 The "Sacramento"s had been designed to carry more fuel and ammunition than the largest ammunition ships then in service with the US Navy.The AOEs were also designed to be much faster than previous auxiliaries at 26 knots, giving them the ability to operate in company with a carrier battle group rather than in a separate, slower replenishment group.The first two ships each received one-half of the powerplants removed from the unfinished , while the remaining two received new construction machinery.