For more than a century, the U.S. Navy’s battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and amphibious warfare vessels have depended on a small group of specialized auxiliary ships to provide fuel, food, ammunition, parts and other material support and services. Without these workhorse vessels, the U.S. Fleet could not have won in World War II and it could not today deploy and remain on station in the Mediterranean, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

This book provides the rosters, histories, specifications and illustrations of 130 different auxiliary ship types used throughout U.S. history: the little-known ones, the latest expeditionary fast transports and future towing, salvage and rescue ships.