Three of the eight Kilauea-class ships steaming together: Shasta (left), Kiska (right), Flint (rear) (2005)
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Class overview | |
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Builders: | General Dynamics, Bethlehem Steel, Ingalls Shipbuilding |
Operators: | US Navy and Military Sealift Command |
Preceded by: | Nitro-class ammunition ship |
Succeeded by: | Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship |
Built: | 1966–1972 |
In commission: | 1967–1996 |
Completed: | 8 |
Active: | 0 |
Scrapped: | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type: | ammunition carrier |
Displacement: | 13,688 tons, 20,500 f/l |
Length: | 564 feet (172 m) |
Beam: | 81 feet (25 m) |
Draft: | 29 feet (8.8 m) |
Propulsion: | one GE steam turbine, 22,000 shp; three Foster-Wheeler boilers; single propeller. |
Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
Complement: | 411 (USN)/130 (MSC) |
Armament: | originally four twin 3″/50 caliber gun mounts |
Aircraft carried: | two helicopters (UH-46 or MH-60) |
The Kilauea class ammunition ship is a class of eight United States Navy cargo vessels designed for underway replenishment of naval warships. The ships were constructed 1968–72 and were initially commissioned naval ships, carrying a crew of naval personnel. At various dates 1980–96 these ships were decommissioned and transferred to the Military Sealift Command for civilian operation. They were eventually all replaced by the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ships. The lead ship of the class, Kilauea, was commissioned on 10 August 1968, and the last, the Kiska, on 16 December 1972.