USNS Big Horn

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USNS Big Horn.jpg
USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198)
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSNS Big Horn
NamesakeThe Bighorn River in Wyoming and Montana
Ordered20 June 1988
Builder Avondale Shipyard, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana
Laid down9 October 1989
Launched2 February 1991
In service21 May 1992-present
Identification
StatusIn active Military Sealift Command service
Badge USNS Big Horn T-AO-198 Crest.png
General characteristics
Class and type Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler
Type Fleet replenishment oiler
Tonnage31,200 deadweight tons
Displacement
  • 9,500 tons light
  • Full load variously reported as 42,382 tons and 40,700 long tons (41,353 metric tons)
Length677 ft (206 m)
Beam97 ft 5 in (29.69 m)
Draft35 ft (11 m) maximum
Installed power
  • 16,000 hp (11.9 MW) per shaft
  • 34,442 hp (25.7 MW) total sustained
PropulsionTwo medium-speed Colt-Pielstick PC4-2/2 10V-570 diesel engines, two shafts, controllable-pitch propellers
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity
Complement103 (18 civilian officers, 1 U.S. Navy officer, 64 merchant seamen, 20 U.S. Navy enlisted personnel)
Armament
  • Peacetime: usually none
  • Wartime: probably 2 x 20-mm Phalanx CIWS
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilities Helicopter landing platform
Notes
  • Five refueling stations
  • Two dry cargo transfer rigs

USNS Big Horn (T-AO-198) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy.

Big Horn, the twelfth ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 9 October 1989 and launched on 2 February 1991. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the Military Sealift Command with a primarily civilian crew on 21 May 1992. She serves in the United States Atlantic Fleet.

This ship was one of several participating in disaster relief after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The Big Horn brought relief supplies to Haiti. During Operation Unified Response, Big Horn transferred 618 pallets of cargo and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief supplies and over 2,000,000 gallons of fuel. USNS Big Horn got underway from Naval Station Norfolk the day after the earthquake struck, arrived on scene in Haiti on January 17 and worked until being relieved by USNS Leroy Grumman on 11 February. [1] In 2015, she refueled RFA Gold Rover in the South Atlantic. [2]

In September of 2024, she ran aground off Oman while with attached to USS Abraham Lincoln's strike group. The incident strained American logistics within the fleet amid rising tensions due to Israeli attacks on Lebanon as she was the only oiler in the region. She was quickly brought into a local port, and no casualties or oil spills were reported; images showing flooding were released. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name Big Horn, after the Bighorn River.

NRP <i>Bérrio</i> 1970 Rover-class small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Portuguese Navy

NRP Bérrio (A5210) was a fleet support tanker of the Portuguese Navy. She was built by Swan Hunter in 1969 at Hebburn, England as RFA Blue Rover (A270) of the Rover-class and from 1970 to 1993 was part of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In 1982 during her British service she participated in the Falklands War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Sealift Command</span> United States Navy command for logistics

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Replenishment oiler</span> Naval auxiliary ship

A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers.

USNS <i>Rappahannock</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Rappahannock is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy.

USNS <i>John Ericsson</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS John Ericsson (T-AO-194) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy attack adversaries.

USNS <i>Guadalupe</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy.

USNS <i>Tippecanoe</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO-199) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) to support ships of the United States Navy. She serves in the United States Pacific Fleet. Tippecanoe, the thirteenth ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 19 November 1990 and launched on 16 May 1992. She entered non-commissioned U.S. Navy service under the control of the MSC with a primarily civilian crew on 8 February 1993.

USNS <i>Henry Eckford</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Henry Eckford (T-AO-192) was a Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was never completed.

USNS <i>Kanawha</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler of the United States Navy in non-commissioned service in the Military Sealift Command.

USNS <i>Henry J. Kaiser</i> United States Navy resupply ship

USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) is a United States Navy fleet replenishment oiler and the lead ship of her class. Her mission is to resupply U.S. Navy and allied ships at sea with fuel oil, jet fuel, lubricating oil, potable water, and dry and refrigerated goods, including food and mail.

USNS <i>Walter S. Diehl</i> Oiler of the United States Navy

USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO-193) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was named after Captain Walter Stuart Diehl, USN, a career naval officer and aeronautical engineer.

USNS <i>Leroy Grumman</i> Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler of the US Navy

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<i>John Lewis</i>-class replenishment oiler Class of ship

The John Lewis class is a class of fleet replenishment oilers which began construction in September 2018. The class will comprise twenty oilers which will be operated by Military Sealift Command to provide underway replenishment of fuel and limited amounts of dry cargo to United States Navy carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, and other surface forces, to allow them to operate worldwide.

References

  1. http://www.msc.navy.mil/msfsc/news.asp?show=1268332794&edition=032010/ [ dead link ]
  2. "RFA Gold Rover's globe trotting goes on". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
  3. "US Navy replenishment ship operating in Mideast was damaged in an incident, officials say". AP News. 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  4. Lagrone, Sam (25 September 2024). "Oiler USNS Big Horn Now in Port in Oman as Congress Raises Questions Over Logistics Fleet". USNI News. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
Replenishing HMS Montrose in 2021 HMS MONTROSE RAS with UCNS Big Horn MOD 45167841.jpg
Replenishing HMS Montrose in 2021