SAVANNAH is the 4th of a class of multipurpose replenishment ship's built for the United States Navy. USS WITCHITA (AOR-1), USS MILWAUKEE (AOR-2), USS KANSAS CITY (AOR-3), USS WABASH (AOR-5), and USS KALAMAZOO (AOR-6),along with the SAVANNAH, comprise the AOR-1 Class. Replenishment oilers are named by the Navy in honor of United States cities and rivers whose names are of American Indian origin.
SAVANNAH is a large ship - 657 feet in length, 96 feet in the breadth, and displacing 39,310 tons. Her crew numbers 29 officers and 459 enlisted men. Representing a "one stop store at sea," SAVANNAH carries a wide range of logistic supplies for our combatant ships of the atlantic Fleet.
Millions of gallons of fuel oil, and jet fuel are provided through large hoses suspended by cable highline. Ammunition, including missiles, are transferred by rapid conveyor methods. Frozen meats and vegtables are provided from two large freeze-chill compartments. Consumable items are essential to a ship's operations, such as paint, swabs, and paper are carried in other cargo storerooms, as are all the sundries found in a drug store. Finally, movies and mail are delivered to receiving ships.
As part of her capability, a helicopter langing deck is used for vertical replenishment. With a capability of a sustained speed of 20 knots, the ship is able to operate independently or as a fast replenishment task group.
Being the first multipurpose oiler to have Sea Sparrow missile, Sea Snake and CIWS defense capabilities has enabled SAVANNAH to establish an outstanding record or sussessful Airborne Towed Target shoots with a total of 13 TDU's destroyed by gunfire. As a result, she is known as the Navy's
"FIRST and FINEST FAST ATTACK OILER"
U.S. SHIPS BEARING NAME SAVANNAH,
The FIRST SAVANNAH was one of a number of small vessels authorized by an Act of Congress, approved 4 May 1798; 51'9" in length and 15' in width, used for Naval Militia training and for harbor defense. This vessel was built in Savannah, Georgia.
The SECOND SAVANNAH was a sailing vessel displacing 1,725 tons with an overall length of 51'9". She was one of 9 frigates built at the New York Navy Yard. SAVANNAH joined the Pacific Squadron as flagship in 1844. On 7 July 1846, the squadron captured Monerey, Mexico, without firing a shot. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, SAVANNAH was deployed off the coast of Georgia.
The THIRD SAVANNAH(AS-8) displaced 10,800 tons and was built in Flensburg, Germany. Seized upon the United States' entry into World War I, at Seattle, Washington, she was converted to a submarine tender; commissioned on 3 November 1917, at the Puget Sound Navy Yard.
The FOURTH SAVANNAH (CL-42) was built by the New York Shipbuilding Association, in Camden, New Jersey. She was launched on 8 May 1937; and commissioned 10 March 1938. SAVANNAH was a "BROOKLYN" class light cruiser, displaced 9,475 tons, had an overall length of 608', and a beam of 69'. SAVANNAH received 3 battle stars for service during World War II.
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Although SAVANNAH's namesake is 15 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, the city is one of the largest ports on the East Coast with water frontage of more than 10 miles.
Savannah's population of maore than 150,000 people makes it Georgoa's second largest city, but as the birthplace of the state it ranks first in historical interest.
Savannah was founded in 1733 by General James E. Oglethorpe. From the city in 1819 sailed another ship named SAVANNAH. She was the first steam-propelled vessel built in the United States to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
During the Civil War, Savannah was an important port of the Confederacy until it's capture by General Sherman's army in 1864. In contrast, it has also gained fame as the birthplace of the Girl Scouts of America. Savannah is built on a walled bluff overlooking the Savannah River. It is a city that is well laid out, with many broad streets lined with oak, magnolia, and palmetto trees. Proximity to the ocean tempers the summer heat with cooling breezes which, with a wealth of flowers and tropical plants, give it an atmosphere unique among cities in the United States.
Savannah has become a great industrial city, manufacturing paper, metal, food products, chemicals, and fertilizers. As a transportation center, it handles shipments of cotton, lumber, sugar, cottonseed products, naval stores and tobacco.
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