SITE NAVIGATION

SHIP SPECIFIC INFORMATION

TYPE	FAST COMBAT SUPPORT SHIPS (AOE)
CLASS	SACRAMENTO
OFFICIAL NAME	USS SACRAMENTO
PENNANT NUMBER	1
NICKNAME	N/A
MOTTO	READY FOR SERVICE
BUILDER	PUGET SOUND NAVAL SHIPYARD
CONTRACT AWARD DATE	08/08/1960
KEEL LAYING DATE	06/30/1961
LAUNCH DATE	09/14/1963
DELIVERY DATE	05/29/1964
COMMISSION DATE	03/14/1964
PLANNING YARD	PUGET SOUND NAVAL SHIPYARD
NAVSEA PMS	470
CUSTODIAN	US NAVY
STATUS	DISPOSED OF BY SCRAPPING 07/11/2008
HOMEPORT	N/A
MAILING ADDRESS	N/A
UIC (UNIT IDENT. CODE)	05832
TYPE COMMANDER	N/A
FLEET COMMAND	N/A
GROUP COMMAND	N/A
SQUADRON COMMAND	N/A

FAST COMBAT SUPPORT SHIPS (AOE)

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AOE 1 | USS SACRAMENTO

Namesake:

Legacy Name

The name SACRAMENTO has been worn by warships of the United States since 1863, when the first USS SACRAMENTO, a steam-propelled, wooden, sloop-of-war, was commissioned. The second ship, a Gun Boat, USS SACRAMENTO (PG-19), commissioned in 1914, sailed in many foreign waters and visited so many foreign ports it is unlikely her record will be equaled again. Her long and distinguished record included patrols and port calls in Central America, the Caribbean, New England Coast, Gibraltar, Barbery Coast, Italy, British Isles, Northern Russia, Norway, France, Suez Canal, Bombay, Colombia, Singapore, Philippine Islands, China, Japan, Siberia, California Cost, seven years of operations from Shanghai with the Asiatic Fleet, and training of Naval Reservist on the Great Lakes.

USS Sacramento (AOE-1), the third United States Ship to bear that name, is named for both the river and city in California. She combines the functions of three logistics ships in one hull; fleet oiler (AO), ammunition ship (AE), and refrigerated stores ship (AFS).

Historical Notes:

The keel was laid for the fleets' first, fasted and finest AOE at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington on June 30, 1961. The traditional bottle of champagne was broke against the bow of AOE 1 on September 14, 1963. by the ships sponsor, Mrs. Edmund Brown, wife of the California Governor, as she christened the ship USS SACRAMENTO.

SACRAMENTO was placed in commission on March 15, 1964. Under Secretary of the Navy Paul B. Fay Jr., the keynote speaker addressed the crowd of 1,300 in attendance, stating that, "The greatest pleasure I have in being here today is... participating in the commissioning of a vessel which will provide the Navy with a unique capability hitherto never contained in one ship." He added the ship would be able to "run in speed with a destroyer escort, thereby giving our fast attack carrier task forces a flexibility of action hitherto unknown."

SACRAMENTO is considered a benchmark in West Coast shipbuilding. The ship and two of her sister ships, SEATTLE and DETROIT, are the largest ships ever built on the West Coast. Only the Iowa class battleships and aircraft carriers have greater displacements than SACRAMENTO. The ship's main engines came from the never completed battleship KENTUCKY and deliver in excess of 100-thousand shaft horsepower to the two 23-foot screws, the largest of any ship in the Navy.

The ship was originally armed with four, 3-inch .50 caliber guns. The two forward guns, which were mounted forward of the bridge on the 01 level, were replaced by a NATO Sea Sparrow Missile System during a ship's overhaul in 1976. The after mounts, which were located aft of the stack on the 04 level, were replaced by two Vulcan/Phalanx Close In Weapon System mounts in 1981. That overhaul also saw improvements in satellite communications and navigation systems as well.

Cargo handling methods and equipment have also improved somewhat since 1964. SACRAMENTO originally was equipped with the first Fast Automated Shuttle Transfer (FAST) system to handle ammunition and stores. FAST relied on the use of cargo from the 01 level to the main deck. In 1977, the ship's elevators were modified to lift cargo directly to the 01 level. The FAST system was removed as the new system allowed cargo to be moved from the hold to elevator to transfer station using standard electric fork trucks, which are far less prone to equipment malfunctions. In addition, the modern Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method (STREAM) unrep system was installed.

When built, SACRAMENTO carried more fuel than the largest oiler and more ammunition than the largest ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy as well as a significant portion of the supplies that a stores ship carried. Today, SACRAMENTO carries more than five million gallons of marine distillate fuel and nearly three million gallons of aviation jet fuel. She is also capable of carrying more than six thousand tons of munitions, 300 tons of refrigerated provisions, 500 tons of dry provisions, and 150 tons of other supplies.