Ammunition ship
Anammunition shipis anauxiliary shipspecially configured to carryammunition,usually for naval ships and aircraft. An ammunition ship's cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks between decks, and mechanisms for flooding entire compartments with sea water in case of emergencies. Ammunition ships most often deliver their cargo to other ships usingunderway replenishment,using bothconnected replenishmentandvertical replenishment.To a lesser extent, they transport ammunition from one shore-based weapons station to another.[1]
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U.S. Navy ammunition ships are frequently named for volcanos.[2]
DuringWorld War II,U.S. Navy ammunition ships were converted frommerchant shipsor specially built on merchant ship hulls, often ofType C2.They were armed, and were crewed by naval sailors. Several of them were destroyed in spectacular explosions during the war, such asUSSMount Hood,which exploded in theAdmiralty Islandson November 10, 1944, and theLiberty shipSSJohn Burke,which was hit by a singlekamikazeattack near thePhilippineson December 28, 1944, and which was captured on film by an amateur photographer on a nearby vessel.[3]The ship disintegrated in seconds with the loss of all hands.SSCanada Victory,SSLogan VictoryandSSHobbs Victorywere hit by kamikaze aircraft atOkinawaand sank.[4]
The last U.S. ammunition ships, theKilaueaclass,have been replaced by theLewis and Clark-class dry cargo ships,which also include carrying dry and refrigerated cargo.[5]
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References[edit]
- ^"AE Ammunition Ships".GlobalSecurity.org.Archivedfrom the original on 15 August 2008.Retrieved2008-08-18.
- ^Dictionary of American Fighting Ships (DANFS), Naval Vessel Register, Ammunition Ships.ArchivedJune 5, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- ^Hayes, Andrew (25 April 2012)."Kamikaze Attack – USSJohn Burke– Complete destruction of ship and all on board! ".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-14 – via YouTube.
- ^US Navy, Armed Guard Service
- ^"Lewis & Clark Class Auxiliary Cargo and Ammunition Ship (T-AKE)".Joint Interoperability Test Command web site.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-05-22.Retrieved2008-08-18.