Wichita-class replenishment oiler
{{more footnotes|date=January 2013}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=File:Commercial harbor tugs maneuver the replenishment oiler USS KALAMAZOO (AOR-6) toward the dock as the vessel returns to Norfolk from deployment in the Persian Gulf area during Operat - DPLA - e97387b07931e72c4ea1f29627808fbe.jpeg |Ship caption=USS Kalamazoo on 1 April 1991 }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Wichita |Builders=*General Dynamics, Quincy |Operators={{navy|United States}} |Class before=*{{sclass|Neosho|oiler|4}}
|Class after=*{{sclass|Supply|fast combat support ship|4}} |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range= |In service range= |In commission range=1969–1995 |Total ships building= |Total ships planned=7 |Total ships completed=7 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost= |Total ships retired=7 |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type=replenishment oiler |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=*13,533 tons empty,
|Ship length=640 ft (195 m) wl; 659 ft (201 m) oa |Ship beam=96 ft (29 m) |Ship height= |Ship draft=35 ft (10.6 m) |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=*3 × boilers, 2 × steam turbines,
|Ship speed=20 knots{{cite book|title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1979-80|page=727|year=1979|publisher=Jane's Publishing Group|editor=Capt. John E. Moore, R.N.|isbn=0531039137}} |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship troops= |Ship complement=34 officers, 463 men |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*(As built) 2 × twin 3"/50 caliber gun AA guns;
|Ship armor= |Ship aircraft=2 × UH-46 Sea Knight helicopters |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
Wichita-class replenishment oilers comprised a class of seven replenishment oilers used by the United States Navy from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The ships were designed for rapid underway replenishment using both connected replenishment and vertical replenishment.
Design
{{stack|File:USS Nimitz (CVN-68) underway replenishment.jpg}}
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 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.[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/aor-1.htm GlobalSecurity.org: AOR-1 Wichita] 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. {{USS|Roanoke|AOR-7|2}} was the first ship equipped with a large double hangar for two UH-46 Sea Knight 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 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 were added.[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/aor-1.htm FAS Military Analysis Network: AOR-1 Wichita]
General Dynamics, Quincy originally encountered problems during the construction, before the production was rationalised. {{USS|Wichita|AOR-1|2}} took 24 months from keel laying to launch, {{USS|Milwaukee|AOR-2|2}} 21 month, and {{USS|Kansas City|AOR-3|2}} only 14 months.{{cite book |last= Terzibaschitsch|first= Stefan|date= 1997|title= Seemacht USA|trans-title= Sea Power USA|url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D951374737 |language= German|location=Germany |publisher= Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg|isbn=3-86047-576-2}}, p. 464-651
With the reduction in the U.S. Navy fleet, these ships were all decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register (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.
| class="wikitable" | ||||||
| Ship | Hull No. | Builder | Home Port | Commissioned– Decommissioned | Fate | NVR page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{USS|Wichita|AOR-1|2}} | AOR-1 | rowspan=6|General Dynamics, Quincy | Oakland | 1969–1993 | scrapped, 2013 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR1|title=AOR-1}} |
| {{USS|Milwaukee|AOR-2|2}} | AOR-2 | Norfolk | 1969–1994 | scrapped, 2009 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR2|title=AOR-2}} | |
| {{USS|Kansas City|AOR-3|2}} | AOR-3 | Oakland | 1970–1994 | scrapped, 2014 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR3|title=AOR-3}} | |
| {{USS|Savannah|AOR-4|2}} | AOR-4 | Norfolk | 1970–1995 | scrapped, 2009 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR4|title=AOR-4}} | |
| {{USS|Wabash|AOR-5|2}} | AOR-5 | Long Beach | 1971–1994 | scrapped, 2013 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR5|title=AOR-5}} | |
| {{USS|Kalamazoo|AOR-6|2}} | AOR-6 | Norfolk | 1973–1996 | scrapped, 2009 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR6|title=AOR-6}} | |
| {{USS|Roanoke|AOR-7|2}} | AOR-7 | National Steel | Long Beach | 1976–1995 | scrapped, 2013 | {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AOR7|title=AOR-7}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.navsource.net/archives/09/21/21idx.htm NavSource Photo Archives: Replenishment Fleet Tanker (AOR) Index]
- {{cite book
| last = Wildenberg
| first = Thomas
| year = 1996
| url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/GSBO/index.html
| title = Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1995
| series =
| location = Annapolis, Maryland
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| accessdate = 2009-04-28
}}
{{Wichita class replenishment oiler}}
Category:Auxiliary replenishment ship classes