until 1920 they were designated "Fuel Ship No. 13" etc. Maumee

2444-534: Was requisitioned in April 1942, renamed Big Horn and nominally designated AO-45; in fact she was modified into a Q-ship , a U-boat decoy equipped with concealed guns. She was transferred in 1944 to the Coast Guard as USCGC Big Horn (WAO-124), then back to the Navy as a transport tanker in 1945. SS George G. Henry had already served in the Navy in 1917-18 under her own name; as one of the few tankers to escape

2496-1155: Was the British RFA Kharki , active 1911 in the run-up to the First World War . Such vessels heralded the transition from coal to oil as the fuel of warships and removed the need to rely on, and operate within range of coaling stations. During the Second World War , the United States Navy's dramatically enlarged fleets, especially those in the Pacific Theater , required massive quantities of black oil, diesel oil , avgas , and other fuels and lubricants to support American land, sea, and air operations against remote, widely dispersed Japanese forces. Those supply demands resulted in U.S. Navy personnel refining many established practices for oilers and creating new procedures for replenishing warships while underway and for transporting highly combustible materials with increased effectiveness through hostile waters and over vast ocean distances. Modern examples of

2548-456: Was the first large US Navy vessel with diesel engines. In 1917 Maumee also became the first ship in the world to refuel others while underway in wartime conditions, and the first to do so in rough seas, having been positioned in the mid-Atlantic to aid the crossing of short-legged US destroyers to Britain under the supervision of her Chief Engineer, Lt. Chester W. Nimitz . Wartime acquisitions of civilian tankers. Sara Thompson , 2690/5840 tons,

2600-478: Was the last survivor of the over 500 T2 tankers built during World War II. T2-SE-A3: Five Type T2-SE-A1 tankers were transferred to the USSR under Lend-Lease and four returned to the United States in 1948-49, making them part of the extended Suamico family. The Maritime Administration replaced the wrecked Donbass (ex- Beacon Rock ) with her sister Sappa Creek . The 11,600/38,000-ton Neosho -class oilers were

2652-428: Was then considered the norm for a tanker) led to the introduction of the term "fast tanker," which was coined to describe these and all subsequent high-speed tankers subsidized by the maritime commission before World War II. The increases in speed and the extraordinary size of the propulsion system (the fastest commercial tankers then being built in the United States had only 5,000 s.h.p.) were obviously made to accommodate

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2704-412: Was to build high speed oilers (AOEs) that could match the speed of carriers and other warships. The latest oilers have been designed to reduce operating costs by reducing manning requirements (a trend begun in 1949 with the introduction of manning non-commissioned ships with civilian crews under the Military Sealift Command and its predecessors - such ships carry the 'T-' prefix on their hull symbols and

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