permits a receiving ship to remain on station in combatformation, eliminating the necessity of temporarilyimmobilizing itself by going alongside another ship forreplenishment.Ammunition Ships.—Ammunition ships (AEs)(fig. 8-33) operate with replenishment groups to deliverammunition and missiles to the fleet at sea. Their designincorporates a mechanical handling system for morerapid loading and off-loading of ammunition. Themechanical handling system includes such equipmentas dual-cantilevered elevators in the holds; forklifttrucks; and low-lift, power-operated transporters on themain deck for handling palletized ammunition from theelevators to the transfer stations. Universal portablemetal dunnage provides maximum stowage with readyaccess to all types of ammunition. A tension highlinesystem is built into the design along with new, improvedelectro-hydraulic cargo winches for replenishment atsea. These improvements provide for much more rapidand reliable transfers and conservation of deck space.These ships are capable of handling all types of missiles(fig. 8-34).Oilers and Tankers.—Oilers (AOs), carryingNavy fuel oil, jet fuel, and other petroleum products,operate with replenishment groups and deliver theircargo to ships at sea. Oilers, as well as ammunition ships(fig. 8-35), can service ships on both sides simulta-neously.The AO (Jumbo) is a conversion of the AO thatincludes the installation of a new midsection in the hull.This midsection increases the payload and provides foran improved balance of cargo fuel products to meet themore recent demands placed upon the AO by theincrease in fleet requirements for jet aircraft fuel.Fast Combat Support Ships.—The fast combatsupport ship (AOE) is the largest and most powerfulauxiliary ship in the Navy. Unlike other replenishmentships, the AOE is designed to operate as an integralforce rather than as a unit of an underway replenishmentgroup.The AOE (fig. 8-36) is a multiple-product ship(missiles, fuel, ammunition, and general cargo) that hasa cargo-fuel capacity greater than that of our largestfleet oilers plus a hold capacity equal to the largestammunition ship. In addition, the ship carries a largeload of both general supplies, materials, andrefrigerated cargo.Other than speed and capacity, this ship has twomajor areas of improvement over other replenishmentvessels—material handling and replenishment at sea.Materials, other than missiles and special weapons, aremoved vertically by elevators or conveyors. Horizontalmovement of general cargo and ammunition is8-28Student Notes:Photograph courtesy of PH3 Jason BransonFigure 8-33.—USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) off-loads ammunition onto ammunition ship USS Mount Hood (AE 29).
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