USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193)

USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was named after Captain Walter Stuart Diehl, USN, a career naval officer and aeronautical engineer.

USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193) in 2019
History
United States
Name: USNS Walter S. Diehl
Namesake: Walter Stuart Diehl (1893–1976), a U.S. Navy officer and American pioneer of aerodynamics and aircraft design
Ordered: 28 June 1985
Builder: Avondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down: 7 August 1986
Launched: 2 October 1987
Christened: 10 October 1987
In service: 13 September 1988-present
Identification:
Status: In active Military Sealift Command service
General characteristics
Class and type: Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler
Type: Fleet replenishment oiler
Tonnage: 31,200 deadweight tons
Displacement:
  • 9,500 tons light
  • Full load variously reported as 42,382 tons and 40,700 long tons (41,353 metric tons)
Length: 677 ft (206 m)
Beam: 97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft: 35 ft (11 m) maximum
Installed power:
  • 16,000 hp (11.9 MW) per shaft
  • 34,442 hp (25.7 MW) total sustained
Propulsion: Two medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 diesel engines, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity:
Complement: 103 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy officer, 64 merchant seamen, 20 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel)
Armament:
  • Peacetime: usually none
  • Wartime: probably 2 x 20-mm Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carried: None
Aviation facilities: Helicopter landing platform
Notes:
  • Five refueling stations
  • Two dry cargo transfer rigs

Design

The Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers were preceded by the shorter Cimarron-class fleet replenishment oilers. Walter S. Diehl has an overall length of 206.5 metres (677 ft 6 in). It has a beam of 29.7 metres (97 ft) and a draft of 11 metres (36 ft). The oiler has a displacement of 41,353 tonnes (40,700 long tons; 45,584 short tons) at full load. It has a capacity of 180,000 imperial barrels (29,000,000 l; 6,500,000 imp gal; 7,800,000 US gal) of aviation fuel or fuel oil. It can carry a dry load of 690 square metres (7,400 sq ft) and can refrigerate 128 pallets of food. The ship is powered by two 10 PC4.2 V 570 Colt-Pielstick diesel engines that drive two shafts; this gives a power of 25.6 megawatts (34,800 PS; 34,300 shp).[1]

The Henry J. Kaiser-class oilers have maximum speeds of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). They were built without armaments but can be fitted with close-in weapon systems. The ship has a helicopter platform but not any maintenance facilities. It is fitted with five fuelling stations; these can fill two ships at the same time and the ship is capable of pumping 900,000 US gallons (3,400,000 l; 750,000 imp gal) of diesel or 540,000 US gallons (2,000,000 l; 450,000 imp gal) of jet fuel per hour. It has a complement of eighty-nine civilians (nineteen officers), twenty-nine spare crew, and six United States Navy crew.[1]

Construction and delivery

Walter S. Diehl, the seventh ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 7 August 1986 and launched on 2 October 1987. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the Military Sealift Command with a primarily civilian crew on 13 September 1988.

Service history

Walter S. Diehl serves in the United States Pacific Fleet, seeing service in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf regions.

On 23 April 2002, Walter S. Diehl was passing through the Strait of Hormuz when six small motorboats sped alongside in an aggressive and threatening manner. Walter S. Diehl fired flares to warn the boats off, but they did not move away. She then opened fire with a .50-caliber (12.7-mm) machine gun and the boats sped off.

References
  1. "Fleet Replenishment". Naval Technology. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
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