''Wichita''-class replenishment oilers comprised a
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
of seven
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 ...
s used by the
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 ...
from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The ships were designed for rapid
underway replenishment
Replenishment at sea (RAS) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) (U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First develope ...
using both connected replenishment and vertical replenishment.
Design
The original concept for the ''Wichita''-class was that the ships would serve the same function for the anti-submarine carrier (CVS) groups that the larger, faster
''Sacramento''-class ships did for the attack carrier (CVA) groups. During this time the ships were
commissioned naval auxiliaries with the
hull classification
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...
AOR.
The ships could carry 160,000 barrels (25,438,000 litres) of fuel oil (DFM) and/or jet fuel (JP5), 600 tons of munitions, 200 tons of dry stores and 100 tons of refrigerated stores. To transfer cargo, the ships were equipped with four fueling stations and two cargo handling stations on the port side and three fueling stations and two cargo handling stations on the starboard side. As built the port forward fuel station and associated tanks were for aviation gasoline (AVGAS), but were converted after the retirement of the Navy's last piston-engined aircraft. Originally, the first six ships only had a large helicopter landing deck aft, but no hangar. was the first ship equipped with a large double hangar for two
UH-46 Sea Knight
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft engines. It was designed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol following Vertol's acquisition by Boeing.
Development of th ...
helicopters. The hangar was later retrofitted to the other ships.
With the addition of the hangar, the ships lost the originally fitted
3"/50 caliber gun
The 3"/50 caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...
twin mounts that were located abaft the stack. In the 1980s, a Mk 29 launcher for the
NATO Sea Sparrow was fitted atop the hangar, and two
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...
were added.
General Dynamics, Quincy originally encountered problems during the construction, before the production was rationalised. took 24 months from keel laying to launch, 21 month, and only 14 months.
[, p. 464-651]
With the reduction in the U.S. Navy fleet, these ships were all decommissioned and stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
(NVR) in the 1990s.
Ships in class
Traditionally Navy oilers have been named for rivers; the ''Wichita'' class were named for city/river pairs with Native American names.
References
External links
NavSource Photo Archives: Replenishment Fleet Tanker (AOR) Index*
{{Wichita class replenishment oiler
Auxiliary replenishment ship classes
Wichita class replenishment oiler