View source for Henry J. Kaiser–class replenishment oiler

{{Short description|Class of replenishment oiler craft}}
{{Refimprove|date=February 2009}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USNS Big Horn T-AO-198.jpg
| Ship image size = 300px
| Ship caption = {{USNS|Big Horn|T-AO-198}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = ''Henry J. Kaiser'' class
| Builders = * [[Avondale Shipyard]], Inc., [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]] (16 ships)
* [[Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Company]], [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, and [[Tampa Shipyards, Inc.]], [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], [[Florida]] (2 ships; neither completed)
| Class before = {{sclass|Cimarron|fleet replenishment oiler|4}}
| Class after = [[John Lewis-class replenishment oiler|''John Lewis'' class]]
| Subclasses = 
| Cost = 
| Built range = August 1984 – May 1996
| In service range = December 1986 – present
| In commission range = 
| Total ships planned = 18
| Total ships completed = 16
| Total ships cancelled = 2 (Ship hulls scrapped in 2011)
| Total ships active = 14 US, 1 Chile as of 1 March 2011
| Total ships laid up = 1
| Total ships transferred = 1 (''Andrew J. Higgins'', to Chile 2009)
| Total ships retired = 0
| Total ships preserved = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Fleet replenishment oiler]]
| Ship tonnage = {{DWT|31,200}}
| Ship displacement = * All ships: 9,500 tons light
* {{USNS|Patuxent|T-AO-201|2}}, {{USNS|Laramie|T-AO-203|2}}, and {{USNS|Rappahannock|T-AO-204|2}}: 42,000 [[long ton]]s (42,674 [[metric ton]]s) full load
* All other ships: Variously reported as 40,700 long tons (41,353 metric tons) and as 42,382 tons full load
| Ship length = {{convert|677|ft|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|97|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship height = 
| Ship draft = {{convert|35|ft|m|abbr=on|1}} maximum
| Ship depth = 
| Ship hold depth = 
| Ship decks = 
| Ship deck clearance = 
| Ship ramps = 
| Ship power = * {{convert|16,000|hp|abbr=on}} per shaft
* {{convert|34,442|hp|abbr=on}} total sustained
| Ship propulsion = Two medium-speed [[Colt-Pielstick]] PC4-2/2 10V-570 [[diesel engine]]s, two shafts, controllable pitch [[propellers]]
| Ship speed = {{convert|20|kn|km/h}}
| Ship range = 
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship boats = 
| Ship capacity = *''Patuxent'', ''Laramie'', and ''Rappahannock'': {{convert|159000|oilbbl|m3|abbr=on}} of [[fuel oil]] and [[jet fuel]]
* Other ships:{{convert|178000|to|180000|oilbbl|m3|abbr=on}} of [[fuel oil]] and [[jet fuel]]
* All ships: {{convert|7400|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of dry cargo space; eight {{convert|20|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[refrigeration|refrigerated]] [[Containerization|container]]s with room for 128 pallets
| Ship troops = 
| Ship complement = 66 to 89 [[civilian]] personnel and 7 to 24 U.S. Navy personnel
| Ship sensors = * 2 × AN/SPS-59 LN-66 surface search radars
| Ship EW = * [[AN/SLQ-25 Nixie]] Torpedo Countermeasures<ref>{{cite web|title=SLQ-25A/B (NIXIE) - Archive 7/2005|url=https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_pdf.cfm?DACH_RECNO=709|website=www.forecastinternational.com|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref>
| Ship armament = * Multiple .50 caliber machine guns
* Space, weight, and power reservations for 2 [[Phalanx CIWS|Phalanx]] [[CIWS|Close-In Weapons Systems]]<ref>{{cite web|title=T-AO-187 Kaiser Class - Archived 7/99|url=https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_old_pdf.cfm?ARC_ID=1823|website=www.forecastinternational.com|access-date=19 October 2017|quote=The electronics consist of two LN-66 radar units, a commercial fathometer and an SLQ-25 NIXIE torpedo decoy. They have space and weight reserved to mount two Mark 15 Phalanx close-in weapons systems when required.}}</ref>
| Ship armor = 
| Ship aircraft = 
| Ship aircraft facilities = [[Helicopter]] landing platform
| Ship notes = * 5 refueling stations
* 2 dry cargo transfer rigs
}}
|}

