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USS ''Shasta'' (AE-33) was a ''Kilauea''-class replenishment ammunition ship of the United States Navy. She was named after Mount Shasta, a volcano in the Cascade Range in Northern California, USA. ''Shasta''s mission was to support forward deployed aircraft carrier battle groups, which she accomplished through underway replenishment (known as "unrep") and vertical replenishment (known as "vertrep"). ''Shasta'' and her crew honorably served their country in this role in war and peace across three decades, from Vietnam, to the Cold War, to the Iran-Iraq War, to Operation Desert Storm, and numerous other actions. To accomplish her underway replenishment mission, ''Shasta'' utilized seven underway replenishment stations utilizing the Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method (STREAM), and utilized four cargo booms to load and unload cargo. To accomplish her vertical replenishment mission, ''Shasta'' embarked two CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters together with their air and maintenance crews; ''Shasta''s ship's company ran the flight deck and tower. ''Shasta''s Deck Department was among the best in the United States Pacific Fleet. == Construction and commissioning == ''Shasta''s keel was laid down 10 November 1969 at the Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, sponsored by Mrs. Ralph W. Cousins, wife of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. She was launched on 3 April 1971. Upon completion, the builder took her to Charleston, South Carolina and delivered her to the Navy. ''Shasta'' was commissioned in Charleston on 4 February 1972, with Captain Warren C. Graham, Jr., in command. ''Shasta'' was a combat logistics ship whose primary missions were underway replenishment ("UNREP"), where it passed cargo and supplies to other warships steaming alongside close aboard, and vertical replenishment ("VERTREP"), where helicopters would transfer cargo to nearby ships. The main supplies transferred by ''Shasta'' was ammunition (bombs, missiles, etc.), but she also transferred significant quantities of fuel oil (Diesel Fuel Marine, or DFM, also known as NATO F76), spare parts, food, dry goods and personnel. ''Shasta''s initial armament included four twin 3"/50 caliber gun mounts and multiple .50 caliber machine gun positions. One of ''Shasta''s innovations was a covered main deck, which allowed for protected cargo handling operations, and fork truck use from the flight deck to the forward cargo holds and unrep stations. For a ship of its large size, ''Shasta'' had an interesting engineering design. It had three 600 psi steam boilers and only one propeller, and a prominent bulbous bow. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Shasta (AE-33)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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