USS Sacramento ( AOE - 1 ) USS " Sacramento " ( AOE - 1 ) was the third ship in the United States Navy to bear the name , for both the river , and the capital city of California . She was the lead ship of her class of fast combat support ship . She combined the functions of three logistics ships in one hull ; fleet oiler ( AO ) , ammunition ship ( AE ) , and refrigerated stores ship ( AFS ) . Admiral Arleigh Burke originated the concept of a single supply ship system . He saw the design as an answer to logistics problems he encountered during World War II . The limited speed , range , and payload of early underway replenishment ( UnRep ) groups prevented resupply due to bad weather and tactical demands of the war . To counter these problems , the Fast Combat Support Ship ( AOE ) was designed . Construction . The keel was laid for the first at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard , Bremerton , Washington on 30 June 1961 . The traditional champagne bottle was broken against the bow of AOE - 1 on 14 September 1963 , by the ship ' s sponsor , Mrs . Edmund Brown , wife of the Governor of California . " Sacramento " was commissioned on 15 March 1964 . Undersecretary of the Navy , Paul B . Fay Jr . , addressed the crowd , stating , " The greatest pleasure I have in being here today is . . . participating in the commissioning of a vessel which will provide the Navy with a unique capability hitherto never contained in one ship . " He added the ship would be able to " run in speed with a destroyer escort , thereby giving our fast attack carrier task forces a flexibility of action hitherto unknown . " Service history . " Sacramento " served in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War . She was known as a " floating supermarket " because of all the goods she carried . The FAST ( Fast Automated Shuttle Transfer ) cargo handling system originally installed was replaced with the STREAM ( Standard Tensioned Replenishment Alongside Method ) underway replenishment system in 1977 . Her original armament consisted of four 3 " / 50 caliber gun s . The two forward guns were replaced by Mk . 29 NATO Sea Sparrow in 1976 , and the two aft mounts were replaced by Mk . 15 Phalanx CIWS in 1981 . In 1995 , MK - 23 TAS ( Target Acquisition System ) was installed to facilitate NSSMS and locate and track air threats . In 1995 while in the Persian Gulf , the ship assisted in " Operation Southern Watch " and in " Operation Vigilant Sentinel " . During an underway replenishment with the the " Sacramento " , lost her steering and collided into the starboard side of the Abraham Lincoln , crushing the M - frames , partially crushing a female crew berthing area , and punching a large hole in the TACAN room of the Sacramento . The " Lincoln " , sustained damage to her catwalks , an aircraft elevator was jammed into the up position and an approximate 10x10 hole was torn into the island . Both ships had to dock at Jebel Ali , U . A . E . the latter for several weeks for repair . In 1996 the " Sacramento " had one NATO Sea Sparrow launcher on the forecastle , two Phalanx CIWS past mid - ship port and starboard , one 25 mm automatic cannon on the port side , and four . 50 machine guns : two port and two starboard . The ship was also fitted with electronic warfare equipment : an AN / SLQ - 32 with four MK . 36 super - RBOC ( Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff ) decoys , and an electronics technician ran AN / SLQ - 25 towed torpedo decoy ( NIXIE ) . " Sacramento " was deployed to the Persian Gulf and supported operations during the First Gulf War . " Sacramento " was the first AOE to ever qualify for an electromagnetic interference certificate in 1996 . " Sacramento " decommissioned on October 2004 . On 13 April 2007 , a contract for the ship ' s disposal was awarded to Esco Marine . ex - " Sacramento " is currently undergoing scrapping in Brownsville , Texas . Performance . " Sacramento " is considered a benchmark in West Coast shipbuilding . The ship and two of her sister ships , and , are the largest ships ever built on the West Coast as of 2005 . Only s and aircraft carrier s have greater displacements than " Sacramento " . The ship ' s main engines came from the never - completed battleship , and deliver in excess of 100 , 000 shaft horsepower ( 75 MW ) to two 23 - foot ( 7 m ) screws weighing 19 . 25 tons each , the largest on any ship in the Navy . " Sacramento " was the fastest AOE ( fast combat support ship ) ever . The " Sacramento " routinely went head - to - head in speed runs and won against the west coast ' s AOE ' s , including the