Combatant CraftCombatant craft include patrol craft, amphibiouswarfare craft, and mine warfare craft.Patrol craft. Surface patrol craft are intended foruse relatively near the coast or in sheltered waters orrivers. These craft may be transported aboard largerunits.Amphibious warfare craft. All amphibious craftthat have the organic capacity for amphibious assault,principally in coastal waters. They may be transportedaboard larger units.Mine warfare craft. All craft with the primaryfunction of mine warfare that operate in coastal waters.They may be transported aboard larger units.Support CraftAmong the hardest working ships of the Navy arethe support craft. Not primarily fighting ships, they arefor the most part unarmed. These are ships that serve avariety of purposes in continental and overseas harbors,sea frontiers, convoys, amphibious forces, and taskforces. Many are small, but of incalculable use to theNavy.With a few exceptions, support craft designationsstart with the letter Y. A few of the class names identifythe many duties they perform:Auxiliary floating dry dock—large (AFDB) andsmall (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 QUESTIONSQ1. What is the term used to describe the transfer offuel and supplies between ships whileunderway?Q2. Ships usually maintain a distance of _______feet while taking on supplies at sea.Q3. What type of replenishment allows a receivingship to stay on station in combat formation?Q4. What class of ship is the largest and mostpowerful auxiliary ship?Q5. The mission of the rescue, salvage, and towingships is to—Q6. Support craft designators usually start with whatletter?NAVAL AIRCRAFTLearning Objective: When you finish this chapter, youwill be able to—Recognize fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft,to include aircraft nomenclature andcharacteristics.The history of naval aviation goes back to 1911when the Navy acquired its first aircraft, a pusher-typebiplane with no cockpit. The only covered surfaceswere the wings and tail, and flight speed was less than8-32Student Notes:
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