The Nitro class ammunition ships are a class of three auxiliary vessels of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. Launched in 1958-9, they were among the first specialised underway replenishment ships built after the Second World War, to carry munitions and the new guided missiles. These and the Suribachi class ammunition ships

Suribachi class ammunition ship

The Suribachi class ammunition ships are a class of two auxiliary vessels of the United States Navy. They were among the first specialized underway replenishment ships built after the Second World War...

 are sometimes considered to form a single class.

The Nitros were decommissioned in 1993-5 following the end of the Cold War and are currently mothballed.

Known Ships

• USS Nitro (AE-23)
  USS Nitro (AE-23)
  USS Nitro , an ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy, was laid down by Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s Sparrows Point Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland, 20 May 1957; launched 25 June 1958; sponsored by Mrs. Randolph McCall Pate; and commissioned 1 May 1959, Capt. Warren C...
  
  
• USS Pyro (AE-24)
  USS Pyro (AE-24)
  The second USS Pyro , an ammunition ship, was laid down 21 October 1957 by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Maryland; launched 5 November 1958; sponsored by Mrs. Stuart H. Ingersoll; and commissioned 24 July 1959 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Norfolk, Va., Capt. Robert A...
  
  
• USS Haleakala (AE-25)
  USS Haleakala (AE-25)
  USS Haleakala was a Nitro class ammunition ship of the United States Navy in service from 1959 to 1993.The USS Haleakala was launched on 17 February 1959 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland and was sponsored by Mrs. Maurice E. Curts, wife of Vice Admiral Maurice Curts....