Kilauea-class ammunition ship

Three of the eight Kilauea-class ships steaming together: Shasta (left), Kiska (right), Flint (rear) (2005)
Class overview
Builders:	General Dynamics, Bethlehem Steel, Ingalls Shipbuilding
Operators:	US Navy and Military Sealift Command
Preceded by:	Nitro-class ammunition ship
Succeeded by:	Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship
Built:	1966–1972
In commission:	1967–1996
Completed:	8
Active:	0
Scrapped:	3
General characteristics
Type:	ammunition carrier
Displacement:	13,688 tons, 20,500 f/l
Length:	564 feet (172 m)
Beam:	81 feet (25 m)
Draft:	29 feet (8.8 m)
Propulsion:	one GE steam turbine, 22,000 shp; three Foster-Wheeler boilers; single propeller.
Speed:	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	411 (USN)/130 (MSC)
Armament:	originally four twin 3″/50 caliber gun mounts
Aircraft carried:	two helicopters (UH-46 or MH-60)

The Kilauea class ammunition ship is a class of eight United States Navy cargo vessels designed for underway replenishment of naval warships. The ships were constructed 1968–72 and were initially commissioned naval ships, carrying a crew of naval personnel. At various dates 1980–96 these ships were decommissioned and transferred to the Military Sealift Command for civilian operation. They were eventually all replaced by the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ships. The lead ship of the class, Kilauea, was commissioned on 10 August 1968, and the last, the Kiska, on 16 December 1972.

External links

• The Kilauea class
• Kilauea class