T-AFS 8 Sirius Combat Stores Ship
Overview
| Specifications |
| Ships |
| Images |
| Sources and Resources |
These ships formerly were Royal Navy replenishment ships [ex-British Lyness Class], acquired by the Navy because of the increased logistics demands necessitated by maintaining two carrier battle groups in the Indian Ocean during the Iranian hostage crisis. Built in England in 1965 and 1966, they were extensively modernized with improved communications and underway-replacement facilities. USNS Sirius (T-AFS 8) was transferred from the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary to MSC on Jan. 18, 1981; USNS Spica (T-AFS 9) on Nov. 5, 1981; and USNS Saturn (T-AFS 10) on Dec. 13, 1983. They are part of the Navy Combat Logistics Force, and conduct underway and vertical replenishment in support of operating forces by simultaneously providing refrigerated stores, dry provisions, technical and aviation spares, general stores, fleet freight, mail, personnel and other items from five stations and utilizing two H-46 helicopters assigned per ship.
Specifications Return to Top |
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| Displacement | Light Displacement: 10205 tons Full Displacement: 16680 tons Dead Weight: 6475 tons |
| Length | Overall Length: 523 ft Waterline Length: 498 ft |
| Beam | Extreme Beam: 72 ft Waterline Beam: 72 ft |
| Draft | Maximum Navigational Draft: 26 ft Draft Limit: 26 ft |
| Speed | 18 knots |
| Power Plant | One diesel, 11,520 brake horsepower |
| Aircraft | Two UH -46 Sea Knight helicopters |
| Armament | None |
| Complement | 123 civilian, 47 Navy |
| Builder | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd., Wallsend-On-Tyne |
Ships Return to Top
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| Name | Number | Builder | Homeport | Ordered | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
| Sirius | T-AFS 8 | Swan | Norfolk | 04 Apr 1965 | 18 Jan 1981 | |
| Spica | T-AFS 9 | Swan | 01 Apr 1965 | 22 Nov 1981 | ||
| Saturn | T-AFS 10 | Swan | Norfolk | 01 Oct 1965 | 01 Dec 1983 | |
Sources and Resources Return to Top
- USNS Saturn home after hard days' work Military Sealift Command Newsrelease 31 Jul 1998 -- The combat stores ship USNS Saturn (T-AFS 10) returned home to Norfolk, Va., July 24, in the daunting shadow of America's newest aircraft carrier, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
- USNS Sirius (T-AFS 8) - Navysite.de
- USNS Sirius (T-AFS-8) - NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
- Combat Stores Ships - T-AFS - US Navy Fact File
