View source for Mars-class combat stores ship

{{more citations needed|date=June 2019}}

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = USS Mars (AFS-1) underway at sea, circa in the 1970s.jpg
| Ship caption = USS ''Mars'' (AFS-1), lead ship of the class
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Builders = [[National Steel and Shipbuilding Company]]
| Operators = {{navy|United States}}
| Class before = 
| Class after = {{sclass|Lewis and Clark|dry cargo ship|1}}
| Subclasses = 
| Built range = 1962–1970
| In commission range = 1963–1998
| Total ships building = 
| Total ships planned = 
| Total ships completed = 7
| Total ships cancelled = 
| Total ships active = 
| Total ships laid up = 
| Total ships lost = 
| Total ships retired = 7
| Total ships preserved = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Combat stores ship]]
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|9200|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|15900|-|18663|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
| Ship length = {{convert|581|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|79|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|28|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = *3 × [[Babcock & Wilcox]] boilers, 580 psi (3.7 [[megapascal|MPa]]); 825&nbsp;°F (440&nbsp;°C)
*1 × De Laval turbine
*{{convert|22000|shp|MW|1|abbr=on}} sustained
*1 shaft
| Ship speed = {{convert|21|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range = 
| Ship complement = 486 officers and enlisted men (in Navy commission); 26 Navy personnel, 118 civilians (Military Sealift Command)
| Ship sensors = [[Mark 56 Gun Fire Control System|Mark 56]] [[fire-control system]]
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armament = *4 × [[3"/50 caliber gun]]s (2×2) (originally 8 (4x2))
*Chaff Launchers
*4 × [[M240 machine gun|M240G]] 7.62×51mm medium machine guns ''or'' [[M249 Squad Automatic Weapon|M249]] 5.56×45mm light MG
*1 [[M2 Browning machine gun|M2]] 12.7×99mm heavy machine gun when security detachment is embarked
| Ship armor = 
| Ship aircraft = 2 × [[UH-46 Sea Knight]] helicopters
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
The '''''Mars''-class combat stores ships''' were a class of seven [[auxiliary vessel]]s of the [[United States Navy]]. The ships were designed for [[underway replenishment]], in support of [[Carrier battle group|carrier task force groups]], carrying miscellaneous stores and munitions. Initially they carried no [[fuel oil]] or liquid cargo, but by the early 1990s the class was refitted with limited refuel capacities for [[NATO F76|F-76]] fuel. None of the original seven ships originally [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] by the US Navy remain in service. The ''Mars'' class was replaced by the {{sclass|Lewis and Clark|dry cargo ship}}s.

Cargo capacity of the each ship was approximately 7,000 tons in five [[Hold (compartment)|holds]], with [[hangar]] space for two [[CH-46 Sea Knight|UH-46]] helicopters.

==Brief history==
[[File:Mars class combat stores ship line drawing 1981.png|thumb|left|1981 line drawing of a ''Mars''-class combat stores ship]]
Vessels in the class were constructed in mid-1960s, while early units commissioned in the late 1960s served in the [[Vietnam War]]. The vessels supported combat operations off the coast.

These ships continued to support naval units during their time in service in US Navy until the mid-1990s. ''Mars''-class ships were present and supported operations in [[Red Sea]] and the [[Persian Gulf]] during [[Gulf War|Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm]]. By the mid-1990s, five of the seven ships were transferred to the [[Military Sealift Command]].

==Ships==
The ships of the class are named for American resort and significant historical towns/cities.

* {{USS|Mars|AFS-1|3}} – decommissioned 1998; sunk as a [[SINKEX]] target off [[Hawaii]], 2006
* {{USS|Sylvania|AFS-2|3}} – decommissioned, 26 May 1994; [[James River]], Virginia, National Defense Reserve Fleet, [[Ship breaking|scrapped]] 2012.
* {{USS|Niagara Falls|AFS-3|3}} – transferred to Military Sealift Command, September 1994, served with Military Sealift Command until 1998, sunk as target 14 July 2012. 
* {{USS|White Plains|AFS-4|3}} – decommissioned, 1995; inactivated 2002, sunk as SINKEX target in [[RIMPAC]] exercise, 
* {{USS|Concord|AFS-5|3}} – transferred to Military Sealift Command, 15 October 1992, served with Military Sealift Command until 1998, inactivated in 2008, sunk as part of a SINKEX exercise.
* {{USS|San Diego|AFS-6|3}} – transferred to Military Sealift Command, 1993; scrapped, 2006
* {{USS|San Jose|AFS-7|3}} – transferred to Military Sealift Command, 1993; inactivated January 2010, scrapped 2012.

==Photos==
<gallery>
File:USNS_Niagara_Falls_(T-AFS-3).jpg|USNS ''Niagara Falls'' (T-AFS-3)
File:USNS Concord T-AFS-5.jpg|USNS ''Concord'' (T-AFS-5)
File:USNS San Jose T-AFS-7.jpg|USNS ''San Jose'' (T-AFS-7)
</gallery>

{{Mars class combat stores ship}}

<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/navy/docs/swos/eng/60b-102.html|title = Information Sheet}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars Class Combat Stores Ship}}
[[Category:Mars-class combat stores ships| ]]
[[Category:Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States| Mars class combat stores ship]]
[[Category:Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States| Mars class combat stores ship]]
[[Category:Gulf War ships of the United States| Mars class combat stores ship]]


{{US-navy-stub}}