Editing Replenishment oiler (section)

==History==
[[File:RFA Tiderace Dual RAS with HMS Lancaster and HMS Westminster.jpg|thumb|left|{{ship|RFA|Tiderace|A137|6}} performing a dual repenishment of [[Royal Navy]] frigates {{ship|HMS|Lancaster|F229|6}} and {{ship|HMS|Westminster|F237|6}}.]]
The development of the "oiler" paralleled the change from coal- to oil-fired boilers in warships. Prior to the adoption of oil fired machinery, navies could extend the range of their ships either by maintaining [[coaling station]]s or for warships to raft together with [[Collier (ship)|colliers]] and for coal to be manhandled aboard. Though arguments related to fuel security were made against such a change, the ease with which liquid fuel could be transferred led in part to its adoption by navies worldwide.[[File:Sirius refueling Juneau.jpg|thumb|300px|The replenishment oiler {{HMAS|Sirius|O 266|6}} (right) providing fuel to the amphibious warfare ship {{USS|Juneau|LPD-10|6}} while both are underway]]One of the first generation of "blue-water" navy oiler support vessels was the British RFA ''Kharki'', active 1911 in the run-up to the [[First World War]]. Such vessels heralded the transition from coal to oil as the fuel of [[warship]]s and removed the need to rely on, and operate within range of coaling stations. During the [[Second World War]], the United States Navy's dramatically enlarged fleets, especially those in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific Theater]], required massive quantities of black oil, [[diesel oil]], [[avgas]], and other fuels and lubricants to support American land, sea, and air operations against remote, widely dispersed Japanese forces. Those supply demands resulted in U.S. Navy personnel refining many established practices for oilers and creating new procedures for replenishing warships while [[Underway replenishment|underway]] and for transporting highly combustible materials with increased effectiveness through hostile waters and over vast ocean distances.<ref>[http://www.usmm.org/tankers.html "Tankers Built in U.S. During World War II"], American Merchant Marine at War (usmm.org).  Retrieved June 9, 2017.</ref><ref>Sawyer, L. A.; Mitchell, W. H. (1974).  ''Victory ships and tankers; the history of the "Victory" type cargo ships and of the tankers built in the United States of America during World War II''.  Cornell Maritime Press, Cambridge, Maryland, 1974.</ref>

Modern examples of the [[fast combat support ship]] include the large British Fort class, displacing {{convert|31,066|LT}} and measuring {{convert|669|ft|m}} in length and the United States' {{sclass|Supply|fast combat support ship|0}} {{USNS|Arctic|T-AOE-8|6}}, which displaces {{convert|48,800|LT}} and has an [[Length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|754|ft|m}}.