General stores issue ship

General stores issue ship is a type of ship used by the United States Navy during World War II and for some time afterwards.

The task of the general stores issue ship was to sail into non-combat, or rear, areas and disburse general stores, such as canned goods, toilet paper, office supplies, etc., to ships and stations.

Commanding officers and supply officers of ships and stations would sign requisitions for what they required, and a small boat, such as a LCVP, would make the trip to the general stores issue ship to have the requisitions filled.

General stores issue ships would provision in the States before sailing to the non-combat areas. However, rather than sail back to the States to reprovision, they would often remain at their location and provision from general cargo ships sent from the States to replenish their stores.

For example, the USS Pollux (AKS-4), homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, during the 1960s, maintained an inventory of 25,000 line items, supplying Seventh Fleet units with numerous items, augmented by other supply vessels delivering specialty materials, including foods, ammunition, and fuels. During a typical underway replenishment of a naval grouping (usually a squadron), Pollux would deliver supplies, via cargo nets and highline, while steaming at typically 15 knots, alongside receiving ships. Overall material could include hundreds of items, at a typical weight total to 120 tons to an aircraft carrier, 25-35 tons to a cruiser, 6-10 tons to a destroyer, as well as commensurate amounts to auxiliary ships (troop carriers, repair vessels, etc.). Along with the emphasis of underway replenishment (UNREP's), also delivered supplies to ships in various ports as well (INREP's). It has been estimated that Pollux alone supplied as much as one-sixth of Seventh Fleet's general logistical needs.

Example of use

An example of use of the requisition system used by the general stores issue ship can be found in the narrative of the Volans (AKS-9).

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

Modern naval ships and warships

List of naval ship classes in service submarine auxiliary

Aircraft carriers	Aircraft cruiser Amphibious assault ship Anti-submarine warfare carrier Balloon carrier CAM ship Escort carrier Fighter catapult ship Fleet carrier Helicopter carrier Light aircraft carrier Merchant aircraft carrier Seaplane tender Submarine aircraft carrier Supercarrier

Battleships	Coastal defence ship Dreadnought Fast battleship Pre-dreadnought battleship Super-dreadnought (Standard-type battleship) Treaty battleship

Cruisers	Armored cruiser Battlecruiser Flight deck cruiser Heavy cruiser Pocket battleship Light cruiser Merchant raider Protected cruiser Strike cruiser Unprotected cruiser

Escort	Aviso Convoy rescue ship Destroyer Destroyer escort Destroyer leader Frigate Guided missile destroyer Kaibōkan Sloop

Transport	Amphibious transport dock Amphibious warfare ship Attack transport Dock landing ship Landing craft Landing craft carrier Landing Craft Support Landing Ship Heavy Landing ship, infantry Landing Ship Medium Landing Ship, Tank Landing Ship Vehicle Troopship

Patrol craft	Armed boarding steamer Armed yacht Coastal Motor Boat Corvette Gunboat Harbour Defence Motor Launch Motor Launch Naval drifter Naval trawler Ocean boarding vessel Patrol boat Q-ship Steam Gun Boat Submarine chaser Torpedo boat

Fast attack craft	E-boat MAS MGB Missile boat MTB MTM MTSM PT boat Shin'yō

Mine warfare	Danlayer Destroyer minesweeper Mine countermeasures vessel Mine planter Minehunter Minelayer Minesweeper

Command and support	Amenities ship Ammunition ship Auxiliary repair dock Auxiliary ship Collier Combat stores ship Command ship Crane vessel Depot ship Destroyer tender Dispatch boat Fast combat support ship General stores issue ship Hospital ship Naval tugboat Net laying ship Repair ship Replenishment oiler Submarine tender

Submarines	Attack submarine Ballistic missile submarine Coastal submarine Cruise missile submarine Cruiser submarine Deep-submergence vehicle DSRV Fleet submarine Midget submarine U-boat

Miscellaneous	Arsenal ship Barracks ship Breastwork monitor Flagship Guard ship Littoral combat ship Monitor River monitor Training ship

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