Combatant Craft
Combatant craft include patrol craft, amphibious
warfare craft, and mine warfare craft.
Patrol craft. Surface patrol craft are intended for
use relatively near the coast or in sheltered waters or
rivers. These craft may be transported aboard larger
units.
Amphibious warfare craft. All amphibious craft
that have the organic capacity for amphibious assault,
principally in coastal waters. They may be transported
aboard larger units.
Mine warfare craft. All craft with the primary
function of mine warfare that operate in coastal waters.
They may be transported aboard larger units.
Support Craft
Among the hardest working ships of the Navy are
the support craft. Not primarily fighting ships, they are
for the most part unarmed. These are ships that serve a
variety of purposes in continental and overseas harbors,
sea frontiers, convoys, amphibious forces, and task
forces. Many are small, but of incalculable use to the
Navy.
With a few exceptions, support craft designations
start with the letter Y. A few of the class names identify
the many duties they perform:
Auxiliary floating dry dock—large (AFDB) and
small (AFDL)
Floating crane (YD)
Diving tender (YDT)
Ferryboat or launch (YFB)
Fuel oil barge (YO)
Gasoline barge (YOG)
Oil storage barge (YOS)
Floating workshop (YR)
Tug (YTL, YTM, or YTB)
Water barge (YW)
REVIEW 5 QUESTIONS
Q1. What is the term used to describe the transfer of
fuel and supplies between ships while
underway?
Q2. Ships usually maintain a distance of _______
feet while taking on supplies at sea.
Q3. What type of replenishment allows a receiving
ship to stay on station in combat formation?
Q4. What class of ship is the largest and most
powerful auxiliary ship?
Q5. The mission of the rescue, salvage, and towing
ships is to—
Q6. Support craft designators usually start with what
letter?
NAVAL AIRCRAFT
Learning Objective: When you finish this chapter, you
will be able to—
Recognize fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft,
to include aircraft nomenclature and
characteristics.
The history of naval aviation goes back to 1911
when the Navy acquired its first aircraft, a pusher-type
biplane with no cockpit. The only covered surfaces
were the wings and tail, and flight speed was less than
8-32
Student Notes:
