posted March 04, 2008 01:37 AM               

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Navy Secretary Names Two New Auxiliary Dry Cargo Ships

Secretary of the Navy Dr. Donald C. Winter announced the naming of the seventh and eighth Military Sealift Command ships of the Lewis and Clark-class Auxiliary Dry Cargo ships (T-AKE) as Carl Brashear and Wally Schirra.

The selection of Carl Brashear, designated T-AKE 7, honors Master Chief Boatswain's Mate (Master Diver) Carl M. Brashear, who joined the United States Navy in 1948. He was a pioneer in the Navy as the first black deep-sea diver, the first black Master Diver and the first U.S. Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee, the result of a leg injury he sustained during a salvage operation. After 31 years of service, Brashear officially retired from the U.S. Navy on April 1, 1979. Brashear was the subject of the 2000 movie "Men of Honor" starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

The selection of Wally Schirra, designated T-AKE 8, was chosen in honor of Captain Walter "Wally" Schirra. Schirra was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Navy test pilot who served in both World War II and Korean War.

On Oct. 3, 1962, Schirra became the fifth American in space and is honored as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. He holds the distinction of being the only astronaut to fly in each of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. Schirra officially retired from the U.S. Navy and NASA in 1969. Schirra and the other original Mercury 7 astronauts were the subject of the 1983 movie "The Right Stuff".

The naming of Carl Brashear and Wally Schirra continues the tradition of the T-AKE Lewis and Clark-class of honoring legendary pioneers and explorers.

The ship's design is 689 feet in length, has an overall beam of 106 feet, a navigational draft of 30 feet, and displaces approximately 42,000 tons. Powered by a single-shaft diesel-electric propulsion system, the ship can reach a speed of 20 knots. As part of the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the ship will be designated USNS. The term stands for United States Naval Ship. Unlike their United States Ship (USS) counterparts, USNS vessels are manned primarily by civil service and civilian mariners working for the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command.

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posted March 04, 2008 08:28 AM               

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Originally posted by divemaster:
and it will probably have oars as a gotcha

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posted April 15, 2008 12:34 PM               

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General Dynamics NASSCO Lays Keel of USNS Wally Schirra

Construction of Ninth T-AKE Ship Begins Next Week

General Dynamics NASSCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, today laid the keel for USNS Wally Schirra, the eighth dry cargo-ammunition ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program. Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter recently named the ship in honor of the late Navy captain and original NASA pioneer. The Wally Schirra is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2009.

On April 21, NASSCO will begin construction of the ninth ship of the Lewis and Clark (T-AKE) class. The ship will be named later and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2010.

“From keel-laying to delivery, NASSCO is significantly reducing the T-AKE build cycle with each subsequent ship and providing substantial cost savings to the Navy,” said Frederick J. Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “What took 26 months to complete on T-AKE 1 is now projected to take 16 months for T-AKE 8 and 9. NASSCO recognizes that the timely delivery of these high-quality ships helps the Navy improve its global combat logistics capabilities.”

NASSCO has delivered the first four ships of the Lewis and Clark class and will deliver the fifth ship, USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5), in June. USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6) was launched on April 6 and USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) is under construction at the San Diego shipyard.

The T-AKE ship incorporates international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system to minimize operating costs over its projected 40-year service life. The primary mission of the ships is to deliver as much as 10,000 tons of food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea. NASSCO has contracts to build 11 T-AKE ships. The Navy has options to build three additional ships for a total class of 14 vessels.

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