Watson-class vehicle cargo ship

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Watson (T-AKR-310).jpg
USNS Watson, the lead ship of the class.
Class overview
NameWatson class
Builders National Steel and Shipbuilding Company
Built19962002
In commission1998-present
Planned8
Completed8
Active8
General characteristics
Type Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off
Displacement62,970 tons full
Length951.4 ft (290.0 m)
Beam106 ft (32.3 m)
Draft34.1 ft (10.4 m) maximum
PropulsionGas turbine
Speed24 knots (44 km/h)
Capacity393,000 sq ft (36,511 m2)
Crew26 civilian crew (up to 45); up to 50 active duty
Aviation facilitieshelicopter landing area

The Watson-class vehicle cargo ship is a class of Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off cargo ship used for prepositioning of military vehicles and other materiel by the United States. The class comprises eight of Military Sealift Command's nineteen ships of this type, [1] and is one part of the 33 ships involved in the Prepositioning Program. The ships are named after Medal of Honor recipients.

The lead ship of this class is USNS Watson. The class, as with the lead ship, was named for Private George Watson, a United States Army soldier killed at sea during World War II. [2] [3] Watson was laid down on 23 May 1996, launched on 26 July 1997, and put into service in the Pacific Ocean on 23 June 1998. [4] The most recent ship of the class is USNS Soderman, laid down on 31 October 2000, launched on 26 April 2002, and put into service in the Pacific Ocean on 24 September 2002.

Ships in Class

ShipHull. No.NamesakeLaid downLaunchedDeliveredStatusRefs
Watson T-AKR-310 George Watson 23 May 199626 July 199723 June 1998Active [5]
Sisler T-AKR-311 George K. Sisler 15 April 199728 February 19981 December 1998Active [5]
Dahl T-AKR-312 Larry G. Dahl 12 November 19972 October 199813 July 1999Active [5]
Red Cloud T-AKR-313 Mitchell Red Cloud 29 June 19987 August 199918 January 2000Active [5]
Charlton T-AKR-314 Cornelius H. Charlton 4 January 199911 December 199923 May 2000Active [5]
Watkins T-AKR-315 Travis E. Watkins 24 August 199928 July 20002 March 2001Active [5]
Pomeroy T-AKR-316 Ralph E. Pomeroy 25 April 200010 March 200114 August 2001Active [5]
Sodermon T-AKR-317 William A. Soderman 31 October 200026 April 200224 September 2002Active [5]

References

  1. "Large, Medium-speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ships T-AKR". United States Navy.
  2. "Watson (T-AKR-310), 1997-". Navy History and Heritage Command. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  3. "Private George Watson". BHA. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  4. "MSC takes delivery of USNS Watson" . Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Status of Ships". nvr.navy.mil. 21 February 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)