Sacramento class fast combat support ship

USS Camden (AOE-2)
Class overview
Name:	Sacramento
Builders:	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, New York Shipbuilding
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	N/A
Succeeded by:	Supply class
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 at 856 degrees Fahrenheit; super-heated steam driving 2 × turbines, producing 50,000 horsepower (37.3 MW) at 4,829 rpm
Speed:	26 knots
Complement:	24 officers, 576 enlisted
Armament:	NATO Sea Sparrow missiles 2 × Phalanx close-in weapons systems
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.

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, the 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. 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.

Construction of the unnamed AOE-5 was cancelled in 1968. 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	Hull No.	Builder	Commissioning– Decommissioning	NVR Page
Sacramento	AOE-1	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard	1964–2004	AOE1
Camden	AOE-2	New York Shipbuilding	1967–2005	AOE2
Seattle	AOE-3	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard	1969–2005	AOE3
Detroit	AOE-4	Puget Sound Naval Shipyard	1970–2005	AOE4

External links

• Federation of American Scientists: AOE-1 Sacramento Fast Combat Support Ship