This list includes links to each ship's home page, Navy Department descriptions, photos, etc.
Feel free to help with further information. Click Here for the names of Reunion Coordinators for many of these Ships Most AE's are named after
volcanoes ...learn more about your ship's namesake volcano at Volcano World The Naval Vessel Register- What happened to your AE? Not all are listed.
UNPAID PLUGS
(Not that we didn't hit them up for some cash...) Some of the ship's patches on this page are available from Marine Photos, Inc.. They have lots of other interesting cups, caps and so forth. Check them out. Here's their 7th Fleet Patch for example. Also, check out Richard's Military Gifts for Caps, Shirts and Patches, too. They'll make one for your decommissioned ship. Also- for those Ship Caps, Shirts, etc, another non-paid plug- Try NavyShipShop.com
Here are more ship's patches from selected AE's and another page of patches from a reference book, "US Navy Ship's Patches". REUNION INFORMATION - Get back together with those old Shipmates !
Note: L=Launched C=Commissioned D=Decommissioned ReC= Recommissioned
AE's
Note: For General Histories and Specs on most of the AE's and other Auxiliaries go to the Dictionary of American Fighting Ships. For further info on any ship try "Hullnumber.Com" (A new but potentially comprehensive site.)
AE-1- Pyro (C-10AUG20, D-10SEP24, ReC-1JUL39 D-12JUN46) Pyro was the only AE present at Pearl Harbor on 7DEC41. It was in West Loch and was undamaged. It is credited with damaging one Japanese plane. More interesting background about AE-1. Another Pyro page
AE-8- Mauna Loa (C-1943)-Great web page for Rainier's East-Coast "sister"!
AE-9- Mazama (C-15 AUG 43)(One of the only Navy ammunition ships known to have been torpedoed in WW2- there was no ammunition explosion.More Mazama pictures See description of Mt Hood (AE-11) disaster, below.)
AE-22- Mauna Kea (L-3MAY56 C-30MAR57-Transferred to Reserve
Force 1OCT79- Returned to Active Duty on 1JAN82)
AE-23- Nitro A great homepage for AE2 and AE23- "The Grey Ghost of the Jersey Coast", aka "The Duke of Earle" (L-25JUN58 C-1MAY59 D-1APR95)(Mothballed at Bremerton)
AE-24- Pyro (L-5NOV58 C-24JUL59 Transferred to Reserve Force on 1SEP80- Returned to Active Duty on 1JUN82, and later transferred to Mil Sealift command as USNS Pyro) Here's a Pyro Web page.
All about the Ammunition Ships of the Military Sealift Command
-AE Notes-(Keep Scrolling for the AOE's)
1.) AE's numbered 1-19 were, for the most part, converted from Maritime Commission C-2 cargo hulls or some variant.Nitro and Pyro were built at Puget Sound Shipyard and displaced 7,000 tons. AE's 3,4,5,6,8,9 and 13 were built by Tampa Shipbuilding Co.and displaced about 13,000 tons. Each was powered by 2 Nordberg diesels. Sangay, AE-10 displaced 5826 tons and was diesel powered. AE's 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19 displaced 4600 tons (light) and were powered by geared turbines.
2.) "Suribachi" Class ships (AE-21 to AE-25) were built at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrows Point, MD, and are powered by 1 steam turbine engine. They have eight 3" guns in double mounts. They were modernized in the 60's to handle a cargo of guided
missiles. The 3" aft guns were removed and helo pads added. (USS Pyro also carried .50 machine guns and Stinger missiles while on duty in the Arabian Sea.)
3.) "Kilauea" Class Ships (AE-26 to AE-35) were powered by one steam turbine engine. The planned modified Kilauea Class ships, to be designated AE-36 to AE-40 were deferred in favor of the AOE-class ships. The Kilauea class design features the main cargo spaces forward of the superstructure, with a helo pad aft,
including a helo hangar. Phalanx "CIWS" systems were to be installed on the AE-27,-28 and-29.
AOE's
The AOE class are Fast Combat Support Ships and represent the next stage in evolution of the AE. The Sacramento class ships are the world's largest replenishment ships
and are able to provide a carrier battle group with fuel, ammunition and frozen and dry supplies. The ships of the Sacramento class displace 53,000 tons full load, while the Supply class ships displace 48,000 tons full load. The Supply class ships have been built by National Steel and Shipbuilding in San Diego.
AOE-1- Sacramento L-14SEP63 C-14MAR64
AOE-2- Camden L-29MAY65 C-1APR67- (Your Webmaster has a Cruise Book for the Camden for 1967-8- Camden vets can E-Mail us for a xerox copy for cost of printing.)
AOE-3-
Seattle L-2Mar68 C-5APR69 Here's another Seattle page. This guy LOVES this ship !
The next class of ship about to join the AE-AOE family is the ADC, a new replenishment ship designed to replace the older AE class and the old AFS class of dry cargo ships. Read the Naval Ship System command's description of the ADC's mission.
Reference: The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the US Fleet, 15th Edition, Norman Polmar, Naval Institute Press
AE-28
AE-34
