USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler of the United States Navy. She was named for Joshua Humphreys, who designed the six original US Navy frigates. She entered service in 1987 and was placed in reserve just nine years later, but has twice been brought out of reserve and as of 2015 is once more on active duty.

USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188) in 2015
History
United States
NameJoshua Humphreys
NamesakeJoshua Humphreys (1751-1838), American shipbuilder
Awarded20 January 1983
BuilderAvondale Shipyard
Laid down17 December 1984
Launched22 February 1986
In service3 April 1987 – 29 June 1996 and 23 February 2005 – 1 October 2006
Out of service29 June 1996 – 23 February 2005 and 1 October 2006
Identification
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and typeHenry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler
TypeFleet 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
Aircraft carriedNone
Aviation facilitiesHelicopter landing platform
Notes
  • Five refueling stations
  • Two dry cargo transfer rigs

Construction and delivery

edit

Joshua Humphreys, the second ship of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was specially built for the Military Sealift Command (MSC). She was laid down at Avondale Shipyard, Inc., at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 17 December 1984 and launched on 22 February 1986. She entered non-commissioned US Navy service with a primarily civilian crew on 3 April 1987.

Service history

edit

1980s-1990s

edit

Joshua Humphreys served in the United States Atlantic Fleet under MSC control until taken out of active service on 29 June 1996, the second ship of her class to be deactivated. She was subsequently berthed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) at the site of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and placed in reserve.

2000s

edit

Joshua Humphreys was reactivated on 23 February 2005. She was deactivated again on 1 October 2006, and again placed in reserve at the Philadelphia facility, where she was moored in the Delaware River.

2010s

edit

In March 2010 Atlantic Marine in Philadelphia was awarded a $12.8 million contract for the reactivation of the Joshua Humphreys.[1] Upon reactivation, she joined the US Fifth Fleet in support of counter-piracy and counter-terrorism operations in the Indian Ocean and Gulf area. As 11 November 2010 she was providing fuel to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.[2]

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) - Contracts - Navy". defense.gov. 5 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Lincoln Sailor Reunites With Father While Deployed in Arabian Gulf". Retrieved 22 November 2010.
edit