USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3)
_at_Naval_Station_Norfolk_on_20_April_2016.JPG)
Lewis B. Puller at Naval Station Norfolk in April 2016
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Namesake: | Lewis B. Puller, Sr. |
| Awarded: | February 2012 |
| Builder: | NASSCO – San Diego, California |
| Cost: | $134.9 million US$ (FY 2014) |
| Laid down: | 5 November 2013 |
| Launched: | 6 November 2014 |
| Sponsored by: | Martha Puller Downs |
| Christened: | 7 February 2015 |
| Acquired: | 12 June 2015 |
| Identification: |
|
| Status: | In Service |
| Notes: | Operated by Military Sealift Command |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | Approx. 78,000 long tons (87,000 short tons) fully loaded |
| Length: | 764 ft (233 m) |
| Beam: | 164 ft (50 m) |
| Draft: | 25.5 ft (7.8 m) |
| Installed power: | Diesel-electric |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Range: | 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) |
| Boats & landing craft carried: |
Accommodation barge (298 mission-related personnel max.) |
| Complement: | 34 civilian mariners |
| Armament: | None |
| Aircraft carried: | Up to 4 CH-53 heavy-lift transport helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | Helicopter landing deck and hangar |
| Notes: | Afloat forward staging base variant |
USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3), (formerly T-MLP-3/T-AFSB-1) is the first purpose-built Expeditionary Mobile Base (previously Mobile Landing Platform, then Afloat Forward Staging Base) vessel for the United States Navy. It will be one of two Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) variants of the U.S. Navy's planned fleet of Expeditionary Transfer Dock vessels. Lewis B. Puller is slated to replace USS Ponce (AFSB-(I)-15) currently operating with the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in 2016.
Lewis B. Puller and its sister ship Hershel "Woody" Williams (T-ESB-4) will differ significantly from the U.S. Navy's first two Expeditionary Transfer Dock support vessels, Montford Point (T-ESD-1) and John Glenn (T-ESD-2). These two ships act as a floating base or transfer station that can be prepositioned off the target area.Lewis B. Puller and Hershel "Woody" Williams will serve as Expeditionary Sea Bases to support a variety of low-intensity missions. This allows more expensive, high-value amphibious warfare ships and surface combatant warships to be re-tasked for more demanding operational missions for the U.S. Navy. These ESB variants are slated to operate in the Middle East and the Pacific Ocean.
Lewis B. Puller will be operated by the Military Sealift Command. Its designation prefix will be "USNS." The crew will consist of civilian mariners under contract with U.S. maritime unions. Lewis B. Puller is intended to replace USS Ponce, the U.S. Navy's interim AFSB support ship.
The overall design of Lewis B. Puller is based on the hull of the civilian Alaska-class oil tanker.Lewis B. Puller will be outfitted with support facilities for its mine-sweeping, special operations, and other expeditionary missions. An accommodation barge will also be carried to support up to 298 additional mission-related personnel, including special-operations teams.
...
Wikipedia