The ''Akar'' class is a series of two

replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

s and fleet support ships, designed and built for service in the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

. The

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the class, , was constructed in 1982–1983 and entered service in 1987. The second ship, , was constructed in 1993–1994 and entered service in 1995. Both ships were constructed in Turkey, though ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' was the first ship built for the Turkish Navy by a private shipyard. Both vessels remain in service.

Description

The ''Akar'' class is designed for

underway replenishment Replenishment at sea (RAS) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) (U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First develope ...

vessels and are rated as

s and fleet support ships. The vessels have a fully loaded displacement of and measure . They are long with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . The ''Akar'' class are powered by a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

driving one

shaft Shaft may refer to: Rotating machine elements * Shaft (mechanical engineering), a rotating machine element used to transmit power * Line shaft, a power transmission system * Drive shaft, a shaft for transferring torque * Axle, a shaft around whi ...

rated at . This gives the oilers a maximum speed of and a range of at . The two vessels, ''Akar'' and ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' have different capacities. ''Akar'' has capacity for of oil fuel. ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' has capacity for of oil fuel, of water, of hub oil and of stores. The vessels have a

helicopter pad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

over the stern capable of landing medium helicopters. The two vessels also differ in armament. ''Akar'' has twin-mounted /50 calibre guns and twin-mounted Bofors /70 guns. ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' mounts a Mk 15

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...

and twin Bofors 40 mm guns. For the 76 mm guns, ''Akar'' is equipped Mk 63

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a ...

while ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' mounts SPG-34

fire-control radar A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometim ...

. The vessels have a complement of 203 including 14 officers.

List of ships

Construction and career

The two ships of the ''Akar'' class were constructed in different decades. ''Akar'' was named for

Akar Akar is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Furkan Akar (born 2002), Turkish short track speed skater * Hulusi Akar (born 1952), Turkish Army general * Meltem Akar (born 1982), Turkish female boxer * Nasuh Akar (1925–198 ...

, and ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' for the commander of who died during a

naval exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the comb ...

in 1992. ''Akar'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in 1982 at

Gölcük Naval Shipyard Gölcük Naval Shipyard ( tr, Gölcük Donanma Tersanesi) is a naval shipyard of the Turkish Navy within the Gölcük Naval Base on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. Established in 1926, the shipyard serves for the bui ...

, Kocaeli, Turkey. The vessel was launched in 1983 and commissioned in 1987. ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' was laid down in 1993 by

Sedef Shipyard Sedef Shipyard ( tr, Sedef Tersanesi) is a Turkish shipyard established in Gebze, Kocaeli in 1972. Shipyard moved to Tuzla, Istanbul in 1990. The shipyard is building defense industry ships and commercial ships such as the multi-purpose amphib ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey, launched in 1994 and commissioned in 1995. ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' was the first Turkish naval ship to be constructed by a private shipyard. ''Akar'' is primarily used as an oiler while ''Yarbay Kudret Güngör'' is used as a logistic support ship.

Notes

Citations

References