USS Kilauea (AE 26) Class

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USS Kilauea (AE 26).
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Class: KILAUEA (AE 26).
Design: SCB Project Nos. 703.65 and 703.66
Displacement (tons): 11,915 light, 20,169 full (AE 26)
Dimensions (feet): 564' oa, 540' wl x 81' e/wl x 31' max nav
Armament: 4-3"/50T; (28 and 29: 1976, others 1979) 2-3"/50T; (35: 1983, others except 26: 1988-90) 2-3"/50T, 2-CIWS; (same: 1993) 2-CIWS
Accommodations: 28 officers, 375 enlisted (AE 26)
Speed (kts.): 22 (20 sustained)
Propulsion (HP): 22,000
Machinery: Steam turbines, 3 pressure-fired boilers (600psi), 1 screw

Construction:

AE	Name	Ord	Builder	Keel	Launch	Comm
26	KILAUEA	30 Mar 1965	Bethlehem Quincy	10 Mar 1966	9 Aug 1967	10 Aug 1968
27	BUTTE	30 Mar 1965	Bethlehem Quincy	21 Jul 1966	9 Aug 1967	14 Dec 1968
28	SANTA BARBARA	26 Jan 1966	Bethlehem Sparrows Point	20 Dec 1966	23 Jan 1968	11 Jul 1970
29	MOUNT HOOD	26 Jan 1966	Bethlehem Sparrows Point	8 May 1967	17 Jul 1968	1 May 1971
32	FLINT	8 Mar 1968	Ingalls	4 Aug 1969	9 Nov 1970	20 Nov 1971
33	SHASTA	8 Mar 1968	Ingalls	10 Nov 1969	3 Apr 1971	26 Feb 1972
34	MOUNT BAKER	8 Mar 1968	Ingalls	5 Oct 1970	23 Oct 1971	22 Jul 1972
35	KISKA	8 Mar 1968	Ingalls	8 Apr 1971	11 Mar 1972	16 Dec 1972

Disposition:

AE	Name	T	Inact	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale/Depart
26	KILAUEA	Tr	15 Sep 2008	15 Sep 2008	22 Jul 2012	Target	--
27	BUTTE	Tr	24 May 2004	24 May 2004	30 Jun 2006	Target	--
28	SANTA BARBARA	Tr	3 Aug 2005	3 Aug 2005	31 Oct 2006	Navy sale	--
29	MOUNT HOOD		10 Aug 1999	10 Aug 1999	29 Nov 2001	MA/T	4 Jun 2013
32	FLINT	Tr	8 Nov 2013	8 Nov 2013	8 May 2014	MA/T	24 Nov 2015
33	SHASTA	Tr	7 Apr 2011	7 Apr 2011	11 Sep 2013	MA/S	--
34	MOUNT BAKER	Tr	2 Aug 2010	2 Aug 2010	23 Jul 2012	MA/S	--
35	KISKA	Tr	13 Jan 2011	13 Jan 2011	30 May 2013	MA/S	--

Class Notes:
An early preliminary design for a FY 1965 Ammunition Ship (AE) was practically a copy of the FY 1961 MARS class Combat Store Ship (AFS). The design was soon radically altered, with the superstructure moved well aft and an extra deck level added over the tops of the cargo holds which allowed for protected cargo handling operations and fork truck use from the flight deck on the stern to the forward cargo holds and unrep stations. Approved characteristics for an Ammunition Ship (AE), SCB Project No. 703.65, were promulgated on 12 March 1964 and updated as SCB Project No. 703.66 on 18 December 1964 with a final change on 24 September 1968. The ships would have been designed for the FAST (Fast Automated Shuttle Transfer) UNREP system, which by 1970 was being replaced by the simplified STREAM (Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method) system. They had five replenishment stations with sliding blocks and ram tensioners on each side plus one more on the centerline. Engineering innovations included a bulbous bow for more efficient hull lines and the APS (Automated Propulsion System), essentially a central console in an air conditioned space in the engine room which gave automatic readings of the performance of the engineering plant and allowed direct control of the engines from the bridge or the engine room console. EL PASO (AKA 117) and SAN JOSE (AFS 7) were prototypes for this type of machinery plant automation.

The last two ships had shields on the after as well as the forward 3"/50 gun mounts. By 1980 AE 27 had the the Mk 36 Mod 2 SRBOC (Super Rapid Blooming Off board Countermeasures) chaff and decoy launching system and most or all of the others except KILAUEA (MSC) subsequently received it. The antennas for the SLQ-32 ECM system that controlled it were placed on the bridge wings. Also by 1980 AE 32-35 were scheduled to receive the Mk 16 Mod 1 CIWS Weapon Group with AE 35, probably the class prototype, getting it in 1983. The others followed in 1988-90.

Ship Notes:

AE	Name	MA	Notes
26	KILAUEA		FY 1965. Decomm and to MSC 1 Oct 1980. Towed from San Francisco 28 Mar 2008, arrived at Pearl Harbor for layup in the Pacific Reserve Fleet in Aug 2008, then stricken for use as a target. Sunk 24 July 2012 by a Mark 48 torpedo from the Australian submarine HMAS FARNCOMB.
27	BUTTE		FY 1965. Decomm and to MSC 3 Jun 1996. Sunk as a target 30 June 2006 off the central U.S. east coast by Harpoon missiles, a Mark 48 torpedo from USS SAN JUAN (SSN 751), and EOD explosives.
28	SANTA BARBARA		FY 1966. Decomm and to MSC 30 Sep 1998. Downgraded by MSC to planned disposal 3 Aug 2005 and stricken. Dismantlement at Brownsville, TX, probably completed 10 Oct 2007.
29	MOUNT HOOD		FY 1966. Transfer to MSC planned 1998 but cancelled. To MA custody 17 Aug 1999. Departed MA custody under domestic sale 21 Aug 2013. Placed under tow 5 September 2013 to Brownsville, Texas, to be dismantled.
32	FLINT		FY 1967. Decomm and to MSC 4 Aug 1995. Entered Beaumont reserve fleet and to MA custody 12 Dec 2013. Departed MA custody 8 Dec 2015 under domestic sale contract with All Star Metals LLC of Brownsville.
33	SHASTA		FY 1967. Decomm and to MSC 1 Oct 1997. Out of service with MSC 7 Apr 2011. Title to MA 11 Sep 2013 and then immediately to Int'l Shipbreaking for disposal.
34	MOUNT BAKER		FY 1968. Decomm and to MSC 18 Dec 1996. Title to MA 23 Jul 2012, ship sold as domestic sale and withdrawn from MA custody same date.
35	KISKA		FY 1968. Decomm and to MSC 1 Aug 1996. Title to MA at time of sale (in Navy but not MA records). Dismantlement completed 20 Nov 2013 by ESCO Marine at Brownsville, TX.