The '''''Henry J. Kaiser'' class''' is an American [[Ship class|class]] of eighteen fleet [[underway replenishment|replenishment]] [[oiler (ship)|oiler]]s which began construction in August 1984. The class comprises fifteen oilers which are operated by [[Military Sealift Command]] to provide underway replenishment of fuel to [[United States Navy]] combat ships and [[jet fuel]] for aircraft aboard [[aircraft carrier]]s at sea.<ref>{{cite web|title=FLEET REPLENISHMENT OILERS - T-AO|url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4400&tid=600&ct=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129161407/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4400&tid=600&ct=4|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 29, 2005|website=www.navy.mil|publisher=US Navy|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref>

Twelve of the ''Kaiser''s are not [[Double hull|double-hulled]] like most modern [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]]. The class will be replaced by the [[John Lewis-class replenishment oiler|''John Lewis''-class replenishment oiler]].<ref>{{cite web|author1=Ronald O'Rourke|title=Navy John Lewis (TAO-205) Class Oiler Shipbuilding Program: Background and Issues for Congress|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R43546.pdf|website=fas.org|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref>

One ship, operated by the United States from 1987 to 1996, was sold to Chile in 2009 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] into the [[Chilean Navy]] in 2010. Two ships were [[Ship breaking|scrapped]] in 2011 while still incomplete.

== Technical overview ==
There are stations on both sides of each ship for [[underway replenishment]] of fuel and stores. The ships in this class have a small capacity to carry and transfer fresh and frozen foods as well as other materials, and have two dry cargo transfer rigs.

{{USNS|Patuxent|T-AO-201|2}}, {{USNS|Laramie|T-AO-203|2}}, and {{USNS|Rappahannock|T-AO-204|2}} differ from the other 15 ships, in having [[double hull]]s to meet the requirements of the [[Oil Pollution Act of 1990]]. Hull separation is {{convert|6|ft|m}} at the sides and {{convert|6|ft|6|in|m}} on the bottom. This resulted in a 12% reduction in cargo capacity.

== Construction program ==

The circumstances of the construction program were convoluted and it is worthwhile to spell them out here. The original contract, for T-AO 187, was awarded to Avondale Industries, (Avondale), in November 1982. This contract included options for T-AOs 188, 189 and 190, which were exercised in January 1983, (T-AO 188) and November 1983, (T-AOs 189 and 190). A second-source contract, for T-AOs 191 and 192, was awarded to Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Company, (Penn Ship), in May 1985.

This contract included options for T-AOs 194 and 196, which were never exercised. After Penn Ship began to have cash flow problems, the Navy transferred these options from Penn Ship's contract to Avondale's contract and exercised them in June 1988. Additional options on Avondale's contract were executed in June 1985 for T-AO 193, in February 1986 for T-AO 195, in February 1987 for T-AO 197, in June 1988 for T-AO 198, in October 1988 for T-AOs 200, 202 and 204, and in March 1989 for T-AOs 199, 201 and 203.

The Navy's contract with Penn Ship for T-AOs 191 and 192 was terminated before the ships were complete. A new contract was executed with Tampa Shipyards, Inc., of Tampa FL, a division of the American Ship Building Company. This company should not be confused with Tampa Shipbuilding Company, (TASCO), which was a totally different entity, at a different location, long gone by 1989.

Disputes over corrective construction and materials costs between the U.S. Navy and Tampa Shipyards resulted in termination of this contract in 1993, when T-AO 191 was said to be 95% complete and T-AO 192 84% complete. The Navy then determined that the ships were no longer needed as oilers, and undertook a study of the feasibility of converting them to ammunition ships. This study concluded that such a conversion was cost-prohibitive and the ships were placed in long-term storage in an incomplete condition. They were sold for recycling in 2011.

