The ''Kaweah''-class oiler was a class of
oil tankers
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined c ...
of
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Development
Four oilers were ordered for construction by the
William Cramp & Sons
William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century.
Company hi ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. These ships were the remaining four 1917 program oilers, 5450/14,500-ton tankers built to
USSB Design 1128 between 1919 and 1921. Similar in size and speed to the ''
Patoka''
-class'','' the ''Alameda'' and ''Kaweah''-classes also served principally as transport tankers.
Ships of class
Citations
{{Kaweah class fleet replenishment oiler