Ammunition ships deliver munitions to warships. Ammunition ships keep the fleet supplied with ammunition and ordnance, independently or with other combat logistic ships. Ammunition is delivered by slings on ship-to-ship cables, and by helicopter.
Until recently the Navy operated two classes of ammunition ships: the Kilauea class and the Suribachi/Nitro class, though the units of the later closely related classes have been withdrawn from service. The five ships of the AE 21 SURIBACHI-class have been stricken, to be disposed of by Navy sale, or have been disposed of by Navy with title transfered to the Maritime Administration. The five ships of the AE 12 WRANGELL-class have been disposed of by Navy with title transfered to the Maritime Administration.Specifications | |||
| AE-21 Suribachi | AE-23 Nitro | ||
| Builder | |||
| Power Plant | One Propeller steam turbines | ||
| Length | Overall Length: 511 ft Waterline Length: 486 ft |
Overall Length: 512 ft Waterline Length: 487 ft | |
| Beam | Extreme Beam: 72 ft Waterline Beam: 72 ft |
Extreme Beam: 72 ft Waterline Beam: 72 ft | |
| Draft | Maximum Navigational Draft: 28 ft Draft Limit: 29 ft |
Maximum Navigational Draft: 27 ft Draft Limit: 29 ft | |
| Displacement |
Light Displacement: 9758 tons Full Displacement: 15688 tons Dead Weight: 5930 tons |
Light Displacement: 9050 tons Full Displacement: 15489 tons Dead Weight: 6439 tons | |
| Speed | knots ( mph) | ||
| Crew | Officers: 18 Enlisted: 327 | ||
| Aircraft | none | ||
Ships | ||||||
| Name | Number | Builder | Homeport | Ordered | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
| Suribachi | AE 21 | Bethlehem | 04 Jun 1954 | 17 Nov 1956 | 02 Dec 1994 | |
| Mauna Kea | AE 22 | Bethlehem | 04 June 1954 | 30 Mar 1957 | 30 Jun 1995 | |
| Nitro | AE 23 | Bethlehem | 23 Aug 1956 | 01 May 1959 | 28 Apr 1995 | |
| Pyro | AE 24 | Bethlehem | 23 Aug 1956 | 24 Jul 1959 | 31 May 1994 | |
| Haleakala | AE 25 | Bethlehem | 23 aug 1956 | 03 Nov 1959 | 10 Dec 1993 | |