== Naming ==

The class is named for its lead unit, {{USNS|Henry J. Kaiser|T-AO-187|2}}, which is named for the [[United States|American]] industrialist and shipbuilder [[Henry J. Kaiser]] (1882–1967). The first nine ships were named for American [[shipbuilder]]s, [[inventor]]s, [[naval architect]]s, and [[aeronautical engineer]]s who played important roles in the history of the U.S. Navy. The tenth to eighteenth ships were named after [[United States|American]] [[river]]s, which is a more traditional naming convention for U.S. Navy oilers.

== Operations ==

In U.S. Navy service, the ships serve in a non-commissioned status in the [[Military Sealift Command]], with primarily [[civilian]] crews, and as such, they are [[Ship prefix|prefixed]] as "[[USNS]]" instead of "[[United States Ship|USS]]", as commissioned ships are. After joining the fleet, the 16 completed ships all saw active service between 1986 and 1996, when {{USNS|Andrew J. Higgins|T-AO-190|2}} became the first unit of the class to be laid up. Since then, some of the others have also spent periods out of service in reserve or in a limited operational status.

== Foreign transfer ==

''Andrew J. Higgins'' never re-entered U.S. service after being laid up in 1996. She was sold to Chile in 2009 and was commissioned into the [[Chilean Navy]] in 2010 as ''Almirante Montt''.

