The ''Chiwawa''-class oilers were

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

T3 Tanker The T3 tanker, or T3, are a class of seaworthy large tanker ships produced in the United States and used to transport fuel oil, gasoline or diesel before and during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The T3 tanker c ...

oilers Oiler may refer to: Ships * Replenishment oiler * Tanker (ship) Sports * Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team * City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team * Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ...

of the T3-S-A1 design built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard Maryland Steel, in Sparrows Point, Maryland, US, was founded in 1887. It was acquired by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in 1916 and renamed as the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard. The shipyard was sold in 1997 to Baltimore Marine Industries I ...

Sparrows Point, Maryland Sparrow's Point is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, adjacent to Dundalk. Named after Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelm ...

. The class consisted of five ships, all of which survived the war. All of the ships of the class initially were to be built for private companies, but the outset of World War II, the ships were transferred to the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

and given new names. Later, when allocated to the U.S. Navy, they were renamed again. Often the ''Chiwawa'' class is seen as part of the ''Kennebec'' class. In some cases the ''Kennebec'' class is divided into three classes, the ''Kennebec'' class (AO-36 to AO-40, AO-48), the ''Mattaponi'' class (AO-41 to AO-44, AO-47) and the ''Chiwawa'' class. The first two classes were of the T2 and T2-A designs whereas the ''Chiwawa''s were of the T3-S-A1 design, mainly differing in having only a 7,000 shp engine and a top speed of 15.3 knots. Three of the ships — , , and — were decommissioned at the end of the war. The remaining two — and — were in and out of commission until late 1957. ''Chiwawa'' (now ''Lee A. Tregurtha'') and ''Neshanic'' (now ''American Victory'') are still in commercial service on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. ''Enoree'' ''Niobrara'' were both eventually scrapped while ''Escalante'', then known as ''George MacDonald'', sank in 1960. Auke Visser's, T3 Tanker types
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Ships of the class

References

: * {{Chiwawa class oilers Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy Ships built in Sparrows Point, Maryland Auxiliary replenishment ship classes