Introduction
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Naval Gaming Introduction |
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USS Manatee (AO-58) refueling HMAS Warramunga, in Korean waters on 27 June 1951.
Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images.
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General
The replenishment formation is a formation developed by the United States Navy in the Second World War specifically to organize the underway replenishment of task forces. Unlike other formations, the locations of the stations in the main body of this formation are explicitly set, and are not normally open to modification by the OTC.
The description of the formation presented here is applicable to World War II and the following years, up until at least the late 1950s. By that time, the reduced size of service and combat forces had effectively eliminated the need for this large formation. Replenishment formations became much more flexible, often centering around only one or two replenishment ships.
The replenishment formation is, obviously, not a combat formation. Replenishment only occurs in the safest locations possible. However, no location is completely safe. Enemy contact during a replenishment operation has the potential for a major disaster.
Unlike the other formations described here, the replenishment formation is not normally subject to quick changes in its organization. The order in which ships will replenish is determined well before the operation begins, and the sequence determines where ships must be located.
The replenishment formation is also not a maneuvering formation. Once established, a replenish formation desires neither to turn nor change speed. While ships are alongside it is possible to execute highly limited turns, but this is considered an emergency measure and is not undertaken lightly. Such turns are extremely slow, typically about one degree of course change per half minute, and include pauses after every five degrees of course change to allow the ships to stabilize their positions.
Underway replenishment was not conducted at night during World War II. During the Korean War night time replenishment was practiced to allow forces to attack by day and resupply by night.
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Task Force 77 off Korea, June 1953. An aircraft carrier and a destroyer refueling from an oiler, as three other destroyers steam astern. The ship at right is USS Radford (DDE-446). Photographed from USS Manchester (CL-83).
Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images.
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Description of the Formation
The formation itself may be thought of as consisting of four parts; the Screen, the Service Lines, the Waiting Lines, and rescue ships (not shown in the figure above).
The Screen normally consists of destroyers and sometimes cruisers. The Screen shown in the figure above is the more modern circular screen. During much of World War II the Screen would typically have been a double bent line or a horseshoe. Destroyers and cruisers not assigned to the Waiting Lines at the start of the operation would be assigned to the Screen. As destroyers and cruisers were replenished, they would relieve Screen ships to allow them to be replenished. Screen ships which are assigned to the service unit are typicalls placed in the forward center of the Screen. These ships will not normally be replenished while another force is replenishing, and so will not need to be relieved during the replenishment operations.
The Service Lines contain the service ships. The 1st Service Line normally contains provision, stores, and ammunition ships. The 2nd Service Line contains oilers. Once formed, the ships in these lines never change stations. Ships to be replenished come to the service ships (today this remains true except for modern aircraft carriers, where the service ships approach them). The Service Lines may be expanded laterally (i.e., to the sides), but more lines are not added. The 2nd Service Line is always centered on the Formation Center (the figure shows an even number of ships with the Formation Center vacant). If this line has an odd number of ships, then a service ship occupies Formation Center. The 1st Service Line is disposed with its ships in the center of the intervals created by the 2nd Service Line. The locations of service ships are always staggered as shown in the figure; ships of the 2nd Service Line never follow a ship in the 1st Service Line. The distance between ships in the Service Lines is always 2,000 yards, and the interval between the Service Lines is always 2,000 yards.
The Waiting Lines contain the ships to be replenished. The Waiting Lines may be expanded laterally, but a Waiting Line will not normally have more than one ship more than the number of ships in the largest Service Line. If the number of large ships to be replenished is too great for the two Waiting Lines, an additional Waiting Line may be added, or the ships will be assigned to the rear of the Screen.
Rescue ships are small ships assigned to follow each of the service ships, usually at a distance of 500 to 1,000 yards. The purpose of a rescue ship is to recover any personnel or supplies which fall overboard during the replenishment operation. Post war replenishment formations always included rescue ships. Whether or not these ships were used during World War II is unclear. In modern replenishment operations helicopters may be used in place of rescue ships.
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USS Antietam (CV-36) and USS Wisconsin (BB-64) steam alongside USS Rainier (AE-5) as she pulls away after supplying ammunition to the carrier and battleship, in Korean waters on 8 February 1952.
Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images.
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Operation of the Formation
When an underway replenishment is to occur, the service unit will assume the replenishment formation prior to the arrival of the force to be replenished. The replenishing force will approach from astern. When ordered, ships designated for the screen will proceed to their assigned stations, and the other ships will move to their stations in the Waiting Lines. No replenishment begins until all ships are in their stations and the formation has stabilized.
When ordered, the large ships move from the 1st Waiting Line to the 2nd Service Line. Large ships normally take the port side of a service ship (see Note regarding aircraft carriers). As ships leave the 1st Waiting Line, the next ship in the replenishment order moves up from the following Waiting Line. Small ships, and sometimes large ships, will move to the starboard side of a service ship. When a ship completes fueling, it advances to the 1st Service Line to take on stores and ammunition. In cases where a ship needs to replenish from more than one ship in the 1st Service Line (ex. it needs stores or ammunition not available from a single ship), it will be cycled back into the Waiting Lines. Should a ship in the 1st Service Line not be ready to receive an advancing ship (ex. it isn't done with a ship currently alongside), the advancing ship will hold between the service lines behind the designated ship in the 1st Service Line. The next ship in the Waiting Lines will not move forward to a service ship until the advancing ship is able to approach its service ship, so that ships will not become clustered between the Service Lines.
An exception to this process is the rescue ships. A rescue ship is normally the next small ship to replenish from the service ship it follows. Its place will be taken by another small ship from the Waiting Lines or from the Screen.
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Task Force 77 replenishing during operations off Korea. The carrier in the foreground is USS Boxer (CVA-21), taking on fuel from an oiler, which is also fueling a destroyer. Two other carriers, several destroyers and another replenishment ship are following. Photo is dated 2 June 1953.
Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images.
Annotated version of the larger image. |
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Note
The location of the island on an aircraft carrier makes it unable to observe the separation between itself and a ship on its port side. Therefore, during World War II and the following years, an aircraft carrier would only replenish from the port side of a service ship. This remains true for aircraft carriers of the USN through to modern times. First hand reports indicate that the Royal Navy at times has ships approach on the port side of carriers. All other ships are normally able to replenish on either side.
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USS Jupiter (AVS-8) comes alongside USS Valley Forge (CV-45) to transfer supplies, during operations off the Korean Coast on 21 February 1951.
Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images.
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