== Ships ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!class="unsortable"|Photo !!Ship !! Hull No. !!class="unsortable"|Status !! Years Active !!class="unsortable"|NVR<br />Page
|-
|[[File:Henry J Kaiser replenishes Abraham Lincoln.jpg|150px|USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187)]] ||{{USNS|Henry J. Kaiser|T-AO-187|2}} ||T-AO-187 || Active - Proposed decommission 2027<ref name="decomm1">{{cite web|url=https://media.defense.gov/2022/Apr/20/2002980535/-1/-1/0/PB23%20SHIPBUILDING%20PLAN%2018%20APR%202022%20FINAL.PDF|title=Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels|publisher=media.defense.gov|date=20 April 2022|access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref> || 1986–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO187|title=AO187}}
|-
|[[File:DN-SC-87-06989.jpg|150px|USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188)]] ||{{USNS|Joshua Humphreys|T-AO-188|2}} ||T-AO-188 || Active - Proposed decommission 2026<ref name="decomm1" /> || 1987-1996; 2005-2006; 2010-present || {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO188|title=AO188}}
|-
|[[File:USNS John Lenthall T-AO-189.jpg|150px|USNS John Lenthall (T-AO-189)]] ||{{USNS|John Lenthall|T-AO-189|2}} ||T-AO-189 || Active - Proposed decommission 2023<ref name="decomm1" /> || 1987-1996; 1998–present || {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO189|title=AO189}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Andrew J. Higgins (T-AO-190) underway in the Gulf of Mexico on 15 September 1987 (6429266).jpeg|150px|USNS Andrew J. Higgins (T-AO-190)]] ||{{USNS|Andrew J. Higgins||2}} ||T-AO-190 || Inactivated May 1996. Sold to the [[Chilean Navy]] May 2009. Towed to [[Atlantic Marine|Atlantic Marine Alabama]] shipyard, [[Mobile, Alabama]], September 2009 for three-month refit. Commissioned in [[Chilean Navy]] on 10 February 2010 and renamed ''Almirante Montt''.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110707102830/http://photos.al.com/4464/gallery/chilean_navy_ship_commissioned/index.html]|| 1987-1996 (USA); 2010–present (Chile)
 ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO190|title=AO190}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Benjamin Isherwood (T-AO-191).jpg|150px|USNS Benjamin Isherwood (T-AO-191)]] ||{{USNS|Benjamin Isherwood||2}} ||T-AO-191 || Cancelled when 95.3% complete, <br />transferred to the [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]],<br />laid up in the [[James River Reserve Fleet]],<br />scrapped in 2011|| Launched 1988, christened 1991, never in service ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO191|title=AO191}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Henry Eckford (T-AO-192).jpg|150px|USNS Henry Eckford (T-AO-192)]] ||{{USNS|Henry Eckford|T-AO-192|2}} ||T-AO-192 ||Cancelled when 84% complete, <br />transferred to the [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]],<br />laid up in the [[James River Reserve Fleet]], <br />scrapped in 2011 || Launched 1989, never in service
 ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO192|title=AO192}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Walter S Diehl T-AO-193.jpg|150px|USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193)]] ||{{USNS|Walter S. Diehl|T-AO-193|2}} ||T-AO-193|| Decommissioned 1 October 2022<ref name="nvr1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_AO_193.HTML|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025114418/http://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_AO_193.HTML|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2016|title=Walter S. Diehl|publisher=nvr.navy.mil|date=7 October 2022|access-date=2 November 2022}}</ref> || 1988–2022 ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO193|title=AO193}}
|-
|[[File:USS Cowpens (CG-63) and USNS John Ericsson (T-AO-194).jpg|150px|USNS John Ericsson (T-AO-194)]] ||{{USNS|John Ericsson|T-AO-194|2}} ||T-AO-194 || Active - Proposed decommission 2026<ref name="decomm1" /> || 1991–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO194|title=AO194}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Leroy Grumman T-AO-195.jpg|150px|USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO-195)]] ||{{USNS|Leroy Grumman|T-AO-195|2}} ||T-AO-195 || Active - Proposed decommission 2025<ref name="decomm1" /> || 1989–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO195|title=AO195}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Kanawha T-AO-196.jpg|150px|USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196)]] ||{{USNS|Kanawha|T-AO-196|2}} ||T-AO-196 || Active || 1991–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO196|title=AO196}}
|-
|[[File:Pecos T-AO-197.jpg|150px|USNS Pecos (T-AO-197)]] ||{{USNS|Pecos|T-AO-197|2}} ||T-AO-197 || Active - Proposed decommission 2026<ref name="decomm1" /> || 1990–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO197|title=AO197}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Big Horn T-AO-198.jpg|150px|USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198)]] ||{{USNS|Big Horn|T-AO-198|2}} ||T-AO-198 || Ran aground September 2024|| 1992–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO198|title=AO198}}
|-
|[[File:Tippecanoe UNREP with Bulkeley.jpg|150px|USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO-199)]] ||{{USNS|Tippecanoe|T-AO-199|2}} ||T-AO-199 || Active || 1993–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO199|title=AO199}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Guadalupe T-AO-200.jpg|150px|USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200)]] ||{{USNS|Guadalupe|T-AO-200|2}} ||T-AO-200 || Active || 1992–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO200|title=AO200}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Patuxent T-AO-201.jpg|150px|USNS Patuxent (T-AO-201)]] ||{{USNS|Patuxent|T-AO-201|2}} ||T-AO-201 || Active || 1995–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO201|title=AO201}}
|-
|[[File:US Navy 040823-N-0120R-051 The Military Sealift Command (MSC) oiler USNS Yukon (T-A0 202) prepares for a replenishment-at-sea (RAS) with USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) in a turbulent western Pacific Ocean.jpg|150px|USNS Yukon (T-AO-202)]] ||{{USNS|Yukon|T-AO-202|2}} ||T-AO-202 || Active || 1994–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO202|title=AO202}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Laramie T-AO-203.jpg|150px|USNS Laramie (T-AO-203)]] ||{{USNS|Laramie|T-AO-203|2}} ||T-AO-203 || Active || 1996–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO203|title=AO203}}
|-
|[[File:USNS Rappahannock T-AO-204.jpg|150px|USNS Rappahannock (T-AO-204)]] ||{{USNS|Rappahannock|T-AO-204|2}} ||T-AO-204 ||Active || 1995–present ||{{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AO204|title=AO204}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Henry J. Kaiser class oilers}}

{{Henry J. Kaiser-class oiler}}{{Active ship classes of the United States Navy}}
[[Category:Auxiliary replenishment ship classes]]
[[Category:Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers| ]]
[[Category:Ships of the United States Navy]]